[HN Gopher] Ozzy Osbourne has died
___________________________________________________________________
Ozzy Osbourne has died
Author : fantunes
Score : 488 points
Date : 2025-07-22 18:20 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.bbc.co.uk)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.co.uk)
| guzik wrote:
| Those who made it to the Birmingham show were very lucky
| pimeys wrote:
| I saw them live in the early 2000's. Such a great band, and
| what a legacy.
| Tommix11 wrote:
| One of the great ones are gone. RIP Ozzy.
| basisword wrote:
| Nice he was able to have his farewell show a couple of weeks ago.
| potato3732842 wrote:
| Kinda funny that after everything he did Parkinsons was what got
| him.
| thinkingtoilet wrote:
| It is astonishing, isn't it? I'm reading Sirens of Titan right
| now and luck is such a big theme in it. You can always increase
| your odds by healthy living, but nothing is guaranteed. It
| really comes down to dumb luck.
| x0x0 wrote:
| Keith Richards is alive. Hard to think of a more improbable
| thing.
| doubled112 wrote:
| I always assumed it was the drugs keeping him going, but in
| reality I think he quit them a long time ago.
| thr0waway001 wrote:
| Please implore your children and children's children to
| leave a better world for Keith Richards.
| metadaemon wrote:
| Did you mean a better world than Keith?
| EvanAnderson wrote:
| Presumably Keith will outlast your children.
| elwell wrote:
| /whoosh/
| racl101 wrote:
| yup
| FireBeyond wrote:
| Keith Richards actually died sometime in 1983, but the
| doctors forgot to tell him.
| bitwize wrote:
| Occasionally he spends a year dead for tax purposes.
| bigmattystyles wrote:
| I always liked the bill hicks bit about him finding another
| ledge.
| morkalork wrote:
| Some of the symptoms (like tremors) of withdrawal after long
| term stimulant/cocaine/amphetamine use are similar to
| parkinsons too since both cause a shortage of dopamine in the
| brain. I kinda wonder if one could accidentally mask early
| symptoms of parkinsons.
| darth_avocado wrote:
| What's amazing is that 75.8 is the life expectancy of men in
| the US and he managed to cross it with the lifestyle he had.
| nartho wrote:
| Well it's 78.8 in the UK
| raverbashing wrote:
| Well but he spent a good time living in the US so it kinda
| averages out
| DaveExeter wrote:
| Life expectancy of men *at birth*. Once you've made it to ten
| years old, those statistics don't apply any more.
|
| In other words, the average lifespan of a 10-year old boy is
| not 65.8 additional years.
| jajko wrote:
| So don't hold the suspense - how much is it then and how
| does it stack with rest of developed world?
| sshine wrote:
| Even then, you'd be surprised that his lifestyle didn't
| impact his lifespan more negatively.
|
| But you'll have chain smokers who live into their nineties.
| smt88 wrote:
| Drug use is a risk factor for Parkinson's. A lot of drugs
| affect dopamine production or reuptake, and that seems to be
| able to cause a reduction in dopamine production later in life.
| Flatcircle wrote:
| Sang at his farewell concert, raised $190 million for childrens
| charity. Traveled to Switzerland and offed himself before
| parkinsons ravaged him.
|
| An aristocratic death
| ChocolateGod wrote:
| Is there any proof he went to Switzerland? I heard rumours of
| him and Sharon having a 'suicide pact' to go to Dignitas but
| figured it was just rumours.
| shafyy wrote:
| Do you have a source that he "offed himself" in Switzerland?
| Did he do assisted suicide in Switzerland?
| steveklabnik wrote:
| Sharon once claimed that they had agreed that if they ever
| got too ill, they'd do assisted suicide. Kelley claims she
| said this for attention and it's not the case.
| pixl97 wrote:
| Here is an article discussing it from 11 days ago.
|
| https://people.com/kelly-osbourne-debunks-rumors-about-
| ozzy-...
