Former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. frontman Udo Dirkschneider joined KREATOR on stage on Sunday, July 27 at Greece’s Chania Rock Festival to perform the song “Fallen Brother” in honor of Ozzy Osbourne. Video of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of Altars Of Metal).
The studio version of “Fallen Brother” appears on KREATOR‘s 2017 album “Gods Of Violence” and pays respect to fallen music icons such as Lemmy, Jeff Hanneman, Cliff Burton, Peter Steele, Prince, David Bowie and Bon Scott, among others.
Prior to launching into “Fallen Brother” at Chania Rock Festival, KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza told the crowd: “We wanna play a special song for you tonight, and we wanna dedicate it to the great Ozzy Osbourne. I also wanna invite a guest. I wanna invite one of our good friends, Mr. Udo Dirkschneider.”
Ozzy died the morning of July 22, his family announced 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. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” the family said.
No cause of death was given, but Osbourne had battled a number of health issues over the past several years, including Parkinson’s disease and injuries he sustained from a late-night fall in 2019.
Ozzy‘s death came a little more than two weeks after he took the stage for his final performance with BLACK SABBATH at Villa Park in the band’s original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom. They performed four songs for more than 40,000 people in the stadium and 5.8 million more on a livestream. Ozzy also played a five-song solo set while seated in a bat-adorned throne.
Formed in Birmingham in 1968, BLACK SABBATH is widely recognized as one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, with a career spanning decades and over 75 million albums sold worldwide. Their impact on the genre remains as significant today as it was in the early 1970s, with their music shaping generations of metal musicians.
Ozzy‘s family reality television show “The Osbournes” won a 2002 Primetime Emmy.
In 2006, Osbourne and the other members of the original BLACK SABBATH were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Ozzy was also inducted into the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 2024.
Osbourne won several Grammys, including one in 1993 for his solo song “I Don’t Want To Change The World”.
Ozzy and his wife and manager Sharon started their annual tour — Ozzfest — in 1996 after he was rejected from the lineup of what at the time was the top touring music festival, Lollapalooza. The first traveling version of Ozzfest in 1997 included MARILYN MANSON and PANTERA as part of the lineup.
Osbourne leaves behind his wife, three children from his first marriage (including an adopted son from his first wife’s previous relationship),and three with Sharon: Jack, Kelly and Aimee.
