Mammoth WVH delivered a heartfelt tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a moving cover of “Mama, I’m Coming Home” during their concert in Hartford on Tuesday, just hours after the news broke of the heavy metal icon’s death.
Wolfgang Van Halen addressed the audience with raw emotion before the performance (as per Rolling Stone), stating, “That fucking sucks that we’re in a world that doesn’t have Ozzy Osbourne anymore.” The frontman then led the crowd in an “Ozzy” chant before explaining the spontaneous tribute.
“It was right before soundcheck that we found out [about Osbourne’s death],” Van Halen told the audience. “I said we have to do something, because just mentioning it isn’t enough. We’ve played through this like three times so please bear with us and sing the fuck along with us.”
Despite minimal rehearsal time, the band launched into their rendition of the classic track from Osbourne’s 1991 album No More Tears.
Earlier that day, Van Halen had shared his grief on social media, posting a photo of himself with Osbourne alongside the caption, “Legend. Thank you for everything, Oz.” In a separate post, he shared a touching image of his late father, Eddie Van Halen, embracing the Black Sabbath singer.
The tribute holds additional significance as Wolfgang Van Halen was originally scheduled to participate in Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham, England, on July 5th. However, he was forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts with Mammoth WVH’s current tour with Creed.
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“The tour starts the day after, and I [wouldn’t] be able to pull it off, unfortunately,” Van Halen had explained at the time. “I’m very excited to watch it, but I, unfortunately had to back out.”
Mammoth WVH joins a growing list of artists paying tribute to Osbourne following his passing. At separate concerts on the same day, both Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band honoured the Prince of Darkness with covers of Black Sabbath’s “Changes”, while Lady Gaga incorporated Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” into her performance at Tuesday’s Mayhem Ball in San Francisco.