|
| Needless to say the title of the article seemingly has been
| reverse debunked.
| atlgator wrote:
| When his final concert was covered on the news, they even
| mentioned his suicide agreement with his wife. It was very
| foreshadowing, like saying "yeah, this is really it."
| fishgoesblub wrote:
| I'm not seeing anywhere that he went to Switzerland to have
| assisted suicide, where was this reported?
| Den_VR wrote:
| It's reported as being caused by "complications due to his
| condition." Suicide seems unfounded.
| colordrops wrote:
| They won't announce that he killed himself.
| ProfessorZoom wrote:
| U gonna post this on every ozzy post on here?
| pelagicAustral wrote:
| Doesn't Britain now have assisted dying? Why would he go to
| Switzerland for that?
| masfuerte wrote:
| They passed a law introducing it in a few years' time.
| There's a statutory system of death panels that needs to be
| implemented.
| camjw wrote:
| Law hasn't passed yet fyi, waiting second reading in the
| house of lords
| masfuerte wrote:
| Thank you, I had forgotten.
| gdbsjjdn wrote:
| I'm opposed to medically assisted dying but based on your
| use of "death panels" I'm assuming you come at it from a
| different perspective. How is a "death panel" different
| from businesses deciding who gets food or health treatment?
| masfuerte wrote:
| I'm also opposed to assisted suicide. At the moment
| "death panels" are largely imaginary. If this law passes
| it will introduce actual death panels which dispense
| actual death as a "treatment". I don't really understand
| your question, probably because I'm not coming from where
| you think I'm coming from.
| EvanAnderson wrote:
| In the US our "death panels" aren't imaginary. They're
| administered by insurance companies.
| rscho wrote:
| In Switzerland, (public) health services are not
| businesses. And I don't think anyone in our system makes
| money from encouraging people's deaths. We also have
| assisted suicide services. They're a public association
| that brings penthobarbital to your place and assists you
| during your suicide.
| Projectiboga wrote:
| Could have been physician assisted. Withdraw all meds and
| then give small increasing doses of morphine. But it really
| doesn't matter beyond his family and business partners.
| bluetidepro wrote:
| FWIW, no source on the cause yet. Only thing we know is from
| their official statement here:
|
| > 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
|
| https://xcancel.com/OzzyOsbourne/status/1947731442622206170
| thebruce87m wrote:
| > Ozzy Osbourne's music publicist confirmed to the BBC's Mark
| Savage that the star died in his home country - the UK - having
| lived in the US since the early 2000s.
|
| https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn0qq5nyxn0t?post=asset%3Ad1...
| eboynyc32 wrote:
| Iconic singer. He's finally flying high again.
| weinzierl wrote:
| In his last decade he must have been a dreamer who dreamt of
| better days. Sad to see him go.
| huqedato wrote:
| RIP Ozzy. You were "THE" Founder.
| SketchySeaBeast wrote:
| The Prince of Darkness will be missed. What a legend.
| mattigames wrote:
| I know it's not the most tasteful thing to speak about right now
| but Sharon and Ozzy have been vocal about their full support for
| euthanasia, Sharon watched her dad suffer with Alzheimer and it
| defined her views in the matter. So given this news plus their
| las gig being just weeks ago I assume it's likely what happened,
| or at least something that is arguably the same (e g. stopping
| life sustaining devices, not necessarily taking anything)
|
| Last stop for the crazy train, see you on the other side!
| sigzero wrote:
| No, she has said he didn't euthanize himself. Someone posted a
| link.
| racl101 wrote:
| Maybe it was the sheer will to do one last show.
| blast wrote:
| What is the link?
| whycome wrote:
| Yeah. Someone said that someone else posted a link.
|
| Refuting it and saying there's proof without actually
| providing it is...a challenge.
| Peacefulz wrote:
| What a loss. Hope he's rocking with Randy somewhere out there.
|
| Don't miss the recent tribute of Mr. Crowley with Jack Black on
| vocals. It was truly awesome.
