Ozzy Osbourne is dead: Black Sabbath singer dies ‘surrounded by love’ aged 76

In a statement, his family said tonight: ‘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.

‘He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.’

The rocker was able to bid an emotional farewell to his fans on stage this month as he reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005.

‘You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart,’ Osbourne told the crowd in his final speech.

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The music legend vowed, however, that it would be his final ever performance due to his health, having opened up about his battle with Parkinson’s in 2020.

The star was a titan of music who somehow survived controversies that would end the careers of many others, and weathered health problems that would leave most of us on our backs.

Whether it was biting the head off both a bat and a dove, snorting a line of ants or urinating on a US war memorial while wearing one of his wife Sharon’s dresses, Osbourne was defined by his antics both on and off stage.

The singer, who sold more than 100 million records, will forever be synonymous with the heavy metal band he formed in his home city of Birmingham in 1969.

With hits that included Iron Man, War Pigs and Paranoid, Black Sabbath’s pushing of occult themes proved both hugely popular and controversial, with a future pope even condemning Osbourne for his ‘subliminal satanic influence’.