![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/paice1.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey3.jpg)
Crazy train has left the station
As you have probably heard, Ozzy Osbourne has died on July 22, 2025, just a couple of weeks after his farewell show, and a week after his last public appearance. His splendid career had so many crossovers with the Purple family that we had to consult the experts to catch many of them besides the obvious. The obvious are Don Airey and Bob Daisley. The not-so-obvious include Bernie Torme, who stood in at a handful of shows after Randy Roads’ death, Whitesnake’s Rudy Sarzo & Tommy Aldridge, Lee Kerslake, who later played in Living Loud with Don Airey and Steve Morse, and Glenn Hughes, who claimed to have been involved in the early version of Blizzard of Oz (Ozzy himself denied that). Not to mention that Ozzy was replaced in Black Sabbath by Ronnie James Dio, who was succeeded by Ian Gillan, and eventually by Glenn Hughes.
Tributes to the Prince of Darkness have poured in from all walks of life — from Kermit the Frog to Pat Boone.
Here is a lovely anecdote shared by Don Airey:
Ozzy: the world without you is suddenly a little smaller and much quieter. Thanks for those wonderful years on tour in the 80s. I remember the first Rock in Rio Festival 1985 with you sat at the bar complaining of 15 years travelling the world and all you’d ever seen were gigs and hotels. So you and me took a taxi up to Christo Redemptor, the huge statue that overlooks the city and climbed the 200+ steps to the top, the view from which was absolutely astounding. That was until we looked down to the base of the statue and saw our tour manager and security frantically scurrying about. We were duly whisked away to a photo shoot on Ipanema beach, which involved you cavorting in the waves with 50 stuffed piranha fish. Next day, a gig in front of 350,000 people sharing a bill with Queen, Scorpions and Whitesnake.. As you used to say, not bad for a boy from Aston. Rest in peace old mate. Our deepest sympathies to Sharon and the family.
Don & Doris Airey
Ian Gillan’s tribute is short and sweet:
Dear Ozzy,
I can’t help smiling, even now.
You improved my life,Thanks mate.
ig
Blabbermouth has a quote from Bob Daisley:
This is a sad day and it has brought me to tears. When I reminisce about Ozzy’s and my times together, I think about the fun, the laughs and of course what we created together musically, which will live much longer than these mortal bodies that we inhabit.
My condolences to everyone who you’ve left behind, Ozzy. Nothing can change the true friendship that we once had; I’ll see you ‘on the other side’.
David Coverdale also chimed in:
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
My Sincere Condolences To Sharon, The Family, Friends & Fans…💔💔💔
[Update Jul 24] Ritchie BlacKmore sends a carrier pidgeon:
I had the good fortune to meet Ozzy a couple of times. He was a very humble man with no rock and roll attitude. I think he was very grateful to be doing what he loved. He had a melodic, warm and harmonious voice over hard rock tracks and it worked out incredibly well without having to resort to screaming over the music. A wonderful way of singing. The late 80s was my favourite period but that is just my opinion. His home show was my favorite. It reminded me of Faulty Towers. I make it a habit of trying not to smile and laugh very much but Ozzy made me crack up with laughter on his show every time I saw it. It was so honest. I think that’s what people loved about him.
Our hearts go out to Ozzys family. Candice and I share your grief. We have lost a brilliant singer, a great musician and a wonderful family man. Rest in peace Ozzy. #ozzy #rip #ozzyosbourne
Thanks to Doug, Tim, metaljim, and Trond for their wisdom.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I was lucky enough to see the first Ozzy show with Bernie Torme on guitar. I saw them a couple of weeks earlier with Randy and you all know what happened then. The show with Bernie was at Madison Square Garden and me being a hard core Gillan fan knew who he was but others were not so familiar with him. He only played about 6 or 8 shows then left but it was a great night. Both nights were great. Recently someone posted on you tube a 5 minute clip of Black Sabbath at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park in 1975. It’s rough but from the angle the person took it from if they only turned the camera on the crowd just once a little to the right that’s where I was. Man it really takes me back. Thank God we still have Deep Purple. May it continue for many years. Rest In Peace Ozzy, the world will miss you.