|
| https://youtu.be/hm-M8GvgYws?si=10CEt7SXhbEITqA0
| ahazred8ta wrote:
| As a cameo, he defeated a giant bat in Little Nicky. (2000)
| https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1WBLiitrpSg
| wnevets wrote:
| Wow the last Black Sabbath show really was the last one.
| frankfrank13 wrote:
| Unreal timing, though, I'm sure he knew
| xxr wrote:
| I feel like everyone on the inside knew it was coming very
| soon which is why it seemed so peculiarly Ozzy-focused down
| to the cake that Geezer Butler brought out to him at the end
| of the show (and I imagine the contingency plan was to have
| vocalists from all the other bands fill in during the Black
| Sabbath set).
| tetha wrote:
| This makes me wonder if Ozzy will have one last appearance at
| Wacken, like Lemmy did.
| artembugara wrote:
| An absolute legend.
|
| I missed my chance to listen to Black Sabbath in 2015 or 2016
| during the Rock am Ring because the last day was cancelled.
|
| I'm happy for what Ozzy did in his sixties and seventies, and
| what a way to go.
|
| And let's not forget, the most likely reason he's been able to
| get this far with his lifestyle post-80s and 90s is Sharon
| mihaitodor wrote:
| Indeed... The clip for Under the Graveyard sums it up well:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzyA5gDa4E
| NickC25 wrote:
| A life well lived, and his work touched millions. Rest in peace.
| tmtvl wrote:
| I may have had my misgivings about the man (especially his
| attitude towards his successor), but I shan't deny the influence
| he had on the music I love. Rest in peace, mr. Osbourne.
| scoreandmore wrote:
| Funny growing up in the 70s and 80s watching the Moral Majority
| lose their collective shit over Black Sabbath. Satanic panic was
| real: I had to hide my records from my dad and only play them
| when he wasn't home. I still prefer Dio but ozzy had more of an
| impact on culture.
|
| War Pigs is the most metal anti war song ever which is why the
| religious right hated it so much. Nothing to do with satanism,
| more about speaking truth to power. Still as relevant in 1970 as
| it is today.
| rwmj wrote:
| In "you couldn't make this up" news, the BBC has a statement on
| his death from the UK Justice Secretary.
| https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn0qq5nyxn0t?post=asset%3A5c...
| Lammy wrote:
| I like how people were just responding to aesthetics despite
| After Forever being a song about how Jesus was way cool
| renewiltord wrote:
| Incredible artist. Never got to see him live but listened to him
| so much growing up. Nostalgic feeling.
| rybosome wrote:
| RIP to a legend who had a profound impact on me as a young
| musician.
|
| To quote my favorite song of his:
|
| I've seen your face a hundred times Everyday we've been apart And
| I don't care about the sunshine, yeah 'Cause mama, mama, I'm
| coming home
| babymetal wrote:
| Damn. I'm visiting my sister in Birmingham next week. It's a big
| city with a lot of history (industrial revolution, modern
| geology), and a lot of pride in ordinary people doing their best.
| RIP Ozzy.
| te_chris wrote:
| Cranking paranoid
| hypertexthero wrote:
| Goodbye, Ozzy :(
|
| Two of my favorite Sabbath songs:
|
| Zeitgeist, 2013 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ofrYzMU6cw
| Planet Caravan, 1970 -
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm2N2nHqITY
| pimeys wrote:
| Into the Void, for me -
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx6IwshTL6M
|
| They invented so many things here, and Ozzy is the blueprint of
| a heavy metal singer hundreds of people copied decades to come
| after this one.
| deagle50 wrote:
| war pigs
| rudasn wrote:
| https://youtu.be/IB6jbWoGtlA?si=kPUYfTnwoY4_qJUU
| upghost wrote:
| N.I.B. for me. Greatest love song of all time.
