During Bill Ward’s July 2026 show on LA Radio Sessions with Mike Stark, the Black Sabbath drummer paid tribute to his longtime bandmate, singer Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away on July 22, 2025.
Bill said: “Ozzy forever. That’s what I wanted to say today. [He is] dearly missed. We’re in the month now, the anniversary, of his passing, and I wanna say his music was just brilliant. Whatever he’s participated in musically, it’s all been brilliant. His voice is eerie. It’s scary. It’s passionate. It can cross all boundaries. It’s timeless.
“I miss the hell out of him,” Bill continued.
“He was one of my best friends. I’ll say just one of my best friends, ’cause my mum was another one of my best friends. My brother was another one of my best friends, but Ozzy was like a brother, and he was one of my best friends.
“If we’d had done this show a few months ago, I’d have been crying my eyeballs out,” Ward admitted. “I think I’m at a place now where I’ll cry after the show, but I’m doing my best to get through the show and not cry so that I can say good things about him. I never wanna let him down, ever. And I love him all the time. I love him every single day. I miss him every single day, and I loved him every day when he was alive, and I love him every day now.”
Ozzy’s death certificate had revealed that he passed away due to a heart attack. The certificate filed in London also said Osbourne suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease.
A private funeral service for Ozzy was held on July 31, 2025 on the 250-acre grounds of the house the legendary Black Sabbath singer and his wife bought in 1993 in Buckinghamshire, England. Only 110 of the singer’s friends and family members attended the service, including his SABBATH bandmates, Robert Trujillo (Metallica),Rob Zombie, Zakk Wylde, Marilyn Manson and Corey Taylor (Slipknot).
