Ozzy Osbourne has died
136 comments
·July 22, 2025ocodia
I’m a child of the early 80s and I consider myself fortunate to see the “original” Black Sabbath lineup at Ozzfest in Milton Keynes (2001). I was convinced I was witnessing his last gig not just because of his age but due to him tipping buckets of ice water over himself and the various electrical equipment on stage. What a gig though. What a showman. I’m surprised he lasted this long to be honest.
RIP prince of darkness, you mad, mad bastard.
vondur
Ha, he was tripping over ice buckets at the Metallica shows back in 1986!
artembugara
An absolute legend.
I missed my chance to listen to Black Sabbath in 2015 or 2016 during the Rock am Ring because the last day was cancelled.
I'm happy for what Ozzy did in his sixties and seventies, and what a way to go.
And let's not forget, the most likely reason he's been able to get this far with his lifestyle post-80s and 90s is Sharon
mihaitodor
Indeed... The clip for Under the Graveyard sums it up well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzyA5gDa4E
whycome
A weird tech-related aspect to this for me. A few weeks ago I saw a viral video of his daughter saying that the final show really was his “funeral” and that he knew it would be his last show. I’m not a fan of his really so the video kinda passed me by, and I didn’t even realize it was AI generated. Upon his death now I’m struck by how accurate the video was. And, how it was emotionally very….accurate? I had internalized it as “truth” because I didn’t care enough to verify. But, in a weird way, it was “truth” even though the specific facts of it may not have been accurate. I don’t know if I have a particular point here, just that the experience of AI infiltrating in this sideways method is …concerning.
Joeboy
This is tangential to your tangent, but in The Decline of Western Civilization Pt. II there's an interview during which he cheerfully and obliviously fails to competently make himself breakfast. I think that might've marked the start of his charming, bumbling, cuddly reality-TV star era. And that scene was at least partly faked in the edit by director Penelope Spheeris.
hypertexthero
Goodbye, Ozzy :(
Two of my favorite Sabbath songs:
Zeitgeist, 2013 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ofrYzMU6cw Planet Caravan, 1970 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm2N2nHqITY
pimeys
Into the Void, for me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx6IwshTL6M
They invented so many things here, and Ozzy is the blueprint of a heavy metal singer hundreds of people copied decades to come after this one.
Ken_At_EM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyNuUQs8w4Y
Paranoid. I love the Sabbath version, but Randy crushes it with Ozzy in 1981.
Only 3 years with Ozzy, and Randy is still top 10 in the minds of many a metal guitarist today. What an insane impact.
tmtvl
Falling Off The Edge Of The World and Computer God for me.
deagle50
war pigs
rudasn
upghost
N.I.B. for me. Greatest love song of all time. https://youtu.be/NsXEb-NOs88
Changes. Saddest song of all time. Can't listen to it without crying. https://youtu.be/dOz_dLmpT9A
Peacefulz
What a loss. Hope he's rocking with Randy somewhere out there.
Don't miss the recent tribute of Mr. Crowley with Jack Black on vocals. It was truly awesome.
ahazred8ta
As a cameo, he defeated a giant bat in Little Nicky. (2000) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1WBLiitrpSg
scoreandmore
Funny growing up in the 70s and 80s watching the Moral Majority lose their collective shit over Black Sabbath. Satanic panic was real: I had to hide my records from my dad and only play them when he wasn’t home. I still prefer Dio but ozzy had more of an impact on culture.
War Pigs is the most metal anti war song ever which is why the religious right hated it so much. Nothing to do with satanism, more about speaking truth to power. Still as relevant in 1970 as it is today.
rwmj
In "you couldn't make this up" news, the BBC has a statement on his death from the UK Justice Secretary. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn0qq5nyxn0t?post=asset%3A5c...
Lammy
I like how people were just responding to aesthetics despite After Forever being a song about how Jesus was way cool
rybosome
RIP to a legend who had a profound impact on me as a young musician.
