Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Bill Ward paid heartfelt tribute to their late bandmate Ozzy Osbourne on the first anniversary of his passing.
Iommi opened his tribute by reflecting on the disbelief that still surrounds Ozzy’s absence. He also spoke about the comfort he finds in revisiting memories of his longtime friend and bandmate.
“Hi everyone. Well, it’s now a year since Ozzy’s passing and I still can’t believe that he’s not with us,” Iommi said. “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.”
Iommi went on to express gratitude for the outpouring of love from fans. He also reflected on the significance of their final performance together.
“The fans have been absolutely brilliant and the love and respect that they have shown for him has just been amazing,” he continued. “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.”
Bill Ward also offered a brief but deeply felt message alongside his wife Jackie: “Every day, there is a persistent silence. We miss you so much. Respectfully, with love to the Osbourne Family, Bill and Jackie Ward Family.”
The tributes mark one year since Ozzy Osbourne’s death on July 22nd. Both founding members of Black Sabbath honored his memory publicly on the occasion.
Osbourne was 76 years old at the time of his death. He suffered a heart attack at his family home near Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire, England. His death certificate listed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and acute myocardial infarction as the immediate causes of death. Contributing factors included coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction. Osbourne had been living with a Parkinson’s diagnosis since 2019, a battle that significantly affected his health in his final years.
Iommi’s reference to the two friends regularly discussing their “ailments” takes on added meaning in that context. The bond between the Black Sabbath co-founders ran deep, forged over more than five decades of music. Their near-weekly conversations reflected a friendship that endured long after the band’s most active years.
The Back To The Beginning concert in Birmingham served as a powerful closing chapter for one of rock’s most iconic bands. Osbourne passed away just weeks after the show. That he was able to take the stage in his hometown one last time remains a moment of significance for fans and bandmates alike — a farewell that, in hindsight, carried far more weight than anyone could have anticipated.
