I heard late last night that the legendary Ozzy Osbourne had sadly passed away. The Black Sabbath frontman had been ill for some time, so this wasn't a huge surprise, but was still upsetting. Ozzy was a larger than life character, as famous for his offstage antics, hell-raising reputation and reality TV show as for his rock 'n' roll performances. He was, however, a fine singer, a charismatic frontman and an iconic figure in rock.
Sabbath themselves were, of course, hugely influential and credited by many as the creators of the Heavy Metal genre. Ozzy left Sabbath for a while and had a very successful solo career, especially in America where they took the self-styled Prince Of Darkness to their hearts... when he wasn't causing controversy by biting the heads off live bats and suchlike. Allegedly. 
Sabbath recently played a huge, final gig in their hometown of Birmingham, supported by the likes of Metallica and Slayer - bands who owed a massive debt to Sabbath and Ozzy - and raised £140 million for local hospitals and for Parkinson's research. What a fitting, selfless end to the career of an iconic, irreplaceable character.
RIP John Michael ( "Ozzy" ) Osbourne ( 3rd December 1948 - 22 July 2025 )
3 comments:
I was never a big metal fan but I still recall hearing Paranoid for the first time as a 10 year old in 1970 and thinking it was so different. Even today it sounds fresh. Seemingly Ozzy was a pretty decent guy very unlike his image. Another great rock character gone, very sad
I can't imagine what it must have been like to hear Paranoid in 1970 ( but, then I was only 3, lol ). Most "heavy" music was still blues-based back then and that song must have sounded like it came from outer space.
I had a brief metal phase in my teens and have only dipped in and out of the genre since... but the recent Sabbath gig inspired me to dig some of their stuff out, and I've really liked it. Of course, it's more poignant listening now that Ozzy has gone.
I can't recall if I heard that song on ToTPs or if my older brother had this in one of his K--tel or Ronco compilation LP regardless it made it's mark in my memory Simon .
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