| https://youtu.be/NsXEb-NOs88
|
| Changes. Saddest song of all time. Can't listen to it
| without crying. https://youtu.be/dOz_dLmpT9A
| Ken_At_EM wrote:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyNuUQs8w4Y
|
| Paranoid. I love the Sabbath version, but Randy crushes it with
| Ozzy in 1981.
|
| Only 3 years with Ozzy, and Randy is still top 10 in the minds
| of many a metal guitarist today. What an insane impact.
| leshokunin wrote:
| Soittakaa Paranoid!
|
| RIP
| sillysaurusx wrote:
| I'm coming in from a position of ignorance here, so I was hoping
| the community would help me understand: the only thing I know
| about Ozzy is that he's bitten the heads off of various animals,
| including doves and bats. That happened before I was even born.
| But, looking over the comments, no one seems to be talking about
| it.
|
| My question is, is it just not a big deal? If someone did that
| today, they'd be crucified in the courts of public opinion.
|
| One could argue that it's disrespectful to bring this up on his
| death thread, but, two points: one, I hope that people will bring
| up my mistakes when I pass, so that others can learn from it; and
| two, this is the only opportunity to talk about it, since Ozzy
| has rarely been a topic on HN.
|
| Ozzy fans, can you help me understand why few people seem to
| care? It's hard to wrap my head around the idea that someone can
| decapitate some animals with their own teeth and then still build
| a loyal following. Was he just that good at music?
|
| I'm posting this from a place of curiosity, not malice, for what
| it's worth.
|
| EDIT: Even if the bat was a mistake, what about the doves?
| https://kiisfm.iheart.com/content/2022-01-24-theres-another-...
| josefresco wrote:
| ~43 years ago he bit the head off a bat _accidently_ :
| https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ozzy-osbourne-...
|
| I'm not sure how that turned into "he's bitten the heads off of
| various animals"
|
| "That night in Des Moines, someone threw a live bat. "I thought
| it was a rubber bat," Osbourne said. "I picked it up, put it in
| my mouth, crunched down, bit into it, being the clown that I
| am.""
| thomashabets2 wrote:
| He bit the head of what he thought was a rubber bat that
| someone threw on stage.
|
| Turns out it was not rubber.
|
| As for the rest. He was an icon. It's hard to see after the
| fact why something is revolutionary. Retrospectively it all
| seems obvious.
|
| Like Newton and gravity, or calculus.
|
| It doesn't look mind-blowing because everything that comes
| after it is influenced by it, and being first to start a new
| sound is only obvious if you look at the timeline.
| sillysaurusx wrote:
| It's understandable that he thought the bat was fake. But he
| bit the head off two doves too:
| https://kiisfm.iheart.com/content/2022-01-24-theres-
| another-...
|
| The rest is more interesting though. Which new sound did he
| create? Again, asking in earnest.
| 93po wrote:
| also worth mentioning there are at minimum tens of millions of
| people that eat animals that are still alive - some dishes in
| some cultures are served not-entirely-dead. and many more
| cultures (american) that literally boil animals alive all the
| time (lobsters).
|
| animal cruelty doesn't spark the backlash you might think it
| does, and especially not 40 years ago when ozzy did that
| hb0ss wrote:
| Ozzy has bitten the head of a bat because it was thrown on to
| the stage by an fan and he was expecting it to be a fake,
| rubber, bat. As far as I know he has not intentionally hurt an
| animal.
| sillysaurusx wrote:
| Unfortunately he has, twice.
| https://kiisfm.iheart.com/content/2022-01-24-theres-
| another-...
| davidjhall wrote:
| Legend has it that he was handed a live bat at a concert and
| thought it was a prop -- was almost more surprised than the
| bat.
|
| Also - animal rights were still gaining traction re: the arts.
| It was only in 1972 that the first "No animals were harmed in
| this film" was aired.
| jamiek88 wrote:
| It was just part of the metal zeitgeist at the time constant
| escalation of pretend evil/darkness.
|
| He's kinda been grandfathered in.
|
| But it caused plenty of controversy back then too.
