ws Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath frontman and heavy metal icon, dies at 76

Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman of the heavy metal group Black Sabbath, has died at the age of 76, his family says in a statement.

The raucous singer, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, passed away on Tuesday just over two weeks after playing a farewell concert in his home city of Birmingham, England.“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’s statement read.

“He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”

Osbourne was instrumental in pioneering heavy metal, an offshoot of hard rock, as Black Sabbath enjoyed huge commercial success in the 1970s.

Nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness”, he once bit off the head of a bat while on stage.

Born as John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, he left school at 15 and did odd jobs, including factory work before teaming up with school friend Geezer Butler in several bands.

Later, he switched gears to appear as a sweet father on the reality TV show The Osbournes.He ended his wild career this month when Black Sabbath belted out their most well-known songs in front of 42,000 fans at Villa Park, home of Premier League football club Aston Villa.“Black Sabbath are the Beatles of heavy metal. Anybody who’s serious about metal will tell you it all comes down to Sabbath,” Dave Navarro of the band Jane’s Addiction wrote in a 2010 tribute in Rolling Stone.

“There’s a direct line you can draw back from today’s metal, through eighties bands like Iron Maiden, back to Sabbath.”

Osbourne is survived by his wife, Sharon, and their three children – Kelly, Aimee and Jack.