July 23rd, 2025 at 23:53Since George is one of those rare eye and ear witnesses, Ozzy with Bernie here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67XNFarG7EI&list=RD67XNFarG7EI&start_radio=1
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NINTCHDBPICT000476962392.jpg?w=1880
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NINTCHDBPICT000476961354.jpg?w=1880
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NINTCHDBPICT000476961345.jpg?w=1880
I never understood why he didn’t use the chance to stay with Ozzy, but left after seven gigs or so.
And that picture with the band taking a bow made me realize only now that Don and Bernie actually played together. It’s logical of course, Don was in Ozzy’s band when the flight accident happened and Bernie took over almost immediately, but I had never given it a thought.
Finally, a clip of Ozzy from the later Sabbath period I personally prefer, Dirty Women (no offense meant, Karin!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EBk3czZXlQ&list=RD6EBk3czZXlQ&start_radio=1
July 24th, 2025 at 00:39(That red Rickenbacker 4001 Geezer plays is incidentally the same instrument that Glenn played at California Jam and recorded Burn with. He first loaned it to Geezer for a tour and eventually sold it to him, Rickenbackers not really being Glenn’s preference though he tried to switch to one when joining DP.)
What a loss. Those first 6 albums with Black Sabbath and those first 6 on his solo group are outstanding. Listen to them all the time. I consider the first 3 ozzy solo albums essential hard rock masterpieces. He had a great band and great players throughout. Awesome that he lived long enough to have a final show. Loved it!!
July 24th, 2025 at 01:31I Would like to post this as a tribute to Ozzy. Ozzy will live forever.
July 24th, 2025 at 06:32https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm-M8GvgYws&list=RDhm-M8GvgYws&start_radio=1
Deep Purple & Black Sabbath are my 1A & 1B bands and now all that I have left is Purple. After seeing Back to the Beginning I really hope that Purple has a final performance with tributes from other bands, way even though memvers of Purple have said that they didn’t want to end that way. But the fans and the musicians that they influenced would love it. Sad that we lost Ozzy, but so grateful that he was able to do that final performance.
July 24th, 2025 at 06:45It’s interesting that Mr. Blackmore posts this rather long comment about OZZY, but hardly says a word about his immediate companions and fellow musicians of many years, such as Jon Lord, Cozy Powell or R.J. Dio.
LLRnR
LL Ritchie
-kraatzy-
July 24th, 2025 at 08:26I miss you OzzY
God bless you (all)! I love you.
✞
July 24th, 2025 at 08:38Ian Paice once described Black Sabbath music as ‘Brutal’ in an interview but Ozzy has managed to successfully make it fun brutal music and that’s what we loved about him. He never took himself seriously and took his fans to another level of excitement.
July 24th, 2025 at 08:42Also we need to appreciate what Sharon did for him to make him stand on his feet again in his darkest hour.
He ended it like a movie blockbuster on high with him and band mates and his fans saying farewell on stage.
His life is like the Greatest fun movie ever made with the best ending ever.
Thank you Ozzy for making great fun energetic music and making us smile.
Peace ✌️
I saw the original Black Sabbath line-up in the mid 70:s and it was great, I remember screaming for the song “Snowblind” and at the end of the show Ozzy finally sang the song.. it made my day.. next day in school though..I couldnt speak for all the screaming the night before.
July 24th, 2025 at 09:27RIP Ozzy!!
Ozzy RIP, i´m a fan of his singing and i like him very much
July 24th, 2025 at 09:53#6 kraatzy:
It could be a message written by Candice or together with her, or Lord’s disappearance was more difficult for him to explain and something more personal and intimate.
he dedicated a song to him which he then played live at his last Rainbow reunion.
July 24th, 2025 at 11:04RIP Ozzy.