|
| Then he rehabilitated his rep with the Osborne show where he
| was this messed up shuffling pity type figure.
|
| So in short the culture changed but Ozzie changed with it and
| by then he was too fucked up to be cancelled.
|
| Not claiming it's rational but culture rarely is.
|
| Additionally Ozzie claims he thought it was a fake/prop but was
| so fucked up at the time he just went with it.
|
| Also it happened once it wasn't like he was out doing it every
| week!
| popularrecluse wrote:
| Satanic panic kind blew it up into something it wasn't.
|
| Ozzy leaned into it a little and I think it helped his profile.
| tetha wrote:
| Black Sabbath, of which Ozzy was the frontman, is considered to
| be either one of around three, or the one founder of heavy
| metal. It may not be entirely right to say so, because there
| was a development going on around that time, but the entire
| giant metal genre goes back to these few guys, with Ozzy being
| one of them, in this timeline.
|
| This heavier and more aggressive music was paired with a more
| krass and evil image to distinguish it more. That's where a lot
| of the dark, evil and satanic themes come from. Both of these
| are why he is the lord / prince of darkness in our circles.
| nimih wrote:
| Do you have any other half-remembered urban legends to share
| with the class? I heard that Marilyn Manson had some ribs
| removed so he could suck himself off.
| gherkinnn wrote:
| Other rumours were that he had ribs removed so he could better
| suck his own cock. The head biting and the rib story was later
| transferred on to Marilyn Manson.
|
| Isn't it odd to think that a man covered in pentagrams caused
| such an outrage? How the world has changed.
| 2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote:
| I thought the ribs hoax/rumor was Marilyn Manson?
| jamiek88 wrote:
| It was Prince when I was a kid.
| gdiamos wrote:
| As someone who listened to the music, it's surprising to see
| this as the top comment.
|
| Yes their lyrics are dark. That was the point.
|
| Eating animals isn't what comes to mind for me. I also
| rationalize it that 100s of millions of animals are slaughtered
| every day, especially birds. Which one of those facts is
| darker?
|
| It's surprising to see what people are remembered for.
| trhway wrote:
| Doing it for fun and popularity is completely different. And
| especially in such a cruel and torturous way the Osborne did.
| He did it on several occasions and knowingly at that.
| Glyptodon wrote:
| I don't think this fully explains, but the way society as a
| whole thinks about animals has changed an awful lot over the
| last 50 years.
|
| I also think that the boundaries of "polite society" and the
| law were different in scope.
|
| (Not justifying, but considering figures like Strom Thurmond
| had no problem remaining in office despite issues arguably more
| human adjacent it does not surprise me.)
| fhdkweig wrote:
| Strom Thurmond was repeatedly reelected _because_ of what he
| did, not despite it. His constituents really liked what he
| did.
| snarkyturtle wrote:
| He's in everyone's good graces because he's now known as a
| kookie old man from the MTV show _The Osbournes_ that aired in
| the mid-2000's. Same reason why Michael Jackson, arguably the
| most famous person of the 90s, isn't as popular after his death
| given his reclusiveness and scandals. We tend to remember stars
| for the last impact that they had -- not what they started off
| with.
| Spooky23 wrote:
| When people die, folks usually share relevant stories about
| them, not inane nonsense.
| dekhn wrote:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_show
| rglullis wrote:
| > Ozzy fans, can you help me understand why few people seem to
| care?
|
| Because this is at best an anecdote for someone who had such a
| troubled life with alcohol and drugs?
|
| Because his music is so great and influenced so many other
| great artists that we know that he didn't do those things as a
| gimmick for attention?
|
| Because I know we shouldn't be looking at rock stars as
| paragons of moral virtue?
| joshcsimmons wrote:
| Not tech related
| Permit wrote:
| Many (probably not most, but close to it) death announcements
| on Hacker News are not tech related:
| https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
|
| In recent posts I see Brian Wilson (musician), Sly Stone
| (musician), Frederick Forsyth (author) and Michael Madsen
| (actor) all with over 50 points.
