Ozzy Osbourne “knew” his final performance at Villa Park would be his last ever show, according to close friend and fellow musician Tom Morello.
The Black Sabbath frontman reunited with his band for the concert, which took place just three weeks before his death at the age of 76.
Osbourne, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease for several years, died earlier this month.
Speaking on US radio station Q101, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Morello revealed he felt Osbourne was aware the end was near.
“Ozzy Osbourne had lived on the edge for such a long time, the fact he lived as long as he did was a miracle,” he shared.
“The fact he lived to play and feel that love one more time, to do Paranoid, to do Crazy Train. If you have got to go – and I wish Ozzy lived another 30 years – if you've got to go out... it felt like he knew.”
The guitarist added that Osbourne had appeared “frail for a while” in the weeks before his death.
He continued: “Friends of mine saw him a week later at another event in Birmingham. He wasn't on his death bed. He was just sort of living his life. It was a terrible and tragic surprise.”
Morello, who worked alongside Osbourne and his wife Sharon to organise the farewell concert, said he was grateful to have been part of the moment.
“Black Sabbath invented heavy metal,” he said. “Ozzy and Sabbath could not be more important to me as a fan. I laid out to make it a great show for fans and for them.
“It is so unusual that those guys headlined. They got to see all the work they had done and the great artists their music had created perform for them.
Osbourne’s Villa Park concert has since taken on added significance for fans and the heavy metal community.
He reflected: “They got to play and feel the love not just from the bands, the people in the stadium but from all over the world.”
The rocker’s funeral in Birmingham last month drew fans from across the world. Thousands lined the streets as a cortege travelled through his hometown, with mourners leaving flowers, balloons and tributes at the Black Sabbath bench.
Sharon and the couple’s children were seen in tears as they joined the crowds to say a final farewell.
Earlier this week, BBC addressed why a highly anticipated documentary billed as a “moving and inspirational account of the last chapter” of Osbourne’s life was abruptly pulled from schedules, just hours before it was due to air.
Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home had been set for broadcast on BBC One at 9pm on Monday (and on iPlayer), offering “unique and intimate access” to the legendary Black Sabbath frontman, his wife Sharon and their children Kelly and Jack.
But in a last-minute shake-up, the one-off, hour-long programme disappeared from TV listings, replaced instead by an episode of Fake or Fortune?.
Now, the broadcaster has said that it did so in order to respect his “family’s wishes” and that they intend to reschedule it for a later date.
A BBC spokesperson said in a statement: “Our sympathies are with the Osbourne family at this difficult time. We are respecting the family’s wishes to wait a bit longer before airing this very special film.
“The new TX (transmission) date will be confirmed shortly.”
