The power of an icon

Ozzy Osbourne left us on July 22, 2025. In his own way. Like a legend.

Just a few days earlier, on July 5, his legend was celebrated as it deserved, with the live show “Back To The Beginning“. On the throne of the last King of rock. A flawless exit, there's no denying it. Just like his whole life, for that matter: the life of a cursed artist who, for all of his 76 years, did nothing but live on a razor's edge. Living and surviving, falling and getting back up. Every single day.

Because Ozzy's life was, from the very start, the life of a survivor. From a difficult childhood in Birmingham, spent in precarious economic conditions, to the severe dyslexia that tormented him. At school he was regarded by teachers as little more than an idiot. His classmates bullied him mercilessly – among them, his future partner in crime, Tony Iommi. A life that seemed destined for suffering: backbreaking jobs, unemployment, drugs, squalor, poverty: at best, a factory job for the rest of his days.

What could save a boy so fragile and withdrawn? A miracle. And that miracle arrived. A wonder that only rock music could bring about.

On the day the newly formed Black Sabbath answered the ad of an unknown singer looking for a band, Tony Iommi was absolutely against letting him in. But the others decided to give him a chance. So the legend began, and more than anyone else in the world, Ozzy won his bet. The miracle was fulfilled. Music became redemption and revenge against a society that had relegated him to the very bottom rung. Ozzy fooled them all: the bullies, the teachers who had humiliated him, and everyone who had never believed in him.

He lived the life of a cursed rockstar. A life straight out of a novel, made of excess, despair, happiness. All of it lived to the fullest, without filters, without any limits, right up to the ripe old age of 76. A life no other human being has ever lived. The life of the last rockstar.

But Ozzy's most incredible trait was his sincerity. There was nothing fake in his life; he never played a part, he was always himself. Like no one else. His existence was lived under the spotlight, with cameras following him even inside his own home, capturing his weaknesses, his fears, his excesses, his vulnerabilities. All of this sent out a message: live life to the fullest of your abilities. Chase a dream that, in his case, came true. But for Ozzy, it was never about being a role model. Quite the opposite.

His life was a hymn to freedom of choice. Ozzy had no truths to shout, unlike certain singer-songwriters. His legacy was: “I Don't Know”. It was pointless to ask him for opinions on the fate of the world, on what was right or wrong. He would have answered honestly: I don't know a thing about it. And that's exactly why he always encouraged his fans to be themselves, to chase their own dreams and stay authentic, because someone would fulfil their dream, with a bit of luck and a lot of willpower.

The rest is history: from Black Sabbath to his solo career, from the depths of depression (leaving the band, the death of Randy Rhoads) to his endless string of comebacks. And perhaps it's even pointless to celebrate him, because we all already know everything.

Ozzy left us as a hero. His final concert, just over two weeks ago, “Back to the Beginning“, soon to become a film as well, grossed around 160 million euros. He chose to donate it to the Acorns Children's Hospice and Birmingham Children's Hospital paediatric hospitals, and to Cure Parkinson's, in support of Parkinson's disease research. It's hard to imagine a bigger farewell than this.

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