Ghost have dedicated their sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in New York to Black Sabbath icon Ozzy Osbourne, who has died.
It was announced on Tuesday (July 22) that the iconic singer had died at the age of 76, with his family saying he was “surrounded by love”.
The timing of the news has been particularly impactful given that it was less than three weeks ago that Osbourne headlined the giant ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert at Villa Park in Birmingham.
On July 5, Osbourne played alongside guitarist Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005, with the band performing a four-song set that concluded with Osbourne telling the crowd: “Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts”.
Ozzy Osbourne at Black Sabbath’s ‘Back To The Beginning’ in Birmingham. Credit: Ross Halfin
Following the devastating news of Ozzy’s passing, Ghost played a sold-out headlining gig at the iconic Madison Square Garden. Seven songs into the set, frontman Tobias Forge – aka Papa Perpetua – took a moment to recognise Ozzy’s impact and dedicated the night to the Price of Darkness.
Before playing ‘The Future Is A Foreign Place’, Forge said: “Good evening, New York City! How are you? It’s one of those days now. We’re going to dedicate tonight’s show to the memory of the life and laughter of Ozzy Osbourne.”
The crowd then erupted into cheers of “Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!” before Forge continued: “For being the Prince of Darkness, he sure gave us a lot of light. So we’re going to tap into that and carry it forward, through a time of darkness.”
Watch Ghost dedicate their set to Ozzy Osbourne below.
Ozzy’s passing comes less than three weeks after his final-ever show, both as a solo artist, as well as with the legendary Black Sabbath. During the day-long ‘Back To The Beginning’ celebration, acts like Metallica, Pantera, Slayer and more all paid tribute to Ozzy and Sabbath, playing covers of the founding metal band’s hits.
Forge also performed at the ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert, playing Ozzy’s hit ‘Bark At The Moon’. Ahead of the show, Forge spoke to NME about Ghost’s new album ‘Skeletá’, and about the “tremendous influence” of Ozzy and Black Sabbath.
While appearing as a guest on NME‘s In Conversation series, Forge explained of Black Sabbath and Ozzy’s impact: “Ozzy as a frontman and Ozzy as a solo artist is something I put a divide between, because I grew up in the ‘80s where he was much more of a rockstar than Black Sabbath were. I gravitated towards that, but I also grew up listening to the old Black Sabbath records.
“Nowadays, I love most Black Sabbath releases. Even the ‘80s and ‘90s albums, I love them for what they are, and the Dio era also has a very special place in my heart, too. ‘Vol. 4’, ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ and ‘Sabotage’ have been absolute milestones for me for as long as I’ve been writing music. They’ve been very influential, even though it might not be super evident. I’ve always listened to them, and I’ve always been inspired by them.”
Check out NME‘s full chat with Ghost’s Tobias Forge below.
Since Ozzy’s passing, his Black Sabbath bandmates have all issued individual tributes. Guitarist Tony Iommi wrote: “I just can’t believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park. It’s just such heartbreaking news that I can’t really find the words, there won’t ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother. My thoughts go out to Sharon and all the Osbourne family. Rest in peace Oz.”
Drummer Bill Ward wrote: “Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart. Deepest condolences to Sharon and all family members. RIP Sincere regrets to all the fans. Never goodbye. Thank you forever.”
Bassist Geezer Butler added: “Goodbye dear friend – thanks for all those years – we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston- who’d have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.”
Ozzy Osbourne at ‘Back To The Beginning’. CREDIT: Ross Halfin
During the ‘Back To The Beginning’ show on July 5, Ozzy Osbourne performed two short sets: one of his solo material, and the second with Black Sabbath. For his solo set, Ozzy played ‘I Don’t Know’, ‘Mr. Crowley’, ‘Suicide Solution’, ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home’ and ‘Crazy Train’. With Black Sabbath, he performed ‘War Pigs’, ‘Iron Man’, ‘N.I.B.’ and ‘Paranoid’.
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