Ozzy Osbourne‘schilling comments about death have resurfaced as it was revealed that the Black Sabbath singer has passed away aged 76.
His family confirmed the devastating news on Tuesday, writing in a statement that he died ‘surrounded by love.’
Just two years ago, the acclaimed musician shared his thoughts on death during a harrowing interview with Rolling Stone.
At the time, he insisted that he ‘doesn’t fear death’ and knew that he had ‘at best 10 years left.’
‘I don’t fear dying, but I don’t want to have a long, painful and miserable existence,’ he told the publication.
‘I like the idea that if you have a terminal illness, you can go to a place in Switzerland and get it done quickly. I saw my father die of cancer.
‘But look, I said to Sharon [Osbourne] that I’d smoked a joint recently and she said, “What are you doing that for? It’ll f**king kill you!”
‘I said, “How long do you want me to f**king live for?!” At best, I’ve got 10 years left and when you’re older, time picks up speed.
Ozzy Osbourne, who is seen here earlier this month, made chilling comments about death during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2023
TheBlack Sabbath singer, seen in 1985, has passed away at age 76, his family confirmed on Tuesday
‘Me and Sharon had our 41st wedding anniversary recently, and that’s just unbelievable to me.’
Ozzy’s health had severely declined in recent years following his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2020.
He had undergone multiple surgeries to attempt to fix damage to his spine inflicted by a fall in 2019.
His wife, Sharon told Rolling Stone during the 2023 interview, ‘It’s been nearly five years of heartache, and at times I’ve just felt so helpless and so bad for Ozzy, to see him going through the pain.’
‘It’s really knocked me about,’ Ozzy added. ‘The second surgery went drastically wrong and virtually left me crippled.
‘I thought I’d be up and running after the second and third, but with the last one they put a f**king rod in my spine.
‘They found a tumor in one of the vertebrae, so they had to dig all that out too. It’s pretty rough, man, and my balance is all f**ked up.’
At the time, he joked that he ‘should have been dead’ years ago while pointing out that many of his friends had passed away.
At the time, Ozzy, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020, insisted that he ‘doesn’t fear death’ and knew that he had ‘at best 10 years left.’ He’s seen in June 2022
Ozzy, seen here with his daughter Kelly Osbourne and wife Sharon Osbourne in 2020, joked that he ‘should have been dead’ years ago
‘I should have been dead way before loads of them. Why am I the last man standing? I don’t understand any of it,’ he said.
‘Sometimes I look in the mirror and go, “Why the f**k did you make it?!”‘
In a statement released on Tuesday, his family said: ‘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. He was with his family and surrounded by love.’
The rocker was able to bid an emotional farewell to his fans on stage this month as he reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005.
‘You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart,’ Ozzy told the crowd in his final speech.
It’s especially emotional considering he told Rolling Stone that was his one wish was to be able to get out there and perform again.
‘That’s one of the things I’ve been the most f**king pissed off at: I never got the chance to say goodbye or thank you,’ he said in the 2023 sit-down.
At the time, he told Rolling Stone that was his one wish was to be able to get out there and perform again, which he got to do. He’s seen performing earlier this month at his farewell gig
Ozzy, seen in 1975, said to Rolling Stone, ‘My fans are what it’s all about. If I can just do a few gigs… They’ve been loyal to me for f**king years’
‘Because my fans are what it’s all about. If I can just do a few gigs… They’ve been loyal to me for f**king years.
‘They write to me, they know all about my dogs. It’s my extended family really, and they give us the lifestyle we have.
‘For whatever reason, that’s my goal to work to. To do those shows.If I can’t continue doing shows on a regular basis, I just want to be well enough to do one show where I can say, ‘Hi guys, thanks so much for my life.’
‘That’s what I’m working towards, and if I drop down dead at the end of it, I’ll die a happy man.’
The star was a titan of music who somehow survived controversies that would end the careers of many others, and weathered health problems that would leave most of us on our backs.
Whether it was biting the head off both a bat and a dove, snorting a line of ants or urinating on a US war memorial while wearing one of his wife Sharon’s dresses, Ozzy was defined by his antics both on and off stage.
The singer, who sold more than 100 million records, will forever be synonymous with the heavy metal band he formed in his home city of Birmingham in 1969.
Ozzy is seen with his Black Sabbath bandmates in 1976, the year that the band released album Technical Ecstasy
The singer, who sold more than 100 million records, will forever be synonymous with the heavy metal band he formed in his home city of Birmingham in 1969. He’s seen in 1989
After being thrown out of his band in 1979 due to his drug-fueled antics, he forged a hugely successful solo career, with hits that included Crazy Train and Hellraiser.
He also relaunched himself as a reality TV star in The Osbournes in the early 2000s, after getting clean from drink and drugs with the help of Sharon.
In 2013, he helped to record Black Sabbath’s final studio album, 13, which was released in 2013, after the band’s original line-up had gotten back together in 2011.
Their farewell tour – titled The End – was brought to a close with a performance in Birmingham in 2017.
Afterwards, Ozzy continued performing as a solo act, with his most recent album release, Ordinary Man, coming in February 2020.
However, his health problems continued to haunt him. He had to cancel shows in 2019 after a fall left him needing surgery on his neck.
He began to experience numbness which he thought was connected to his accident but in January 2020 Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The star underwent four spinal surgeries in the years that followed.
