Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath didn’t just lose a bandmate with the death of Ozzy Osbourne — he also lost a friend.
In a heartfelt tribute published by The Times on Sunday (July 27) — five days after Osbourne passed away at the age of 76 — the bassist reflected on the first and last times he ever saw the late frontman. It all started in 1968 when Butler saw a flyer Osbourne had posted in their native Birmingham, England — “Ozzy Zig needs a gig,” it had read — after which the oddball rocker showed up at Butler’s doorstep.
“It was the cropped-hair mod I’d seen walking home from the all-nighters, except he didn’t have a suit on — he had his dad’s brown work gown on, a chimney brush over his shoulder, a shoe on a dog leash and no shoes on his bare feet,” Butler recalled lovingly. “He said, ‘I’m Ozzy.’ After I’d stopped laughing, I said: ‘OK, you’re in the band.’”
Six decades and numerous hit albums later, Butler saw his friend for the very last time — not that he realized it in the moment — at Black Sabbath’s July 5 farewell concert in Birmingham. “I knew he wasn’t in good health, but I wasn’t prepared to see how frail he was,” Butler wrote. “I wish I’d had more time backstage with Ozzy, but wishes are redundant now. As Ozzy used to say: ‘Wish in one hand and s–t in the other and see which comes first.”
“Nobody knew he’d be gone from us little more than two weeks after the final show,” Butler added. “But I am so grateful we got to play one last time together in front of his beloved fans … I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him. Of course there are millions of things I will think of that I should have written, but how can I sum up 57 incredible years of friendship in a few paragraphs? God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!”
Without sharing a cause of death, Osbourne’s family announced his passing last week in a statement. “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,” it read. “He was with his family and surrounded by love.”
The news came as a shock to much of the world as the Prince of Darkness — whom Butler writes should actually be known as the “Prince of Laughter” — had appeared on stage with his bandmates just a couple of weeks prior. In the days since, countless musicians and fans have posted tributes, including Butler, who shared on Facebook on the day of Osbourne’s death, “Goodbye dear friend — thanks for all those years. We had some great fun. Four kids from Aston — who’d have thought, eh?”
Though he and Osbourne weren’t always close throughout their relationship, Butler wrote that he could always count on his late friend if he needed it. “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 bassist wrote for The Times.
“There was always an invisible link between Ozzy, Tony [Iommi], Bill [Ward] and me,” Butler added. “We had gone through the best of times and the worst of times; the bond was unbreakable.”
