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 )
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