I have seen Ozzy a couple of times, first with Black Sabbath, Oct 26, 1975 (holy cr*p, it’s 50 years now).
Unfortuanally I do not have a recording of this.
Then Copenhagen 16th January 1983 as special guest to Whitesnake.
Ozzy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p38YseP8JNk
Whitesnake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fng-r1V3wVw
(not my recordings though).
Janbl
July 24th, 2025 at 11:12@6 There is always some whitless person like you who breaks the mood of a tribute thread like to make a ridiculous, brain-dead comment. Ritchie gave a very emotional and loving tribute upon Jon Lord’s passing, and even did a recorded instrumental in memory of him. Get a life.
July 24th, 2025 at 11:23#8: “Ian Paice once described Black Sabbath music as ‘Brutal’ in an interview”
hm, “brutal”? the vocals of Ian Gillan are at his Solo-Band (Gillan) and at “Born Again” much more “brutal” than Ozzys vocals, in my opinion. But both were “fun-brutal”…
Ritchie is right but is a little rascal when he writes: “He (Ozzy) had a melodic, warm and harmonious voice over hard rock tracks and it worked out incredibly well without having to resort to screaming over the music. A wonderful way of singing.” That could be a covered reference to Gillan’s screams…
July 24th, 2025 at 11:30@10…..Well said Gerd.
July 24th, 2025 at 11:52@2
“..the later Sabbath period I personally prefer, Dirty Women (no offense meant, Karin!”
– ohh none taken Uwe! I also prefer Dirty Men 😄 (if there isn’t a song named that, then there ought to be one!
Are you also disliking the year where Ian made BS so much better?
I thought everybody loved that album, but at FaceBook a very kind gentleman told me that he did not regard Born Again at all as a BS album!
And I answered: well that’s the same for me: those awful years where Ian wasn’t the vocalist of Purple, I don’t recognise these albums either.
And then he just laughed at me Uwe 😟
July 24th, 2025 at 12:42That’s a lovely tribute to Ozzy, Pier.
Rest assured, Adel, that Sharon after an appropriate period of grieving will guide the release of a biopic about her late husband. It could potentially be a great movie.
July 24th, 2025 at 14:02Ozzy in my opinion was also the best rock ballad singer. Look at all these great songs
Changes
July 24th, 2025 at 16:32Goodbye to Romance
Tonight
So tired
Shot in the dark
Mama I’m coming home
If I close my eyes forever
Dreamer
@9: I saw Sabbath at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1978. Yes, it was a hell of a show.
@5: Nice idea, but I doubt it would work without Jon and Ritchie.
@6: Ritchie did write a song to honor Jon. He seemed moved to me.
July 24th, 2025 at 20:29Not to take away from this discussion about Ozzy… but apparently George Kooymans passed away on the 22nd as well. He was the the guitar player for my next favorite band after DP, Golden Earring.
Here’s to George: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUuPwvV5ZtI
July 24th, 2025 at 22:08Loved Ozzy with Sabbath. His solo stuff I don’t care . Kudos to Sharon to boost his status and kept him at top throughout the years. His persona and antics are larger than life. RIP!!
July 24th, 2025 at 22:12I don’t post a lot here, although I read most of what’s put on here, lovely community!
Just wanted to share some memories of Oz, being such a strong character throughout my life as a guy who loves hard rock, it’s very sad to see him go. My first encounter with hardrock was an older member on the outskirts of my family that played “Made In Japan” to me.. I was about 8 years old and was immediately hooked, next was similar bands. My older brother soon after bought a Black Sabbath album, to my memory it must have been “Paranoid” with the sword on the cover. I remember being very scared to listen to it at the time. Then the melodies kind of stick with you and that was his strength. I was of course a big fan after that.
