Ozzy Osbourne’s death was a tragic moment for the metal community. For his Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi, it forced him to examine his own mortality.
Speaking with The Telegraph, Iommi, 78, shared that losing Ozzy, as well as other friends, has given him perspective on aging that he didn’t necessarily want. “I’ve had a few friends go now,” the legendary guitarist said, “and you think, ‘Blimey, hang on, I’m 78, how much longer?’”
Iommi then shared that he’s often had this “conversation” with his Queen counterpart Brian May. “He’s more dismal than me,” he quipped. “Bloody hell.”
Ozzy Osbourne passed away in July 2025
The founding frontman of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025. Just weeks prior, he shared the stage with his heavy metal bandmates for the final time: Iommi, Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums).
“He was a part of my life for 60 years. I do miss him,” Iommi said. He went on to comment on how the band’s final show was somewhat tailored to Ozzy’s physical health needs. “We all were shocked because they had to help him in and carry him in and sit him down,” Iommi recalled. “We had a chat and a laugh, but it was just sad to see him like that.”
Iommi joked that Ozzy’s “never been there” mentally, but then noted that this time around his state of being was much more concerning. “It’s like he wasn’t there,” he said. “[I was] so used to, over the years, him running backwards and forwards and coming up, pulling faces and having a laugh.”
Black Sabbath played their final show at the “Back to the Beginning” fest just weeks before Ozzy’s death
“All of a sudden, there I am playing to the back of a chair,” Iommi continued. “Also, Bill wanted me to stand by him because he was unsure of certain things. But we got through it, and Ozzy was pleased afterwards. I’m glad we did it.”
Finally, Iommi shared how he felt about Ozzy doing two sets that night: a solo set and then one with Black Sabbath. He seemed to chalk it up to Ozzy and his wife/manager Sharon Osbourne wanting to go big.
“I did say to him: ‘I don’t think you should do two sets.’ I said: ‘You either do your set and then we’ll come on and just bow or whatever. Or, do our set.’ But he wanted to do two,” Iommi said. “Or Sharon wanted him to do two. I don’t know.”
“But he did, and I was concerned that he was really going to knock himself out,” Iommi concluded. “I knew it was going to be the last time of playing [live] in Sabbath, yeah. But I didn’t know as far as with Oz [that he was] going to go that quick.”
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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