Ozzy Osbourne’s sisters said the late Black Sabbath vocalist was still cracking jokes in the weeks before his death.
Jean Powell and Gillian Hemming spoke to The Mirror about their younger brother, who died on Tuesday, July 22, at age 76, recalling Black Sabbath’s farewell concert in England two weeks earlier.
“I got a text from him as he drove down Lodge Road, where we used to live near the stadium,” remembered Powell, 85, in a story published Wednesday, July 23. “He said he couldn’t believe all the crowds were walking down our old street to watch him perform.”
“It was upsetting because he could not stand up straight, but he was still our John, still cracking the jokes,” she added, referring to Osbourne by his legal name.
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With the chaos around the concert, she said they weren’t able to talk much with their brother, but were hoping to see him this week.
“We had an executive box in the stadium, and when I saw the sea of people waiting to see our John, I just broke down,” Powell said. “We didn’t really get a chance to chat much because it was such a chaotic visit. But in his last text to me, he said he would be coming to Birmingham again … We were hoping to see him this week.”
Powell added that she and her sister didn’t know the details around his death but they were “thankful he died in England.”
“To us, he was our brother, not a celebrity, so it’s crazy to see the outpouring of love since his death was announced,” she continued. “We just can’t believe he is gone, and we won’t be getting another phone call or text from him. Every week without fail he would get in touch.”
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Hemming, 80, added that even as Osbourne rose to fame with Black Sabbath, he didn’t let it inflate his ego.
“We were proud as punch about him and everything he achieved,” she said. “But it never went to his head. What the public saw of John was exactly what he was like in real life. It wasn’t an act … He was just great.”
Osbourne announced in 2020 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and, in the years since, had battled more health issues and undergone multiple medical procedures. His family announced his death Tuesday in a statement to Us Weekly.
“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,” the statement read. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
