The music world is mourning the loss of a true icon.
Today (July 22), the passing of Black Sabbath star Ozzy Osbourne was confirmed by his family. He was 76.
In a statement issued on social media, Osbourne’s family said: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
No cause of death was given, though Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2019. The passing of the metal superstar arrives just weeks after Ozzy – both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath – made his final ever live performance for the epic, critically acclaimed Back To The Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham.
Even had he not played such a decisive role in the genre’s creation, no one embodied heavy metal more than Ozzy Osbourne.
After forming in Birmingham in 1968, Black Sabbath emerged with their self-titled debut in 1970 – a dark, brooding masterpiece that would become the blueprint for metal bands to follow for decades to come. From there, the group would go on to sell over 75 million albums worldwide, with songs like Iron Man, Paranoid and War Pigs just some of their innumerable classics.
The group's second album, 1970's Paranoid, is their best-seller in the UK, on post-1994 sales of 347,050.
Sabbath reunited in 2013 for what proved to be their final album, 13. It debuted at No.1 and has sold 140,143 copies in the UK.
Osbourne also embarked upon a highly successful career as a solo artist with 1980’s Blizzard Of Oz. It remains his best selling UK solo album, with post-1994 sales of over 100,000 according to Official Charts Company data. Ozzy's final solo album, Patient Number 9, was released in 2022 and hit No.2 in the UK charts. In his solo career, he delivered a host of huge songs including Crazy Train, Mama I’m Coming Home and Bark At The Moon.
Speaking to Music Week in March this year, Ozzy’s wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne said: “Ozzy managed to do something that other classic frontmen haven’t. Mick Jagger could never make it on his own. He tried but he couldn’t do it. And he’s the greatest frontman in the world – but in The Rolling Stones, not on his own. Whether it was the music he chose or the producers, it never happened for him. Robert Plant had three or four hit records but Robert Plant never achieved what Ozzy achieved and he’s an amazing frontman, fucking amazing in his day, and they just never achieved what Ozzy did. Sting did it on his own but still not to the point that Ozzy has and for the amount of time that Ozzy’s done it. People forget Ozzy won two Grammys just two years ago. He won Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance. He’s still relevant.”
All together, Ozzy sold over 100 million records, and is one of a handful of artists to have had Top 10 albums across the last six decades. He also received an induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for his solo career and as a co-founder of Black Sabbath, won three Grammy Awards, earned the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors, set a Guinness World Record, and was given stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and Birmingham Walk Of Stars.
Together with his family, Ozzy broke records with the hit reality TV show The Osbournes in the 00s, and was also the subject of a brilliant film, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, produced by his son, Jack.
The challenges involved in the last six years of his life are set to chronicled in a new feature-length documentary, Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, which will be shown on Paramount+ later this year.
“It’s horribly painful,” Sharon Osbourne told Music Week of seeing the realities of Ozzy’s life on screen. “Ozzy saw a bit of it and couldn’t keep watching. There’s still humour with Ozzy – he’s still funny – but there were a lot of tears.”
News of Ozzy’s passing has sent shockwaves through the global industry.
Alice Cooper said: “The whole world is mourning Ozzy tonight. Over his long career, he earned immense respect among his peers and from fans around the world as an unmatched showman and cultural icon. I always saw Ozzy as a cross between the prince of darkness, which is the persona his fans saw, and the court jester. That was the side that his family and friends saw. He was and will continue to be a rock n roll legend. Rock n Roll is a family and a fraternity. When we lose one of our own it bleeds. I wish I would have gotten to know my brother Ozzy better. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and the rest of the Ozzy brood – our prayers are with you tonight. A titanic boulder has crashed, but rock will roll on.“
Here Music Week rounds up some of the other tributes to the late titan of heavy metal.
This story will be updated.
It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) July 22, 2025
We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.
Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and… pic.twitter.com/WLJhOrMsDF
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Man,,, real heart broken over the passing of OZZY OSBOURNE,,, we go way back and it was a real honor to watch him get inducted into the @rockhall last year. Sending my love and prayers to Sharon and his kids and whole family. RIP ???? pic.twitter.com/YVKpAz6FKg
— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) July 22, 2025
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One of the greatest of all time. @OzzyOsbourne R.I.P. ???? pic.twitter.com/LX1E8CLVdx
— Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) July 22, 2025
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We are deeply saddened by the loss of the one and only Ozzy Osbourne, one of rock’s greatest singers, songwriters, and showmen. As a founding member of Black Sabbath, Ozzy was an irrepressible frontman who created in his own brilliant, unpredictable way the very language of heavy… pic.twitter.com/7eI44FwnjP
— Rhino Records (@Rhino_Records) July 22, 2025
I can see through mountains, watch me disappear
— Rough Trade (@RoughTrade) July 22, 2025
I can even touch the sky
Swallowing colours of the sound I hear
One in a gazillion. RIP Ozzy. pic.twitter.com/uIi8SMAWuO
RIP Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary godfather of heavy metal and Black Sabbath frontman who left an indelible mark on music and culture. pic.twitter.com/y8c6dNzing
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) July 22, 2025
To have lived in a time... Rest in peace Ozzy. pic.twitter.com/YT0pChFvYZ
— Zane Lowe (@zanelowe) July 22, 2025
Thank you, @OzzyOsbourne - for the music, the madness, and the memories https://t.co/RGhs6ttJAe
— Michael Rapino (@Michael_Rapino) July 22, 2025
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