| DebtDeflation wrote:
| Now I REALLY wish I would have figured out a way to make it to
| the UK for Black Sabbath's final concert a couple of weeks ago.
| jasoneckert wrote:
| While Ozzy had nothing to do with the tech world directly, many
| of us leveraged his music to create our code and keep our sanity.
|
| I'd love to see a black bar on HN to celebrate the Prince of
| Darkness!
| 93po wrote:
| one of the few (auto?)biographies i've ever read, and it was a
| really entertaining read. seemed like a complicated but good guy.
| scop wrote:
| God bless you Ozzy. Thank you for everything.
| whycome wrote:
| A weird tech-related aspect to this for me. A few weeks ago I saw
| a viral video of his daughter saying that the final show really
| was his "funeral" and that he knew it would be his last show. I'm
| not a fan of his really so the video kinda passed me by, and I
| didn't even realize it was AI generated. Upon his death now I'm
| struck by how accurate the video was. And, how it was emotionally
| very....accurate? I had internalized it as "truth" because I
| didn't care enough to verify. But, in a weird way, it was "truth"
| even though the specific facts of it may not have been accurate.
| I don't know if I have a particular point here, just that the
| experience of AI infiltrating in this sideways method is
| ...concerning.
| Joeboy wrote:
| This is tangential to your tangent, but in The Decline of
| Western Civilization Pt. II there's an interview during which
| he cheerfully and obliviously fails to competently make himself
| breakfast. I think that might've marked the start of his
| charming, bumbling, cuddly reality-TV star era. And that scene
| was at least partly faked in the edit by director Penelope
| Spheeris.
| ocodia wrote:
| I'm a child of the early 80s and I consider myself fortunate to
| see the "original" Black Sabbath lineup at Ozzfest in Milton
| Keynes (2001). I was convinced I was witnessing his last gig not
| just because of his age but due to him tipping buckets of ice
| water over himself and the various electrical equipment on stage.
| What a gig though. What a showman. I'm surprised he lasted this
| long to be honest.
|
| RIP prince of darkness, you mad, mad bastard.
| vondur wrote:
| Ha, he was tripping over ice buckets at the Metallica shows
| back in 1986!
| formerphotoj wrote:
| I met him in a "Bark at the Moon" contest and shook his hand. Not
| sure he noticed, lol! Anyway, Bark at the Moon is one of his top
| songs! Here's howling in sorrow for you Ozzy, RIP.
| jimt1234 wrote:
| One of my favorite Ozzy moments had nothing to do with his music,
| but was equally awesome. He was on the Howard Stern radio show
| shortly after 9/11:
|
| Howard: Ozzy, what are your thoughts around 9/11?
|
| Ozzy: It was terrible; one of those things you'll always remember
| where you were and what you were doing when you first heard the
| news.
|
| Howard: Where were you when you first heard about 9/11?
|
| Ozzy: I can't bloody remember.
|
| I'm sure it was staged, but it really hit the spot for me after
| all the tragedy of 9/11. RIP Ozzy.
| vonneumannstan wrote:
| Did his last show and immediately keeled over. Legend.
| DaveExeter wrote:
| It's amazing that Ozzy Osbourne outlived Malcolm-Jamal Warner!
|
| Never would have predicted that.
| 1970-01-01 wrote:
| Rolling Stone has a great obituary. There are some crazy stories
| in tech, but rock and metal still have the crown.
|
| >"You couldn't write my story; you couldn't invent me."
|
| https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ozzy-osbourne-...
| mihaitodor wrote:
| RIP :( This is how I'd like to remember him:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0hfg1htnM4 (video of Ozzy during
| an interview being clueless about Justin Bieber)
| vondur wrote:
| Saw him live back in 1986 at the Long Beach Arena with Metallica
| opening. And I think I saw Sabbath at on OzzFest with Slayer. He
| was a great frontman and certainly lived a full life. We should
| all be so fortunate.
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