Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has reflected on the death of his longtime bandmate Ozzy Osbourne and admitted that losing his friend has forced him to think about his own mortality, in an interview with Telegraph.
Iommi and Osbourne worked together in Black Sabbath for six decades. The guitarist spoke about how the loss of his friend has affected him personally.
“It does [remind me of my own mortality]. A lot. I’ve had a few friends go now, and you think: Blimey, hang on, I’m 78, how much longer? You do,” Iommi said. “[Queen guitarist] Brian May and myself have this conversation. He’s more dismal than me. Bloody hell.”
Iommi described the last time he spoke with Osbourne before his death.
“Ozzy said, ‘I’m really tired. I’m absolutely shattered. I said, ‘Well, it’s been a tough few weeks. You’re bound to be.’ He went, ‘Yeah, I’ll try to do that.’ And that was it. Then I heard the next day that he’d gone. And that was… weird.”
The guitarist added one final reflection on their long partnership.
“He was a part of my life for 60 years. I do miss him.”
Iommi made these remarks as he discussed the impact Osbourne’s passing has had on him. The loss has prompted the musician to confront deeper questions about life and time.
The connection between Iommi and Osbourne stretched back to the formation of Black Sabbath in Birmingham in 1968, when they joined forces with bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. Through decades of lineup changes and reunions, Iommi remained the only constant presence in the band. Osbourne rejoined Black Sabbath from 1997 to 2005, and again in 2012, singing on the band’s final studio album, 13, released in 2013, before embarking on a farewell tour that ended in 2017.
Osbourne died on July 22, 2025, at age 76, just 17 days after his final performance at the Back to the Beginning benefit concert in Birmingham on July 5, 2025. This historic show marked the first time since 2005 that the original Black Sabbath lineup had performed together live, with Osbourne singing while seated on a throne due to his advanced Parkinson’s disease, which had been diagnosed in 2019.
Iommi himself has faced serious health struggles throughout his career. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in early 2012, and Osbourne played a role in helping him discover the illness when he observed that Iommi had lost significant weight and urged him to get checked out while they were working on their album 13. The diagnosis eventually led to the end of Black Sabbath’s touring activities, with the band finishing The End tour in Birmingham in February 2017 because Iommi could no longer travel for extended periods.
The partnership between the two musicians helped define heavy metal for generations of fans. Osbourne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024, cementing the legacy of the pioneering band that shaped the genre.
