Birmingham, UK – Tributes continued to pour in on Wednesday for hell-raiser Ozzy Osbourne as tearful fans laid flowers in his hometown and his Black Sabbath bandmates mourned the death of their legendary heavy metal frontman.
Osbourne, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness who famously once bit off the head of a bat while on stage, died on Tuesday at the age of 76, his family said.
The star, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, passed away just over a fortnight after playing a final gig before a sold-out crowd in his home city of Birmingham, England.
On July 5, Black Sabbath rattled through their most iconic songs in front of 40,000 adoring fans at Villa Park, home of Premier League soccer club Aston Villa.
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Fans laid floral tributes in memory of the singer at a mural honoring the band.
“There are no words, truly. Thank you for everything, for all the music,” read one.
“Even recently at your last gig you brought us so much happiness, it’s unreal,” said another.
Original bandmates led the tributes on social media, with guitarist Tony Iommi saying, “there won’t be another like him,” and bassist Geezer Butler adding “so glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.”
Drummer Bill Ward said Osbourne would forever be in his heart and signed off his post with “Never goodbye. Thank you forever”.
Band co-founder Iommi said Osbourne’s death so soon after the well-received musical reunion – their first in 20 years – had been a “terrible shock.”
The concert had been “brilliant for Ozzy because he really wanted to do that, you know, he felt at home there (in Birmingham) and it was really good for him,” he told BBC radio. “It was good for all of us… we didn’t realize it was going to be this final.”
Among those paying tribute – which included Elton John and Alice Cooper – was the Alamo in Texas, where Osbourne infamously urinated on the Cenotaph raised in honor of those who fell in the 1836 battle between Texan and Mexican troops.
“We at the Alamo are saddened to hear of the passing of legendary musician Ozzy Osbourne. His relationship with the Alamo was marked initially by a deeply disrespectful incident in 1982,” the organization managing the site posted on social media. “However, redemption and reconciliation eventually became part of his history as well.”
Osbourne was arrested and barred for years from performing in San Antonio, but a decade later, he personally apologized to the then-mayor “and expressed genuine remorse for his actions,” including donating $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
In 2015, he revisited the Alamo grounds “to learn and appreciate the site’s history,” said the institution, which added that Osbourne “openly demonstrated humility and understanding.”
