Jack Osbourne has said the final Black Sabbath show became a “living wake” for his late father Ozzy Osbourne.
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The iconic singer played one last show as the frontman of the metal band at the ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert in Birmingham in July, before passing away just 17 days later at the age of 76.
Now, Ozzy’s son Jack has given an interview to Good Morning America in which he spoke about his memories of being present for the final show. “Before he went on stage, I ran back into the dressing room and I just gave him a big hug and I just kissed him and I just said, ‘Crush it, you’re going to do so good’,” he said.
“I was in the crowd and I was with my brother and we both were just crying – it wasn’t because of feeling sorry for him, it wasn’t because we were sad for him, I think it was because we knew it was the last time.”
“In hindsight, it kind of was a living wake, if you think about it. He got to say goodbye to everyone.”
The final stage of Osbourne’s life has been captured in the new BBC documentary Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, which is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer for UK viewers here.
In poignant scenes at the end of the doc, Ozzy reflects on the experience of playing in front of 44,000 people for one final time. “The only thing I really got… what was terribly frustrating for me, I had to sit there instead of running across the stage,” he said. “That was fucking torture, because I wanted to get off that [chair] so much.”
He continued: “It was very humbling, to sit in that chair for nine songs. What a great way to go out, that gig was.”
At ‘Back To The Beginning’, the singer sat on a giant winged throne on stage, playing a solo set first before being joined by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, with the original Sabbath line-up playing together for the first time since 2005.
It was Osbourne’s first full gig since 2018, and he had undergone multiple surgeries during the following years and had experienced numerous health problems, including Parkinson’s disease.
His wife Sharon recently revealed that in the event that Ozzy was unable to sing at the show, he would simply have talked to the crowd and thanked them for their support.
Last month, Sharon thanked fans for their “overwhelming love and support” and said she was “still finding my footing” following her husband’s passing. Ozzy’s son Jack had previously shared a “personal note” about his father in a video on his YouTube channel, while Kelly explained how she had found her “smile again” amid the “sadness and grief”.
Another forthcoming new documentary, No Escape From Now, will detail the Prince Of Darkness’ final six years. Watch the trailer above.
The artist’s death certificate confirmed his cause of death to be a heart attack, while also mentioning that he was suffering from coronary heart disease and Parkinson’s. The document listed his occupation as “Songwriter, Performer and Rock Legend”.
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