Ozzy Osbourne’s son Jack likens music star’s farewell concert to ‘living wake’

Ozzy Osbourne’s son Jack has said the music star’s farewell concert, which took place weeks before his death, was like a “living wake” as he “got to say goodbye to everyone”.

The heavy metal singer reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates for the Back to the Beginning concert on July 5, 17 days before he died at the age of 76 from a reported heart attack.

Ozzy faced multiple health issues in the years leading up to his death, including a fall in February 2019, and Jack said he knew the benefit gig in Birmingham would be “the last time” he performed.

Asked how his mother Sharon is coping, Jack told US news programme Good Morning America: “She’s okay but she’s not okay… I know she feels the love.”

Speaking about the farewell gig, he added: “Before he (Ozzy) went on stage, I ran back into the dressing room, and I just gave him a big hug.

“I just kissed him. I just said, I was like, ‘Crush it. You’re going to do so good.’ And I was crying.

“I was in the crowd with… there was this area in the crowd and I was with my brother and we both were just crying.

“It wasn’t because of feeling sorry for him. It wasn’t because we were sad for him.

“I think it was because we knew it was the last time. In hindsight, it kind of was a living wake if you think about it. He got to say goodbye to everyone.”

A host of metal and rock performers played at the concert, held at Villa Park, including Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Yungblud and Anthrax, with video messages from celebrities including Jack Black, Ricky Gervais and Dolly Parton.

The music star, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, entered the stage for the final time by rising on his throne through a trap door.

Ozzy and his fellow original Black Sabbath members – Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward – were the last to appear on stage as part of the star-studded line-up

Days after his death, Ozzy’s family joined fans in paying an emotional farewell to the heavy metal star during a procession in Birmingham that saw the hearse carrying his coffin pass the star’s childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston.

The BBC has since released a documentary titled Sharon And Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, which follows the final three years of Ozzy’s life as he and Sharon plan a return to the UK.

Another documentary, Ozzy: No Escape From Now, premieres on Paramount+ on Tuesday and follows the music star in the final years of his life, with clips from the farewell concert and his funeral.