Ozzy Osbourne was given a cake by Black Sabbath at the end of his last show.
Many fans feared Ozzy’s bandmates had abandoned him, as the final image on stream was them leaving Ozzy onstage alone. They never will. They wanted to give him a moment to soak it all in before honoring him. ❤️
Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee is certainly one of five hard-rock luminaries who spoke to The New York Times regarding Ozzy Osbourne’s career and impact ahead of the Black Sabbath’s final show, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 5th at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Lee said:
“Ozzy is a real big reason why we’re still here. I can’t emphasize enough how generous he was when we toured together in the early ’80s. Usually headliners reserve a bunch of lights and give openers a fraction of the PA system, so the opening band isn’t as loud as the headlining act. Ozzy was, like, ‘You can have all the lights, have all the sound, have a [expletive] blast.’ And that really moved me. I never really experienced that sort of generosity and equality that he wanted for everybody.
“He has this sort of signature move,” Tommy continued.
“He kind of jumps in one place and claps. There’s an evil smirk on his face as he’s doing it, but I think the evil smirk is happiness because the place is going bananas. It’s letting the audience know that you are enjoying it just as much or more than they are. That’s connecting with people. That connection’s important, man. Otherwise, you’re just kind of doing it for yourself.
“I remember when [Ozzy’s family reality TV show] ‘The Osbournes’ first came out, I was, like, ‘Holy [expletive], this is cool. This is letting people into his crazy train!'” Lee added. “That’s when reality television was blowing up, and I think a lot of people, and especially young people that were watching that show, probably had no clue he was in Black Sabbath by then. The guy just keeps coming back and — not reinventing himself, but finding other ways to get to people and have fun on and off the stage.”