In december 1983, on the Bark At The Moon tour I was (with some record company people) with the band at the Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden. Jake’s wife was very pregnant and looked like she was about to give birth at the very same day…Anyway, off to Oz, we sat down with him for a few hours and talked about everything – life- tours – whatever, very nice and fun chat. Ozzy had Irish Coffee after Irish Coffee but was still alright. Then Sharon came and said she would leave in the morning to go to Germany to prepare for the Rockpalast gig which I suppose you’ve all seen. Ozzy just got very upset and – Sharon don’t leave me..started crying and so on… But she was very nice to us and made her excuses, a short while later a couple of guys (security guys perhaps) had to carry him up to his room, the Irish Coffes finally gave way… A first sort of tragicomical meeting (to say the least) with a hero of mine. Anyway, Oz was and will continue to be a legend in the hardrock world, together with Lemmy, and especially Jon Lord and Eddie Van Halen!
July 24th, 2025 at 22:39Piranha fish can’t survive in sea water, they are a river species, but what’s this with Glenn having somehow played a role in a fledgling Blizzard of Oz? I’ve never heard of that nor could I find anything. I wouldn’t rule it out due to the Birmingham music Mafia connection and whether Ozzy remembered it is pretty much irrelevant because lots of things happened that he did not remember (and he remembered lots of others different from how they had happened!), but where did that come up, Nick?
Re the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio I have my own story to tell. During the latish 90s I was there for an international arbitration and I had befriended a guy from the client’s legal department. Robert was from Switzerland and Jewish and very observant at that, he even had a Jewish tailor in Zurich who removed the cotton threads from his woolen business suits and replaced them with wool thread, something only the most observant Jews do because it is prescribed by their belief to not wear a mix of animal and plant origin textiles. But Robert was also a loose mouth, he would say things on arrival in Frankfurt by train like “As a member of the chosen people, traveling on German trains through Europe is always a primal experience for me, but somewhat stressful even if they are much more comfortable these days.” 😑
Anyway, while in Rio, one evening we decided to take a look at the statue up close, we took a taxi and Robert overcame his security concerns about traveling at night through the Favela neighborhoods you need to cross to get there. Then we were finally at the statue and at night, all lit up, yeah it does look hugely impressive. And as we stood there, I couldn’t help but deadpan into the silence: “Look Robert, if you are having an epiphany, I would volunteer to sacrifice a part of my water bottle and administer a baptism of you right here, right now, all you have to do is fall to your knees – as a Catholic it is well within my ambit to do so!>/i>” And of course we both cracked up laughing though Robert refrained to take up this one-time-opportunity at conversion. 🤣
July 25th, 2025 at 00:16Russ, Golden Earring are giants from a very small country and I always thought George was a handsome man, a tasteful guitarist, able songwriter and fine singer. He’s on lead vocals here (Barry Hay on second guitar and backing vocals though generally the lead vocalist of GE):
https://youtu.be/0dDSCPa6azY
George had been suffering from ALS for a long time, that is one crap hereditary disease and not a good way to go. Eight miles high now …
https://youtu.be/OgpNhSAr2wQ
July 25th, 2025 at 00:33@19 – Russ775, thanks for the George Kooymans tribute. A wonderful song and the band Golden Earring were great. My Dutch lady friend just told me about all the concerts she attended back in Holland throughout the 1970s. I use to own quite a few vinyl albums of theirs, including then rather commercial Cut album. All the other albums were from th glorious 70’s, Moontan is a classic. I need to get that on cd. May George rest in Peace, a wonderful musician. Cheers.
July 25th, 2025 at 02:01A lovely tribute from Grumpy Rick to Ozzy. Cheers.
https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/he-was-actually-much-cleverer-than-people-gave-him-credit-for-rick-wakeman-pays-heartfelt-tribute-to-his-late-pal-ozzy-osbourne
July 25th, 2025 at 03:56@15
“Dirty Men 😄 (if there isn’t a song named that, then there ought to be one!”
Yeah, someone should write a song about Uwe (and me too).
