‘Lost the best friend I ever had’: Kelly Osbourne pays tribute to Ozzy
By John Besley, Lauren Del Fabbro and Hannah Roberts, PA
Kelly Osbourne said she has lost her “best friend” following the death of her father, Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne.
The rock legend was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 and died at the age of 76 on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family.
In a heartfelt message posted to her Instagram stories on Thursday, Kelly shared lyrics from the Black Sabbath song Changes, a track she famously re-recorded with her father.
“I feel unhappy I am so sad. I lost the best friend I ever had,” she wrote next to an emoji of a broken heart.
Released in 2003, their reimagined duet hit number one on the UK Singles chart. The duo became only the second father-daughter act to top the chart, following Nancy and Frank Sinatra in 1967.
Osbourne’s death came a few weeks after he reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates on July 5th to play a farewell gig at Villa Park – a stone’s throw from where the band was formed in 1968.
After the live performance, Osbourne and his wife, Sharon, celebrated Kelly’s engagement with her long-term partner Sid Wilson, a member of the heavy metal band Slipknot.
The day after the gig, Kelly thanked her father’s fans for attending his last live performance.
She wrote on Instagram: “To say that yesterday was magic was an understatement!
“Thank you to everyone who came to support my dad. Thank you to the fans who without we are nothing!
“My dad got his moment in the sun! He was able to say thank you and good bye in the most beautiful way!”
Tributes to Osbourne were led by his Black Sabbath bandmates, including Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward, along with celebrity friends including Kiss star Gene Simmons and Queen guitarist Brian May.
Earlier on Thursday, Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi spoke on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and described Osbourne as “wild”.
He said: “He was a great young guy. And then obviously, American success got to him, I think. And it gets to a lot of us. You get carried away with all that stuff that one shouldn’t. I did and I’m over it.”
Osbourne was also described by the Lord mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, as a “proud Brummie” who helped put the city “on the world map”.
Mr Iqbal met the founding members of the heavy metal band, formed in the city in 1968, when they were presented with the freedom of Birmingham in June.
He told the PA news agency: “He (Osbourne) was very important and he was a proud Brummie. He loved the city. He will be much missed, I think, and he was loved by so many people in the city.”
Other stars have also honoured the “Prince of Darkness” by paying tribute to him during live concert performances, including Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Alice Cooper, who praised him for performing until he “couldn’t do it any more”.