Tony Iommi recently reflected on Ozzy Osbourne’s passing, calling it a shocking and surreal moment, especially since they had texted just the day before. He shared that Ozzy hadn’t looked well during Black Sabbath’s farewell show rehearsals and believes Ozzy held on just long enough to perform one final time and say goodbye to the fans before passing away.
He said, “Yeah, it was a shock for us [to find out that Ozzy had died]. I mean, when I heard yesterday, it couldn’t sink in. I thought, ‘It can’t be.’ I only had a text from him the day before. It just seemed unreal, surreal. And it really didn’t sink in. And in the night I started thinking about it: ‘God, am I dreaming all this?’ But as I said before, he’s not looked well through the rehearsals. And I think he really just held out to do that show. I really feel, and me and Geezer were talking about it last night, that we think he held out to do it, and just after that, he’s done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really.”
Tony Iommi recalled Ozzy Osbourne’s final moments after their farewell show, sharing how Ozzy visited his bandmates in a wheelchair to say goodbye. Despite his health struggles, Ozzy seemed pleased with the performance, though he had texted Tony the day before saying he was exhausted and lacked energy.
Iommi explained they limited Ozzy’s rehearsal time due to his condition. The show was a final farewell for both Ozzy and Black Sabbath, marking the band’s official end, and it was special to have drummer Bill Ward rejoin them after 20 years.
And he seemed all right. He enjoyed it. And he said, ‘Oh, it went all right, didn’t it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it did.’ But as I say, when I had the text off him the day before yesterday saying he’s tired and he’s really got no energy. And I thought, ‘Oh, dear.’ ‘Cause it’s a lot for him to do that under the problems he’s got. And we could see it in rehearsal. We didn’t want him there every day at rehearsal, because it’s too much. He just wouldn’t be able to stand it. So they’d bring him in and he’d sit down and sing a few songs, and then we’d talk about some rubbish old times or whatever, have a laugh, and then he’d go. And that’s sort of what we did, really. But the gig was for him [to say goodbye], really, and for us to say goodbye, ’cause also Sabbath saying goodbye; it was the end of the band, and we’ll never do that again. And to have Bill with us as well after all these years, after 20 years of not playing with Bill. I can’t believe it’s 20 years, to be honest.”