July 25th, 2025 at 06:14@ 12
Dear (not) respected Mr. Gammell. Ridiculousness and brainlessness are obviously your exact attitude, otherwise you wouldn’t have posted such a response. This demonstrates a certain disrespect towards me on your part, which 100% has NO place here. I’ve always understood this whole thing to mean that everyone is allowed to express their thoughts or opinions on certain topics without being insulted stupidly.
Mutual respect and class are character traits that a man may or may not have.
Do you know the difference between NIVEA (-craem) and NIVEAU??
Regarding the topic itself: Ritchie did exactly that immediately after Jon Lord’s passing. Later—you’re right—he naturally paid him his respects. But when it came to R.J.Dio or Cozy Powell, less, if at all.
That’s the way it is!!!
LLRnR
LL Ritchei Blackmore
kraatzy
July 25th, 2025 at 08:30I’m gonna ruff a few feathers with what I am about to post, but az Ozzy often said: “Go f*cking crazy for me” and I will obey.
His career meant a lot to me, bringing plenty of fantastic music. Especially solo period. I liked MK1 Sabbath, but rather selectively. I was more marvelling in non-obvious choices and the further they were from debut, seeking and experimenting more – the more I liked it. I never had a problem with the fact that Tony Iommi decided to carry on without him, because hiring Ronnie James Dio had some great effects and lasting impact on Sabbath machine.
It’s beyond me how anyone can say that they don’t care for Ozzy’s solo output. There’s no life on the planet without Blizzard of Ozz. As much as I love Ritchie Blackmore and I am a freak for his playing and penchant for improvisation both with melody and noise – I put Randy Rhoads above him on the list of my Top 5 musicians. Rhoads was an icon completely outside the rivalry circle of Blackmore Vs Hendrix Vs Van Halen etc. His brilliance of mixing classical with raw unfiltered power echoing Mick Ronson puts him for me on the position of the Mozart of our times, outside the circle of all others. “Mr Crowley”, “Crazy Train”, “Tonight” with the mountain majesty of grandeur off-the-wall solos, and the epic scope of “Diary of a Madman” with the choir and orchestra are the milestones of rock and will be as such treasured forever. And there was plenty to follow after. To have on hand Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde as the continuing axemen… Who has this much of sheer guitar talent on display, ever? Very few. Up to “No More Tears”, thanks to Bob Daisley’s friendship and involvement, Ozzy put out 4 more excellent records bearing some of the finest songs on my playlists.
One more thing needs pointing out. I don’t think that the witch of Arden needs our prayers, really. That woman might be substantial in keeping Ozzy going and focused for decades before the decay – but the ways in which she screwed over the musicians who created Blizzard of Ozz and built it’s excellence, while her hubby was lying underneath the table drunk – is the dirtiest affair of this showbusiness. And while Randy Rhoads and Lee Kerslake can’t defend their rights anymore, Bob is the last one of the living Blizzard members who was royally screwed by the person in question. Until she fully resolves it for Bob and opens the vaults with Randy’s recordings, I’m not going to send there any sympathy. She could have been an angel and carer for Ozzy, but from the business and moral point of view the way Ozzy’s bandmates were treated instrumentally, undersevedly as they were pivotal in making a proper vehicle for Osbourne. An evil is an evil, wrongdoing is a wrongdoing. The deadly snake snuck into a bamboo stick – is still a snake that will strike and kill.
Ozzy though deserves a great big bow and thank you for producing big chunk of the greatest soundtrack of my life. Thank you, Prince of Dose and Darkness, may you raise some hell up there in heaven, with Randy again maybe. Rest easy.
July 25th, 2025 at 13:42What makes you think, I dislike Sabbath, Karin? I really like them, it’s just that I prefer everything from Master of Reality to Never Say Die to the formative first two albums which have their charm but are hardly refined music. The rest of the world seems to think it exactly the other way around.
Ozzy is for me a singer who sang like a child, there is innocence and even naiveté in his voice that made him one of a kind. His abilities of vocal expression were extremely limited, but as Glenn Hughes once said: To copy his monotone wail (with equal emphasis on every word and note – listen to what Ian Gillan or Robert Plant do with their vocal melodies and words in comparison) is the hardest thing.
