Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age has compared Ozzy Osbourne‘s death to David Bowie‘s, saying they were both “poetic”.
- READ MORE: Ozzy Osbourne, 1948-2025: culture-smashing revolutionary that redefined rock and reality TV
The heavy metal pioneer frontman died last month (July 22) at age 76. In a statement, his family shared that he was “surrounded by love” at the time of his passing. His death came just weeks after he played a final live show with Black Sabbath in his hometown of Birmingham, and raised “a ton” of money for charity along the way.
During a recent interview on Radio X, Homme commented on Osbourne dying so soon after his final concert, saying: “I think it was such a poetic ending to a career that you just can’t take your eyes and ears off of.
“I mean, I could watch Ozzy do anything. Well, almost anything. But, you know, if he was squeezing orange juice, I’d be like, ‘We should watch this. Something beyond juice is coming,’ you know? I just think he’s a classic.”
Homme continued: “I think his passing was poetic, and I feel for the family, because that’s such a loss. But I also think that I believe that they see the poetry in that too. You know, I think David Bowie’s passing was that those are two poetic ways to go.”
The musician is likely referring to the fact that Bowie died from cancer in January 2016, only two days after the release of his final album, ‘Blackstar’.
Since then, the album has widely been interpreted as a farewell record, with many fans claiming that its lyrics can be interpreted as the singer tackling his own mortality – a theory his collaborator Donny McCaslin has dismissed.
After Osbourne’s passing, thousands of fans took to the streets of Birmingham to leave flowers and emotional tributes to the Black Sabbath icon, and thousands more lined the streets on July 31 for the funeral procession. Ozzy was laid to rest at a private ceremony in Buckinghamshire, which was attended by Elton John, members of Metallica and more.
Countless names have come forward to pay tribute to Ozzy, including Zak Starkey, Adam Sandler, Ghost’s Tobias Forge, Alice Cooper, Elton John, Yungblud, Billie Joe Armstrong, Jack White, Coldplay, and Jake E Lee. Touching messages have also been shared by his Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler.
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford also recently revealed his reaction to the news, admitting that he “just curled up in a ball and bawled my eyes out for hours. I just couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it now. I’m still grieving, like so many people.”
Ozzy’s death certificate lists his cause of death as a heart attack, while also mentioning that he was suffering from coronary heart disease and Parkinson’s. It also listed his occupation as “Songwriter, Performer and Rock Legend”.
Meanwhile, Gary Oldman has looked back at his friendship with Bowie and said that the “world’s gone to shit” since his death.
In other news, Kate Moss is set to present a new podcast for BBC Radio 6 Music on the “artistic evolution” of Bowie.
As for Queens Of The Stone Age, earlier this summer, they shared a new concert film titled Alive In The Catacombs. The project earned a four-star review from NME, hailing it as “moving and meditative”.
The band are also set to play gigs in Sheffield and London later this month (you can find any remaining tickets here), and Homme has said he hopes to visit Arctic Monkeys‘ childhood homes while in the former.
