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In the early years of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne thought his time with the band would be relatively limited. He wasn’t predicting his eventual firing; instead, he thought he would die before he reached middle age. When the band discussed which member they thought would die first, Osbourne answered with certainty that it would be him.
Ozzy Osbourne thought he’d die young
After three years in Black Sabbath, the band said their experience as a group had changed. At first, they liked to travel, play music, and party. As they got more successful, they had to be more careful because of the increased amount of attention on them. Osbourne said his goal in 1971 was to make as much money as he could before death.
“It’s more a money thing now,” Osbourne told Rolling Stone in 1971. “I’m going to make as much money as I can then shoot myself.”
When bass guitarist Geezer Butler wondered aloud which of them would die first, Osbourne said it would be him.
“Oh, it will be me, definitely,” he said. “I’ll die before I’m 40.”
Osbourne lived long past 40, but he is the first member of Black Sabbath to die. The rest of the band is still alive.
Ozzy Osbourne credited Sharon Osbourne with keeping him alive
In 1982, Osbourne married his manager, Sharon Arden. They remained together until his death this summer. He credits their relationship with keeping him alive.
“It’s true to say that if it wasn’t for Sharon, I wouldn’t be here. Yeah, I’d be dead,” he told GQ in 2004. “She has helped make me the man I am today. Through tough love and pushing me.”
He said she inspired him to get sober when she had cancer. While she had chemotherapy treatments, Osbourne said he locked himself in his room to “drink a case of Corona and smoke a load of pot.” When she came home and found him like that, she’d leave.
“It forced me to have a really good look at myself,” he said. “Call it a moment of clarity. Something inside me went, ‘Thank God.’ I was tired of tiptoeing around the house, hiding s*** and forgetting where I’d hidden it. You become like a f***ing creep of the night. I still have a sleep disorder for which I take medication, but I am working through the 12-step programme right now.”
He continued to grapple with his sobriety over the years.
He died in 2025
On July 22, Osbourne’s family announced his death.
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” the family said in a statement. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family’s privacy at this time.”
Sharon and four of his children, Jack, Kelly, Aimee, and Louis, signed the statement. Osbourne was 76.
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
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