To quote my favorite song of his:
I've seen your face a hundred times Everyday we've been apart And I don't care about the sunshine, yeah 'Cause mama, mama, I'm coming home
potato3732842
Kinda funny that after everything he did Parkinsons was what got him.
darth_avocado
What’s amazing is that 75.8 is the life expectancy of men in the US and he managed to cross it with the lifestyle he had.
nartho
Well it's 78.8 in the UK
raverbashing
Well but he spent a good time living in the US so it kinda averages out
DaveExeter
Life expectancy of men *at birth*. Once you've made it to ten years old, those statistics don't apply any more.
In other words, the average lifespan of a 10-year old boy is not 65.8 additional years.
sshine
Even then, you’d be surprised that his lifestyle didn’t impact his lifespan more negatively.
But you’ll have chain smokers who live into their nineties.
jajko
So don't hold the suspense - how much is it then and how does it stack with rest of developed world?
thinkingtoilet
It is astonishing, isn't it? I'm reading Sirens of Titan right now and luck is such a big theme in it. You can always increase your odds by healthy living, but nothing is guaranteed. It really comes down to dumb luck.
x0x0
Keith Richards is alive. Hard to think of a more improbable thing.
thr0waway001
Please implore your children and children’s children to leave a better world for Keith Richards.
doubled112
I always assumed it was the drugs keeping him going, but in reality I think he quit them a long time ago.
null
bigmattystyles
I always liked the bill hicks bit about him finding another ledge.
smt88
Drug use is a risk factor for Parkinson's. A lot of drugs affect dopamine production or reuptake, and that seems to be able to cause a reduction in dopamine production later in life.
morkalork
Some of the symptoms (like tremors) of withdrawal after long term stimulant/cocaine/amphetamine use are similar to parkinsons too since both cause a shortage of dopamine in the brain. I kinda wonder if one could accidentally mask early symptoms of parkinsons.
avalys
[flagged]
mywittyname
Given that Parkinson's is a disease in which the neurons in the brain stop producing dopamine, it's just as possible that his drug use was treating his condition, not worsening it.
From what I can tell, Parkinson's doesn't have a direct, established environmental cause. Just some candidates which may increase risk.
Note: I'm not an MD or have any background in medicine.
bena
To be fair, from the casual glance over the causes of Parkinson's, it doesn't seem as if alcohol or drugs are probable causes of Parkinson's.
Now, if he got something with pesticides or whatever still on it, sure, but Parkinson's is relatively murky with regards as to what causes it.
formerphotoj
I met him in a "Bark at the Moon" contest and shook his hand. Not sure he noticed, lol! Anyway, Bark at the Moon is one of his top songs! Here's howling in sorrow for you Ozzy, RIP.
wnevets
Wow the last Black Sabbath show really was the last one.
frankfrank13
Unreal timing, though, I'm sure he knew
xxr
I feel like everyone on the inside knew it was coming very soon which is why it seemed so peculiarly Ozzy-focused down to the cake that Geezer Butler brought out to him at the end of the show (and I imagine the contingency plan was to have vocalists from all the other bands fill in during the Black Sabbath set).
tetha
This makes me wonder if Ozzy will have one last appearance at Wacken, like Lemmy did.
vondur
Saw him live back in 1986 at the Long Beach Arena with Metallica opening. And I think I saw Sabbath at on OzzFest with Slayer. He was a great frontman and certainly lived a full life. We should all be so fortunate.
One of my favorite Ozzy moments had nothing to do with his music, but was equally awesome. He was on the Howard Stern radio show shortly after 9/11:
Howard: Ozzy, what are your thoughts around 9/11?
Ozzy: It was terrible; one of those things you'll always remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard the news.
Howard: Where were you when you first heard about 9/11?
Ozzy: I can't bloody remember.
I'm sure it was staged, but it really hit the spot for me after all the tragedy of 9/11. RIP Ozzy.