Black Sabbath honors Ozzy Osbourne one year after his death
Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Kelly Osbourne marked the first anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne’s death with personal tributes.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath bandmates marked one year without him by sharing memories, grief and gratitude for one last hometown bow.
Osbourne died a year ago at 76 after a series of health problems, according to Rolling Stone. On the anniversary of his death, surviving Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward each posted tributes to the frontman, while his daughter Kelly Osbourne also shared a message about loss.
Ward, the band’s drummer, posted a brief note on X addressed to the Osbourne family. “Every day, there is a persistent silence,” he wrote. “We miss you so much.” He signed the message from the Bill and Jackie Ward family and sent it “with love” to Osbourne’s relatives.
Butler, Black Sabbath’s bassist, used Instagram to share a photo of Osbourne seated on his bat throne. In the caption, Butler wrote that the date was “hard to believe” and said he was grateful the group had been able to perform together before Osbourne’s death.
“I am so glad we were able to do the final show, back in our hometown, just a couple of weeks before Ozzy left us,” Butler wrote. “Gone in body, but his legend lives on. Such incredible memories. Ozzy forever!”
That final concert was Black Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning” farewell show in Birmingham, England, the city where the band began. Butler and Iommi both referred to the event in their anniversary posts, describing it as a last appearance by the original Sabbath lineup.
Iommi, the band’s guitarist, posted a performance clip on Instagram and wrote that he still struggled to accept Osbourne’s death. He said watching videos of Osbourne online made it feel as if his friend were still present.
According to Iommi’s post, the two musicians had remained in frequent contact. He wrote that they spoke “almost every week or so,” often about their ailments and what they had been doing.
Iommi also thanked fans for the way they had responded to Osbourne’s death. “The fans have been absolutely brilliant and the love and respect that they have shown for him has just been amazing,” he wrote.
He added that he was glad the original lineup played one last show in Birmingham. “There will never be another Ozzy,” Iommi wrote. “I miss you my dear friend.”
Kelly Osbourne also posted on Instagram, using the hashtags “LoveIsEternal” and “OzzyForever.” In a longer message, she described grief as something that changes the person left behind, writing that sorrow can leave someone “longing for the version of yourself who died with them.”
The tributes came with old images, concert footage and the shared weight of a band whose final chapter closed only weeks after its last hometown performance with Osbourne at the microphone.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.