SerpApi.Org
Black Sabbath legends Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward have each shared messages on the first anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne‘s death today (July 22).
Ozzy died at the age of 76 just a few weeks after he and Black Sabbath played their last-ever show at the Back to the Beginning concert last summer in their hometown of Birmingham, England.
Fans, musicians and the city itself are all gathering today to honor the late icon in what’s been officially dubbed Ozzy Day.
Iommi shared a video and wrote the following message earlier today on X:
Hi everyone. Well, it’s now a year since Ozzy’s passing and I still can’t believe that he’s not with us. I watch him on YouTube and it feels like he’s still here with us. We always stayed in touch, almost every week or so and we’d usually talk about our ailments and then about what we’d been doing that particular week. The fans have been absolutely brilliant and the love and respect that they have shown for him has just been amazing. I’m so glad that we were able to play one final show with the original line up of Sabbath at the Back To The Beginning show in our home town of Birmingham! There will never be another Ozzy. I miss you my dear friend. Tony
The video clip he included was from one of their past performances prior to their retirement in early 2017. See it below.
READ MORE: Kelly Osbourne’s Emotional Letter to ‘My Daddy’ Ozzy a Year After His Death
Butler shared a photo of Ozzy from Back to the Beginning with the caption:
One year ago today- hard to believe. 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. Gone in body, but his legend lives on. Such incredible memories. Ozzy forever!
Ward shared a screenshot of a message that read:
Every day, there is a persistent silence,
We miss you so much,
Respectfully, with love to the Osbourne family,
Bill and Jackie Ward Family
Sabbath played four songs during their final performance at the Back to the Beginning show: “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.” It was the first time all four founding members played together in 20 years, as drummer Ward did not take part in the band’s final tour in 2017.
The evening ended with fireworks and Butler giving a cake to Ozzy, which had a portrait of him on it, his name and the words “The Final” underneath.
Stay tuned as we share more tributes to Ozzy throughout the day.
See how we ranked all of Black Sabbath’s songs with Ozzy in the gallery below.
