Johnny Depp paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a special concert appearance three days after the heavy metal icon’s death at age 76 on Tuesday, July 22.
Depp, 62, walked on stage during rock legend Alice Cooper’s show at The O2 Arena in London on Friday, July 25, to perform the classic Black Sabbath track “Paranoid,” according to YouTube footage of the event. (Osbourne was Black Sabbath’s frontman between 1968 and 1979, and most recently reunited with the original lineup for his final concert in Birmingham on July 5.)
As Depp performed a guitar solo, Cooper stood in for Osbourne on vocals and even wore one of the legendary Black Sabbath singer’s T-shirts. Depp stayed on stage for a mashup of Cooper’s 1972 single “School’s Out” and the 1979 Pink Floyd hit “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.”
The London show was a reunion for Depp and Cooper, as they’ve previously collaborated as members of the hard rock super group the Hollywood Vampires, along with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. (The Hollywood Vampires took their name from a social club that Cooper formed in the 1970s with fellow rock luminaries Ringo Starr, Keith Moon of The Who, Micky Dolenz of the Monkees and singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson.)
Tributes have poured in since the Osbourne family confirmed on Tuesday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee died following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
“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 Osbournes told Us Weekly in a statement. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
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Osbourne’s original Black Sabbath bandmates — guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — acknowledged that they’d “lost [a] brother” in respective social media statements.
“I just can’t believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park,” Iommi, 77, wrote. “It’s just such heartbreaking news that I can’t really find the words, there won’t ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother.”
Butler, 76, added, “Goodbye dear friend — thanks for all those years — we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston — who’d have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.”
Ward, 77, stressed that, despite their “unspoken embraces” and “missed phone calls,” Osbourne would be “forever in [his] heart.”
“Deepest condolences to Sharon and all family members,” the drummer went on. “RIP Sincere regrets to all the fans. Never goodbye. Thank you forever.”
Osbourne’s immense influence and pop culture impact were felt in the sheer amount of tributes he received from the entertainment industry.
“Whether we were in our basements with our brothers, in the woods with our buddies, in the car, at a keg party, on a boat, at football practice, at a sleepover … Nobody was more badass to crank up on our speakers than the one and only prince of darkness — Ozzy Osborne!” Adam Sandler memorialized via X. “Loved him a lot like we all did! Sending love to the family and so happy to have spent time with the legend himself. RIP.”
Singer-songwriter YungBlud wrote that Osbourne’s legacy would be evident in “every single note I sing and with me every single time I walk on stage.”
“You asked me once if there was anything you could do for me and as I said then and as I will say now for all of us the music was enough,” the “Tongue Tied” musician, 27, continued. “You took us on your adventure — an adventure that started it all. I am truly heartbroken. You were the greatest of all time.”
Ozzy is survived by his wife, Sharon Osbourne, and six children: Elliot, Jessica and Louis from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, as well as Aimee, Kelly and Jack from his marriage to Sharon.