Of course Born Again is a Black Sabbath album, coincidentally also one of the greatest non-Purple albums Ian has graced with his voice. Pivotal for the development of Grunge in my view. Anybody who thinks that Ian sang on Born Again like he did on, say, Machine Head, (thereby turning Sabbath into Purple) has his ears plugged and should see a rock’n’roll doctor. I’m generally not in the “without such-and-such band x doesn’t sound to me like they did anymore so I never listen to them again”. Come Taste The Band is for me a legitimate DP album because I can connect the dots to In Rock even if Ian Gillan or Roger Glover perhaps can’t because they are emotionally too involved to give it a fair listen.
I’m not such a great fan of Sabbath with Dio because there is something left field and unorthodox to Ozzy’s approach to music that was lost in the Dio era, but it was still well enough made music. But yeah, I prefer the children from the grave before they became somehow lost at sea. There was something industrial and working class about Ozzy era Sabbath where Dio era Sabbath is more of a lavish illustration from a Tolkien book – you know my love for fantasy nonsense.
Finally, I don’t believe that taking a measuring tape to see which obituary comment is longer is really conducive evidence for what the departed meant to the writer. OTOH, had I been Ritchie, David or Glenn, I would have likely made the trip over the Atlantic to the Saint Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Hambleden to bid Jon a last goodbye (unless Jon’s wife or daughters had indicated they didn’t want to see me there). But then I have always enjoyed the “beginning of healing” ritual a good funeral constitutes and most people regard that as a little morbid from my side. Who knows, maybe they were there and we weren’t told about it. The way Rick Parfitt’s three blond ex-wives all showed up at his funeral and stood together like the witches from Macbeth 😂 (plus Quo bandmates from all line-ups) was kind of moving and classy to me.
PS: Kraatzy’s and James’ little spat should perhaps abide for now – calling each other wit- or brainless in an obituary thread is a lamentable choice, Ozzy isn’t even under the ground yet and we all know how much he liked the peace sign.
https://images.app.goo.gl/UAagq
Get in the spirit.
July 25th, 2025 at 14:16“Yeah, someone should write a song about Uwe (and me too).“
Wot? I am to the support and upkeep of general decorum here what Sir Lancelot was to the protection of the honor of innocent maidens!
A vigilante of decency.
https://images.app.goo.gl/rxzd4
That said, Karin’s unprompted revelation that she likes dirty men, has cast me into deep confusion and even despair, what have we done, Russ?
July 25th, 2025 at 18:39Speaking of tributes by the Wakeman family …
https://youtu.be/rFihH5Ypm5s
July 25th, 2025 at 19:09Ozzy used to be my hero. Then I stopped following his music circa 2003 after Down to Earth, when it became too sludgy. I also resented his re-recording of the classic albums to deny Bob and Lee their royalties. But I fondly remember his Sabbath and solo albums, attending a Sabbath reunion show and reading all those stories about drinking, killing doves and bats etc. RIP Madman.
July 25th, 2025 at 19:11@28
July 25th, 2025 at 20:55Are you all right, my friend?
Everyone loves Ozzy!
July 25th, 2025 at 23:03kraatzy @ 6 – since when is it deemed to be not paying respect when it isn’t in the public domain? Just because someone doesn’t jump online and waffle on in a certain way, does NOT mean they are being disrespectful or they don’t give a damn. I do remember Ritchie paying respect to both Cozy and Ronnie when they both passed. Cozy’s passing was before the internet wasn’t it, or just when it was getting going. I read his comment in a rock music magazine somewhere. Ronnie’s was online and he also did pay his respects to Jon Lord with a musical piece. The other fact I notice is that Ritchie has been lured into the social media crap much more in recent years. Back in the day, not so much if ever at all. Perhaps it is also because he has more time on his hands these days. Cheers.
July 25th, 2025 at 23:09