A couple of weeks earlier than Ozzy Osbourne sadly handed away, he handled his longtime followers to one of many largest moments of the 2025 TV schedule: a live-streamed closing live performance and reunion along with his former Black Sabbath bandmates. The vibe of the live performance felt even heavier after his passing, particularly because it was the final time bassist Terence “Geezer” Butler obtained to see his outdated good friend. Now, Geezer is opening up about how worn out Ozzy appeared in the course of the lead-up to that closing efficiency.
In an article for the LA Occasions, Butler reported that rehearsals for the ultimate present started a month earlier at a studio within the Oxfordshire countryside. For the reason that band hadn’t performed collectively in 20 years, it took them just a few days to shake off the rust. When Ozzy joined the group, they have been stunned to seek out that he was way more “exhausted” than they’d anticipated. He writes:
I knew he wasn’t in good well being, however I wasn’t ready to see how frail he was. He was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was utilizing a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and valuable stones.
Butler identified that his good friend and fellow musician was a “born entertainer” who would “do something for fun,” however he wasn’t fairly the identical man his mates remembered throughout rehearsals. The Ozz Man’s lifelong good friend and fellow musician added:
He didn’t actually say a lot past the same old greetings and when he sang, he sat in a chair. We ran via the songs however we may see it was exhausting him after six or seven songs. We had a little bit of a chat, however he was actually quiet in contrast with the Ozzy of outdated.
At 76 years outdated and battling parkinsons illness for a number of years, exhaustion was to be anticipated. Nonetheless, as drained as The Godfather of Heavy Metallic could have appeared throughout rehearsals, he rallied for the present, giving his longtime followers considered one of his highest performances.
Jason Momoa hosted the 10-hour marathon of a livestream, mixing parts of a rock live performance with a surreal expertise. The lineup featured a formidable array of stars, together with Metallica, Weapons N’ Roses, Jack Black, and Steven Tyler.
Even after stepping away from the stage lights and relentless touring grind, Ozzy Osbourne wasn’t about to fade quietly into rock ‘n’ roll retirement. The Mad Man nonetheless had loads of fireplace in his stomach. Living proof: in a 2023 interview, he didn’t mince phrases when calling out the media for sensationalizing his well being issues, dropping just a few alternative expletives that reminded everybody he is nonetheless The Wizard of Ozz, unfiltered and unapologetic.
The previous Black Sabbath frontman’s unpredictable spirit wasn’t simply restricted to interviews, both. Osbourne delighted in exhibiting up the place you least anticipated him, like lending his voice to the Trolls: World Tour solid roster because the gravel-throated King Thrash, proving he may nonetheless convey the heavy even in animated type.
Then in 2024, he confirmed these sharp edges hadn’t dulled, publicly clapping again at Kanye West for sampling his music with out permission. And if anybody nonetheless questioned whether or not he was all in till the very finish, he silenced the doubters with the discharge of his hauntingly defiant video for “Crack Cocaine,” which dropped this previous January. Even because the curtain slowly lowered, Ozzy was making noise—his manner.
Regardless of the fanfare and spectacle of the reside farewell present, there was an unmistakable undercurrent of actual finality—one which wasn’t misplaced on Geezer. Watching the “Loopy Practice” performer summon each final ounce of energy to belt out the songs they constructed their legacy on, I’m positive, crammed the bassist with a way of pleasure and heartbreak. God is aware of, for followers, watching the legendary rocker carry out “Mama I’m Coming House” one closing time (you possibly can watch beneath) with tears in his eyes, won’t ever not cease hitting me within the feels.
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Ozzy Osbourne is survived by his spouse Sharon, daughters Kelly and Aimee, and son Jack, together with daughter Jessica and sons Elliot and Louis from his first marriage to Thelma Riley.