When Ozzy Osbourne appeared on stage earlier this month, for what would be his final ever show, it marked the most majestic of rock ‘n’ roll send-offs for the Prince of Darkness.
‘I don’t know what to say, man, I’ve been laid up for like six years,’ the emotional musician told the 42,000 fans gathered at Villa Park in Birmingham, as he sat on a winged, black throne. ‘You have no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
It was a poignant farewell from the Black Sabbath frontman, who died on Tuesday at the age of 76. All the more poignant because, as the Daily Mail can reveal, his health issues were so serious loved ones feared he wouldn’t even survive the concert.
As well as Parkinson’s disease, which Ozzy was diagnosed with in 2019, he also had problems with his back, neck, neuropathy – pain or numbness caused by nerve damage – and even his internal organs.
‘He was in so much pain, he had some very bad days,’ a heartbroken friend told the Mail through tears yesterday. ‘He knew for a while that he was on borrowed time really. He was so ill that, in that rock and roll tradition, he could have died on stage.’
Instead, he passed away 17 days later, at Welders House, the beautiful Buckinghamshire estate he and wife Sharon bought for an undisclosed sum in 1993, with four of his children – Louis, Aimee, Jack and Kelly – by his side.
Sharon – who has been vocal about her life-long struggle with her body image – lost more than four stone after she started using the injection at the beginning of 2023 but has struggled to regain a healthy weight since coming off it later that year
Friends believe heartbroken Sharon may now bury Ozzy in the gardens of the 350-acre estate in an intimate family funeral, as she is ‘too frail’ to go through a larger, public service.
Doctors had previously warned that Birmingham-born Ozzy was not well enough to travel back to the UK from Los Angeles, where he and Sharon had lived for around 30 years.
In the end Ozzy, who had been relying on a wheelchair since February, made it back to Buckinghamshire only last month and spent his time ‘training’ so that he would be well enough to perform five songs at Black Sabbath’s farewell show.
Describing his final days, my insider says: ‘There was no infection that we knew of. We all knew that he was going. In the end, he died peacefully at home with all the family with him.
‘It’s a lovely house and Sharon wanted to bring him back from LA. I don’t know if she will feel strong enough to have a big memorial for all the people who want to say goodbye to him. We think she may want to bury him privately at home, in the garden.’
This is what Sandra Cash, the widow of rock guitarist Jeff Beck, did for her husband when he died suddenly of bacterial meningitis in January 2023.
Sharon met Ozzy in 1970 when she was 18 and they married in 1982. After years of him cheating on her, they renewed their wedding vows in 2017
But while plans for Ozzy’s funeral are going ahead, those close to the family say they now fear for 72-year-old Sharon.
She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002 and had surgery and chemotherapy after it was found to have spread.
More recently, however, the yo-yo dieter and former bulimic has suffered some health issues after being prescribed the weight-loss drug Ozempic.
Sharon – who has been vocal about her life-long struggle with her body image – lost more than four stone after she started using the injection at the beginning of 2023 but has struggled to regain a healthy weight since coming off it later that year.
There are now genuine concerns that losing her soulmate will have a serious effect on her mental and physical health.
A friend says: ‘Sharon is very, very fragile. She is so thin. She is not well. We are all terrified for her health at this point.
‘This is the heaviest blow. Ozzy was her life. The whole point of her life was him. They were each other’s best friend. We don’t know what she will do or how she will cope.’
As they celebrated 40 years of married life in 2022, Sharon said: ‘Over 52 years we have been friends, lovers, husband and wife, grandparents and soulmates. Always at each other’s side. I love you Ozzy’
Friends believe heartbroken Sharon may now bury Ozzy in the gardens of the 350-acre Buckinghamshire estate in an intimate family funeral, as she is ‘too frail’ to go through a larger, public service
The couple met in 1970 when she was 18 and he was married to his first wife Thelma, with whom he had two children, Louis and Jessica.
Their turbulent love story has shaped her life.
Sharon was the daughter of Ozzy’s manager, the monstrous Don Arden.
They married in 1982 and went on to have three children – Aimee, Jack and Kelly. Sharon masterminded his solo career, their reality TV show The Osbournes, and their vastly successful music festival, Ozzfest.
In 1989, Ozzy was arrested for attempted murder after he downed four bottles of vodka and tried to strangle her, telling Sharon: ‘We’ve come to a decision that you’ve got to die.’
Sharon later said of the incident: ‘It was probably the most frightened I’ve ever been, but he went to rehab eventually.’ She added with a shrug: ‘These things happen.’
They separated in 2016, after it came to light that Ozzy had cheated on her with multiple women including his hair stylist – leaving Sharon devastated.
‘He always, always had groupies and I was so used to that. But when he knows the name of the person, where they live and where they work… it is a whole different thing as you are emotionally invested,’ Sharon revealed in an interview.
As well as Parkinson’s disease, Ozzy also had problems with his back, neck, neuropathy – pain or numbness caused by nerve damage – and even his internal organs, and had been relying on a wheelchair since February
‘I took, I don’t know how many pills. I just thought, “My kids are older, they are fine and can take care of themselves”. So I took an overdose and locked myself in the bedroom. The maid tried to come in to clean the room and saw me.’
In a separate interview, she said Ozzy had cheated on her with multiple women throughout their relationship, including ‘some Russian teenager, then a masseuse in England, our masseuse out here, and then our cook’.
She added: ‘He had women in different countries. Basically, if you’re a woman giving Ozzy either a back rub or a trolley of food, God help you.’
But she publicly forgave him during an appearance on US chat show The Talk later that year, describing him as a ‘romantic fool’.
‘It’s going to take a long time to trust, but we’ve been together 36 years – 34 of marriage… I just can’t think of my life without him,’ she said.
Sharon masterminded Ozzy’s solo career, their reality TV show The Osbournes, which also featured their children Kelly and Jack, and their vastly successful music festival, Ozzfest
‘He feels that he owes everyone here an apology, because he’s put us all through it. He’s very embarrassed and ashamed about his conduct.’
They went on to renew their wedding vows in 2017, with Ozzy telling GQ Magazine: ‘I’ve done some pretty outrageous things in my life. I regret cheating on my wife. I don’t do it anymore. I got my reality check and I’m lucky she didn’t leave me. I’m not proud of that. I was pissed off with myself. But I broke her heart.’
And they celebrated 40 years of married life in 2022 with Sharon saying: ‘We first met when I was 18. Over 52 years we have been friends, lovers, husband and wife, grandparents and soulmates. Always at each other’s side. I love you Ozzy.’
Last year, Ozzy said: ‘Sharon is like my soulmate — sometimes I love her, sometimes I don’t love her, sometimes I’m angry with her, sometimes I’m crazy about her, sometimes I’m very jealous of her, sometimes I wanna f***ng kill her.
‘But through it all, at the end of the day, I love her more than anything in the world. Put it this way: I couldn’t live without her. I don’t wanna live without her.’
The fear now is that Sharon feels exactly the same way about him.
