Just hours after it was announced that metal legend Ozzy Osbourne had died at age 76 on Tuesday (July 22) a number of artists took to the stage for their own shows, where they paid tribute to the beloved hard rock hell raiser.
At her Mayhem Ball show at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Lady Gaga ripped open her black leather jacket to reveal a black Ozzy t-shirt, then blasted the iconic Ozzy 1980 debut solo hit “Crazy Train” as she and her band danced down the catwalk to the main stage. Once there, they all lined up and jumped in place, banging their heads to the song’s signature opening riff before taking a company bow.
During their show at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Tuesday, Coldplay dedicated a cover of Sabbath’s 1972 metal ballad “Changes” to Ozzy. “We’d like to dedicate this whole show to the incredible genius, talent, and characterful gift to the world who was Ozzy Osbourne. We send our love to his family,” singer Chris Martin said in a fan video of the moment.
Sitting alone at the electric piano, Martin crooned, “I feel unhappy/ I feel so sad/ I lost the best friend I ever had,” giving the song a poppy, quintessentially Coldplay vibe.
In another unexpected tribute, Dave Matthews — who once hilariously played a befuddled Ozzy on Saturday Night Live — performed a solo version of “Changes” during the DMB’s gig in Gilford, N.H., turning the song into a mournful acoustic reverie.
In more expected news, theatrical Swedish metal band Ghost dedicated their sold-out Madison Square Garden show in New York on Tuesday to Ozzy, with singer Tobias Forge (aka Papa Perpetua) taking a moment mid-set to honor Osbourne’s impact on music. “Good evening, New York City! How are you? It’s one of those days now. We’re going to dedicate tonight’s show to the memory of the life and laughter of Ozzy Osbourne,” Forge said as the crowd broke into a spontaneous “Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!” chant.
Forge continued, “For being the Prince of Darkness, he sure gave us a lot of light. So we’re going to tap into that and carry it forward, through a time of darkness.”
Ghost appeared at Osbourne’s final Back to the Beginning show on July 5, performing “Bark at the Moon” with a supergroup including Travis Barker on drums and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt on guitar.
French hard rockers Gojira — who also performed at Back to the Beginning — announced the news about Osbourne’s death during their show in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday, dedicating their 2005 song “Flying Whales” to their metal forefather. “I just heard that – and I don’t know if this is confirmed – Ozzy just died,” singer/guitarist Joe Duplantier told the crowd according to fan video. “Ozzy Osbourne just died. So I’m sorry, this is crazy. This one is for Ozzy! It’s called ‘Flying-f–king-Whales’!”
Later in the show, the band also covered the 1972 Black Sabbath song “Under the Sun/ Every Day Comes and Goes,” the same song they performed just weeks earlier at Ozzy’s final gig, writing on Instagram, “Unmatched energy from Istanbul last night! Thank you everyone for showing up and standing in line ‘Under The Sun’! Ozzy, this one was for you.”
