Ozzy Osbourne was given medical advice not to take the stage for his farewell show in Birmingham, according to his widow Sharon Osbourne.
The legendary musician did, however, end up reuniting with his band Black Sabbath for the “Back to the Beginning” concert at Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5, 2025. He died weeks later on July 22.
A film of that final show, titled Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning will be released in theaters October 28.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Sharon Osbourne recalled the grim advice her husband received from doctors ahead of the gig.
“He was in hospital in America before he left,” said Sharon. “We moved back to England, and we had a whole new team of doctors. His new doctors didn’t want to take doctor’s notes from America. They wanted to make their own assessment on him. He was in hospital for a week in England.”
She recalled that a whole team of medical professionals asked to meet with Osbourne at his home.
“We had six different doctors and, like, a quarterback, because there were all of these specialists for the heart, for Parkinson’s, for his lungs, because of all the different things that were wrong with him,” she said.
“They advised us not to do the show. They said it would kill him. We were all together and Ozzy said, ‘It’s not an option. It’s what I want.’ He said, ‘I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way. This is what I want.’ It was his wishes and we went through it.
“He said to me, ‘Another six months, what’s it going to do for me?’ He was very, very emotional. But you know what? It was beautiful too. It was amazing. How lucky was he to go out that way? I say he went out like a Viking.”
Ozzy had long been adamant that he was determined to get back on stage one last time before he died. Speaking to The Independent in 2022, the rock icon said: “I’m pretty confident. I will get back on stage if it f***ing kills me, because if I can’t do it then that’s what’s gonna happen anyway, I’m gonna f***ing die. I love to see them audiences.”
He added: “If I have to crawl up there, I will do it. You ain’t seen the last of Ozzy Osbourne, I can f***ing tell you that.”
Ozzy died July 22 of “acute myocardial infarction” — typically meaning the death of tissue resulting from a failure of blood supply to an organ — and “out of hospital cardiac arrest,” or heart attack. The certificate also listed coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction as “joint causes” of death.
Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning will be released in theaters October 28.
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