Ozzy Osbourne’s Final Farewell

It was the farewell show that raised millions for charity and granted Ozzy Osbourne – the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness – his final bow.But despite returning to his hometown and reuniting with the original Black Sabbath line-up for the first time in 20 years, the swansong was tinged with sadness. 

The notorious hellraiser, 76, was forced to perform seated on a bat throne – a compromise his wife Sharon Osbourne reached after a lengthy behind-the-scenes battle with insurers ahead of the Back To The Beginning benefit on July 5, just two weeks before he died.

The sold-out concert, which was held in Ozzy’s native Birmingham and raised £140 million ($190 million) for charity, could have been axed had it not been for Sharon’s determination to grant her husband’s wish.

Thankfully, Sharon, 72, managed to work out a resolution, but it is understood to have upset Ozzy, because he had trained relentlessly for months to be able to stand on stage and perform with his old bandmates.

“It’s likely the show would have been cancelled had he not appeared on a throne,” an insider said.

Sharon and her promoters were dealing with the insurance company, who were holding back on covering the costs of the show – if he tried to walk or stand. The payout for a fall would have been astronomical and pretty much uninsurable.

Also, Ozzy could not complete the “standard medical” that all pop stars go through before being insured on massive tours.

With the Parkinson’s and the walking issues, no insurance agent would agree to let Oz stand. So, to overcome that – and not have a huge insurance premium on a charity show – Sharon secured an unusual deal to have him sit in his throne.

Ozzy was “constantly in training seven days a week” ahead of the show at Villa Park, and had a live-in trainer monitoring his blood pressure 15 times a day and telling him to wear a finger pulse oximeter to check his blood oxygen levels and pulse.

“I have got this guy who’s virtually living with me and I am in bed by seven,” Ozzy told Sirius XM in May. “I used to have to take a handful of f***ing sleeping pills. Now I don’t take anything.

I am having my blood pressure taken 15 times a day. I’ve got this f***ing device on my finger. It’s a monitor to say how my heart rate is.”

He returned to the UK in March where he prepared for his last hurrah at a dedicated rehab wing at his Grade II listed country home in Buckinghamshire, kitted out with a spa pool, a dedicated health and wellness suite, and a wet room.

“It was a really f***ing tough thing that Sharon pulled off, because of the liability issues,” an insider told the Daily Mail.

“Ozzy had spent months working his backside off to get up and stand on stage,” the insider said. “He pushed himself hard in the toughest of circumstances given his injuries and pain levels.”

There was a trainer practically living in the house with the express purpose of getting him ready to move in some capacity standing up on stage. That was his dream and hope.

It drove Ozzy in the last few months because he wanted to go out showing off some of that physicality. He was grateful to be out there but tinged with disappointment at being sat down.

The Crazy Train singer had long been blighted by physical maladies before his death on Tuesday.

He broke his collarbone and six ribs after a quad bike accident in 2003. He later dislodged the rods put in place to hold his back together when he suffered a fall in his bathroom in 2019. That same year, he went public with his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

Ozzy was last seen walking slowly inside and outside of the Comic Con Midlands at Birmingham’s NEC. He had a walking stick but moved slowly unaided as wife Sharon and son Jack were seen by members of the public with him.

His Final Moments

Ozzy’s death shocked the world on Tuesday, with his family announcing the devastating news in a joint statement.

“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” it read. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.”

Sources close to the family say that his death was “unexpected to be this soon.”

Ozzy is survived by his six children: Jessica, Louis, and his adopted son Elliot (from his first marriage to Thelma Riley), and Aimee, Kelly, and Jack (from his marriage to Sharon).

The couple had recently celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary on July 4.

The Mail revealed that daughters Aimee, 41, and Kelly, 40, were there to care for him as recently as last week after flying in from Los Angeles. Son Jack, 39, had also flown in from Idaho to watch his beloved father at his last concert.

Ozzy was gearing up for the release of his autobiography, Last Rites, set for release in October. He had also been filming a documentary for the BBC about his move back to the UK, which had been delayed due to his ailing health.