Sharon Osbourne has urged fans to “remember how funny” Ozzy Osbourne was on the one-year anniversary of the Black Sabbath singer’s death.
Media mogul and TV personality Sharon was married to the Prince Of Darkness for 43 years, from 1982 up to his death on July 22, 2025, following a heart attack. In a new interview with the BBC, she remembers her late husband as “authentic”, “so genuine and funny”.
“He never tried to be anything other than what he was, and he would tell you the truth about everything and that was him, you knew where you were with him,” she adds. “I mean we could have the worst arguments in the world but we would end up laughing because he would say something so ridiculous that we would just crack up.”
She also encourages people to listen to music if they want to celebrate Ozzy’s legacy.
“As Ozzy would say: when you want to remember me, just yank up the music really loud, as loud as you can get it, and just head bang,” she says.
Sharon spoke to the BBC in Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham this morning (Wednesday, July 22) as the city prepared to hold Ozzy Day in remembrance of its most metal son. Co-organised by Birmingham City Council and Central BID, the city-wide celebrations include musical performances, film screenings and exclusive merch.
The Bostin’ Brass Band, who performed Black Sabbath songs in front of Ozzy’s funeral procession as it drove through Birmingham on July 30 last year, have returned to the city for multiple performances through the day. Another musical performance will be put on by the City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) at the Bullring shopping centre in the centre of town at 12:15pm.
In addition, the branch of Selfridges at the Bullring is selling an exclusive Ozzy Day t-shirt. At nearby Birmingham New Street station, fans are able to have free Polaroid pictures taken with the moving statue Ozzy The Bull, which was named after the Prince Of Darkness following a 2022 poll. The 10m (33ft) sculpture has been made up to resemble its namesake singer.
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery’s free-to-enter Ozzy exhibit, Working Class Hero, is open as normal. At the start of the month, the exhibit added the throne on which Ozzy performed at his retirement gig, Back To The Beginning, on July 5, 2025. Back To The Beginning was held at Birmingham’s Villa Park stadium, a short distance from where Ozzy grew up in Aston.
Sharon has made several appearances and committed to multiple projects celebrating her husband’s legacy. In February, she and her daughter Kelly picked up a Lifetime Achievement Awards from the BRIT Awards on Ozzy’s behalf. She helped launch a commemorative bottle of Ozzy’s favourite perfume, Czech & Speake’s No.88, in the spring.
She and son Jack are currently putting together an AI Ozzy avatar, which according to Jack will “have conversations with fans and move, speak and respond as Ozzy would”. Fan response to the avatar has been mixed, with some calling it a cash-grab, though Sharon stood her ground during an episode of the Osbournes’ podcast.
“I know my husband,” she said. “My husband would say to me over and over, ‘After I go, how long do you think I’ll be remembered?’”
Ozzy died at the age of 76 after living with multiple health issues, primarily Parkinson’s disease and the after-effects of a series of spinal surgeries after he fell at home in 2018. In his posthumously published memoir, Last Rites, he revealed that an infection from his final surgery left him with arrhythmia and “a dodgy heart valve”.
SOURCE: LOUDERSOUND