Former BLACK FLAG frontman Henry Rollins spoke to CNN’s John Berman about his friend Ozzy Osbourne, who died Tuesday (July 22) at the age of 76. Asked what he will remember most about the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer, Henry said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’ll remember his honesty and the fact that… I’m a kind of a pal of his and also a friend of his, and the man you saw on stage was the guy that you got; he was the same person. He was genuine. And that, to me, besides the immense talent, is his enduring quality.”
Recalling his first interaction with Ozzy, Henry said: “We were in one of those severe athletic backstage environments when you play the big stadiums — narrow benches, lockers, and we’re all just sitting there. ‘Cause that’s really not our scene; we’re a much smaller band. And Ozzy comes barreling into the dressing room area. He says, ‘Which one of you guys is Henry?’ And he’s, like, ‘My name is Ozzy Osbourne, man. Welcome to the tour. Play the PA as loud as you want. Blow it up if you want to. Have a great time.’ And he just kind of leaves in a trail of cigar smoke. I was, like, ‘Wow, that was cool. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.’ And we did two nights with Ozzy. And we just had a great time. He was great to us, great to me. I ended up talking with him quite a bit over the two shows. And I flew on the family jet, which was not my life, and he was just a great guy. And as I said, what you saw is what you got with that guy.”
Asked about Ozzy‘s reputation as a wildman and how it fit with the man he knew, Henry said: “I think the fact that Ozzy might have found himself without his clothes wandering into the pool in a hotel in Tokyo at three in the morning — I’ll never do that, and so he did that for me. I love that kind of behavior. It’s not what I do, but when he did it, I just think it was incredibly cool. And so I think he’s just a wild guy who meant no harm.”
Rollins also touched upon the fact that Ozzy played his final concert less than three weeks before his death at Villa Park in BLACK SABBATH‘s original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He said: “I think it’s immense. First off, the show was done in Birmingham where BLACK SABBATH comes from, so all the lucky people at the venue had that moment. And then the rest of us, we get to see it online, but you still get it. And the fact that he passed away so soon afterwards — this was not one of those things, ‘Well, we’ll do two nights in May.’ There’s not gonna be that opportunity, like next summer where you can’t do it this fall. They did it, and then the man slipped away. And so the timing ends up being crazy.
“The four members of BLACK SABBATH — Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne — have been friends since before you and I have been alive, pretty much,” Henry added. “And they got to be together, the four guys, one more time in front of fans who truly love them, and it’s a love letter from the audience to the band and the band to the audience. And I don’t think that could have gone better. It feels like two weeks later the man is gone. And to do it in your hometown, I just think it’s — it’s just perfect.”
Ozzy died Tuesday morning (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.
At the “Back To The Beginning” concert, Ozzy and the rest of BLACK SABBATH 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.
