After Black Sabbath’s final show on July 5, bassist Geezer Butler reflects with deep sorrow on losing Ozzy Osbourne just 17 days later, revealing the emotional weight of their 57-year friendship and the heartbreak of witnessing his frail condition during their last performance together.

Just weeks after Black Sabbath played what would become their final concert together, the band’s legendary frontman Ozzy Osbourne passed away at the age of 76, leaving fans and fellow musicians around the world reeling.

But for Terence “Geezer” Butler, the loss wasn’t just of a bandmate — it was of a best friend, a brother, and a musical soulmate of nearly six decades.

In a deeply moving essay published on July 27, Butler opened up about the final moments he shared with Osbourne during their last performance on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham — a location filled with history for both men, who grew up just blocks away from the football stadium.

“It was quite fitting,” Butler wrote, “for Ozzy and Black Sabbath to end the long journey from our beginning in 1968 to our final show back in Aston.”

What Butler hadn’t realized, however, was that this performance would be the last time he would ever see Ozzy. The two had reunited for the concert after years of little to no communication — their last major interaction being during Black Sabbath’s “The End” tour in 2017.

The reunion was sparked by an Aston Villa commercial in 2024, but it quickly became something far more personal and profound.

Rehearsals began weeks before the show, with Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward meeting first to shake off years of rust. When Ozzy finally joined them, Butler was unprepared for the sight that awaited him.

“I knew he wasn’t in good health,” he wrote, “but I wasn’t prepared to see how frail he was.” Ozzy, he recalled, arrived with two helpers and a nurse, leaning on a cane — not just any cane, of course, but a black one adorned with gold and precious stones, true to his larger-than-life personality.

“He sat down to sing. We managed six or seven songs, but you could see how much it took out of him.”

Despite the obvious strain on Osbourne’s body, the band went on with the show. Butler described the final performance as emotional and surreal.

“Normally, we would all hug each other and take a bow,” he remembered. “But Ozzy was on his throne, and we hadn’t planned for how to end it. Tony shook his hand. I gave him a cake. It felt strange — unfinished.”

That strangeness would soon become grief. Just 17 days later, Osbourne died on July 22.

The cause of death has not been officially confirmed, but fans are aware of the rock icon’s long list of health issues in recent years — including Parkinson’s disease, spinal injuries, and multiple surgeries. Still, his death stunned the rock world.

In his tribute, Butler didn’t just mourn the loss of a legend — he celebrated a lifetime of memories that began when a barefoot Ozzy showed up at his doorstep in 1968.

That encounter would lead to the formation of Earth — later renamed Black Sabbath — and a musical revolution that helped define heavy metal. “I just looked at him and said, ‘Okay, you’re in the band,’” Butler recalled.

He also reflected on the duality of Ozzy — the global icon known for outrageous antics (biting the head off a bat, snorting ants, urinating on the Alamo) and the loyal, deeply compassionate man behind the persona.

“He had a heart of pure gold,” Butler wrote. “When my son was born with a heart defect, Ozzy called me every day to check on us — even though we hadn’t spoken for a year.”

The bassist, now 76, described the original Black Sabbath lineup — Osbourne, Iommi, Ward, and himself — as “inseparable brothers in arms.”

Through decades of tours, breakups, reconciliations, and personal struggles, he said there was always “an invisible link” between the four of them.

“To me, Ozzy wasn’t the Prince of Darkness — if anything, he was the Prince of Laughter,” Butler added. “He’d do anything for a laugh. He was a born entertainer.”

That final night on stage, Butler said, was filled with emotion and reverence. Fans and fellow artists gathered not just for a concert, but to pay tribute to a man who had redefined what it meant to be a rock star.

“The love from the fans and all the bands that night was incredible. Everyone had come to pay homage to the Prince.”

Butler closed his reflection with a mixture of sorrow and gratitude. “Nobody knew he’d be gone from us just weeks later.

But I am so thankful we got that one last time together,” he wrote. “Of course, there are a million things I wish I’d said. But how can I sum up 57 incredible years of friendship in a few paragraphs?”

He ended with one final message to his late friend:
“God bless, Oz. It’s been one hell of a ride. Love you.”