Geezer Butler has shared a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne following the legendary frontman’s death last week, offering details about their 57-year friendship and final performance together.
The Black Sabbath bassist penned a moving tribute in The London Times, describing their bond as an “invisible link” whilst reflecting on their emotional final show on July 5th, as per Rolling Stone.
“To me, Ozzy wasn’t the Prince of Darkness — if anything, he was the Prince of Laughter,” Butler wrote in his tribute. “He’d do anything for a laugh, a born entertainer.” The musician’s reflections paint a picture of Osbourne that contrasts sharply with his public persona, revealing the man behind the mythology that defined heavy metal for decades.
Butler’s tribute detailed the stark reality of Osbourne’s condition during their final rehearsals. The bassist described how Osbourne was “helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones.” After just six or seven songs, it became clear that rehearsing “was exhausting him”, even whilst seated.
“I knew he wasn’t in good health, but I wasn’t prepared to see how frail he was,” Butler admitted. “He was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old.”
The tribute also journeyed back to their first meeting in 1968, when Butler’s part-time band needed a singer and Osbourne was seeking a gig. Butler recalled the memorable encounter when Osbourne appeared at his door wearing “his dad’s brown work gown, a chimney brush over his shoulder, a shoe on a dog leash, and no shoes on his bare feet.”
Butler’s brother had answered the door, telling him: “Hey, there’s something at the door asking for you.” When Butler questioned what he meant by “something”, his brother replied: “You’ll see.” After Osbourne introduced himself simply as “Ozzy”, Butler’s response was immediate: “After I’d stopped laughing, I said: ‘OK, you’re in the band.'”
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This chance meeting would evolve into Earth, later becoming Black Sabbath alongside Tony Iommi and Bill Ward. Their first gig ended in a “massive brawl” that, according to Butler, made the group inseparable. Despite Osbourne’s wild reputation, Butler emphasised his friend’s loyalty: “When my son was born with a heart defect, Ozzy called me every day to see how I was coping, even though we hadn’t spoken for a year.”
The final show on July 5th carried particular poignancy, with Butler expressing regret about how their story concluded. “Tony shook his hand, I presented him with a cake, but it was such a strange feeling to end our story like that,” he wrote. “I wish I’d had more time backstage with Ozzy, but wishes are redundant now.”
Butler concluded his tribute with gratitude for their decades together: “I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him. God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!”
