Black Sabbath guitarist Tommy Iommi has spoken about the last conversation he had with Ozzy Osbourne before the rock legend died at the age of 76.
The famous band reunited for one final gig earlier this month in which Ozzy performed while seated on a black throne adorned with the figure of a giant bat.
He'd made it clear it was the last time he was going to perform, with a crowd of over 40,000 people in Villa Park and millions watching along on a livestream bearing witness to Black Sabbath's swansong.
A little over two weeks later, Ozzy's family announced he had died 'surrounded by love' at the age of 76, resulting in tributes pouring in from all over the world of music.
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Tommy Iommi told ITV that Ozzy's death had come as a shock to him and that his Black Sabbath bandmate had texted him the day before he died.
"When I had the text off him the day before yesterday saying he’s tired and he’s really got no energy. And I thought, ‘Oh, dear – because it’s a lot for him to do that under the problems he’s got'," Tommy said, explaining that they could see in rehearsals for their final show that Ozzy was getting tired quickly.
"So they’d bring him in and he’d sit down and sing a few songs, and then we’d talk about some rubbish old times or whatever, have a laugh, and then he’d go. And that’s sort of what we did, really."
The rockstar also recounted his last in-person conversation with Ozzy as well, saying that after the Back to the Beginning gig they had a bit of a chat.
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He said: "He came around before he was leaving on a wheelchair that brought him in to say goodbye and have a little chat for a bit, and he seemed alright.
"He enjoyed it. And he said, ‘Oh, it went all right, didn’t it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it did.’"
The Black Sabbath guitarist said he could tell during the concert that Ozzy 'was trying to get up' out of his throne, adding that being on stage one final time 'meant everything' to his bandmate, who had emotionally thanked fans.
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Iommi said when he first got the news of Ozzy's death it felt 'unreal' given he'd so recently had a message from him but said Osbourne had 'not looked well through the rehearsals'.
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He suggested that the legendary rockstar had 'really just held out to do that show', with Ozzy having previously vowed to get back on stage again one final time.
He said: "I really feel – and me and Geezer [Butler] were talking about it last night – that we think he held out to do it, and just after that, he’s done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really.
"I think he must have had something in his head that said, ‘Well, this is gonna be it, the last thing I’m ever gonna do.’ Whether he thought he was gonna die or what, I don’t know.
"But he really wanted to do it, and he was determined to do it. And fair dues, he’d done it."
Thanks to the concert Black Sabbath raised around £140 million for Birmingham Children's Hospital, Acorns Children's Hospice and Cure Parkinson's.
Topics: Ozzy Osbourne, Celebrity, Music
Joe Harker