Sharon Osbourne remembers Ozzy’s final “Back to the Beginning”

By Daniel Okafor

What made the July 5 farewell matter?

Ozzy Osbourne died at 76, weeks after his July 5, 2025 “Back to the Beginning” concert in Birmingham, his wife Sharon Osbourne said at a London screening on Tuesday night.

Speaking there, Sharon discussed “Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning,” which documents Ozzy and Black Sabbath’s final performances. The bill also included Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Tool and more.

The project gathered heavy metal generations for a farewell that concealed serious illness and ended, in Sharon’s account, with Ozzy still determined to perform live.

Sharon told moderator Phil Alexander that her husband remained buoyant. “He was like, flying high again. He was so happy. Until the day he passed, he was still on that high,” she said.

“He was so excited, so thankful to everyone. It was just joyous for us to see him that way, because we hadn’t seen him that way in years. He was laughing, telling jokes again. It was brilliant.”

The concert began as Ozzy’s own wish, Sharon said. He “wanted to perform one more time to say thank you and goodbye to everyone.”

How did illness shape Ozzy’s final performance?

Sharon said Ozzy’s health was touch and go. The concert carried one conspicuous production risk: emphysema (a lung condition) made his vocal performance unpredictable, although he was “so determined mentally to do this.”

“He was just praying that his longs would work and that he could sing,” she remembered. “He could have been great at soundcheck, and then the gig would happen and he wouldn’t even be able to speak. But it’s mind over matter.”

His “longs” (sustained vocal notes) and the soundcheck (the pre-show rehearsal) were practical tests of that uncertain voice.

The severity stayed private from the other Black Sabbath members. “The guys didn’t know how sick Ozzy was. I mean, even my kids — we never told my kids,” she said. “So nobody knew how sick he was.”

Black Sabbath co-founder Tony Iommi and keyboardist Adam Wakeman were in the audience, Sharon said. “Ozzy’s closest friends were up there with him. You asked them to do something, and they delivered.”

Her argument rested on the scene’s mutual obligation. “You know, it’s only this community that would do that,” she continued.

“Can you imagine going to ask all these little girls that sing in a fucking leotard, saying, ‘We really need you. Do you think you could turn up in three months’ time?’ They’d say, ‘Fuck off, I’m too big for that.’”

On the day, Sharon said she was “petrified, because I didn’t know whether he could literally get through it.” Ozzy instead watched every act and “applauding in the dressing room.”

The danger sharpened every choice, from the secrecy surrounding his condition to the concert-day fear that his voice might fail before the audience had settled.

“He was overcome with it all. He was so, so happy,” Sharon said. “He was just genuinely moved by the whole thing. He just couldn’t believe it.”

What does the film add to the farewell story?

The film includes behind-the-scenes footage of “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa, the event’s emcee (host), Sharon revealed. Momoa did not know on the day that he would have the job.

“I thought, why tell him? It ruins the surprise!” she said with a laugh. “I said, you know, just go out there and talk to the crowd and introduce the different bands. And he’s like, ‘I can’t do that.’ Fuck off, you’re an actor!”

Asked what made Ozzy so special as a performer, Sharon said “nobody sounded like” him. “Nobody had the soul that Ozzy had in his voice … It wasn’t just blabbing words, it was heartfelt in everything,” she said.

She also took aim at the standard display of rock sexuality. “There’s a lot of singers that think, ‘Oh, don’t you think I’m sexy? I’m gonna take my shirt off, sweat a bit and rub me old tits.’ And it’s like, you need more than that.”

Her verdict carried a final flash of comic swagger: “He would like to show his bum — that was his swan song.”

Sharon’s account resembles a medical chart with stage lighting, recording both the public spectacle and the private danger without allowing either to erase the other.

“Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning” hits cinemas worldwide on Oct. 28 via Trafalgar Releasing. From that date, viewers can compare the ovation with Sharon’s account of how close the performance had come to failure.