Sharon Osbourne has opened up about how husband Ozzy tenderly confided in her in the days after his performance in Birmingham which saw him inundated with love
Rocker Ozzy Osbourne confided to wife Sharon in his last days just how overwhelmed he was by the outpouring of love from fans after his final concert performance. Speaking just days before his death, Sharon said: “He turned around and he said to me that night, ‘I had no idea that so many people liked me.’” She added: “Ozzy’s always been in his own bubble.”
The Black Sabbath frontman died aged 76 on July 22 from a reported heart attack, just weeks after reuniting with the band on stage as part of The Back To The Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham. Reflecting on the day, Sharon said: ““For Ozzy to play with Bill [Ward] again, he was very, very emotional about that.”
She added to Pollstar: “It was a huge success, because it was a phenomenal event. It was the first time, I think, that anybody’s gone into retirement and done it, where the show is streamed and it goes to charity. “So it’s the first time anybody has said goodnight like that, it’s the perfect way, when you’ve had such a long career, to end it.
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“I never wanted Ozzy to just disappear without some big event. And it’s the best way then to go home to where it all started, to go to his favorite stadium in the world, which is home to his beloved Aston Villa team, and it was just perfect. It was the perfect storm, put it that way. The metal fans are the most loyal fans in the world! When they’re a fan, you’ve got them for life. They don’t go anywhere.”
Sharon said it was extra special as “a lot of our old crew guys were with us who had been with us for years, so it was very, very emotional that way too. It wasn’t just what you saw on stage, but the guys behind the stage had been with us for years and years.”
Sharon said how she had to turn away bands offering to perform. “I had been talking about this two years ago, and then it became a reality. It was just amazing the way it happened. We sold 40,000 seats.It was all the big icons. I mean, we could have gone on and on with more bands, but there just wasn’t any more time. “
One stand out for Ozzy and Sharon was Yungblud’s cover of Changes. I loved Yungblud’s performance. That’s being released as a single. It’s a beautiful song.”
Meanwhile, a one-off, hour-long documentary that is a “moving and inspirational account of the last chapter” of Ozzy’s life is to air on the BBC. Titled Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, the August 18 programme is told through “unique and intimate access to the whole Osbourne family”, including Sharon, and children Kelly and Jack.
The programme has been filmed over three years and “captures the extraordinary rollercoaster of their lives” as the famous couple “attempt to complete their long-held dream of moving back to the UK”, the BBC said.
It also captures musician Ozzy as he “heroically battles to get fit enough to perform” and the family dealing with “the dramatic consequences of his ill health”, with Kelly quoted as saying in the film: “Iron Man wasn’t really made of iron.”
The rocker had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019. Clare Sillery, head of commissioning, BBC Documentaries, said: “We are honoured to have had the opportunity to film with Ozzy and his family.
“The film captures an intimate glimpse into their journey as they prepare to return to the UK. It features family moments, humour, reflection and shows the enduring spirit that made Ozzy a global icon. We hope it brings comfort and joy to Ozzy’s fans and viewers as they remember and celebrate his extraordinary life.”
The film was originally conceived as a series, announced in 2022 and called Home To Roost, and which was to document Ozzy and Sharon’s move back from the US, where they had lived for more than two decades, to rural Buckinghamshire. But the project “evolved as Ozzy’s health deteriorated” into the one-hour film, the BBC said.