On Tuesday, heavy metal learned the heartbreaking news that Ozzy Osbourne passed away at 76 years old. Having battled Parkinson’s for several years, the icon pushed through his health issues to perform one last concert alongside Black Sabbath on July 5th. An iconic moment in heavy metal, the shock of losing Ozzy just a few weeks later ripped through the music industry. With countless tributes pouring in, Geordie Greep found a different way to honor Ozzy when he performed a medley of hit songs from the icon.
Videos by American Songwriter
With the Back to the Beginning concert taking place in Birmingham, where Black Sabbath formed in 1968, Greep performed in the same city just a few weeks later. And with the shock of Ozzy’s death weighing on him, the musician decided to keep his thoughts to himself and let the music do the talking.
While performing at XOYO, Greep seamlessly blended iconic songs like “N.I.B.”, “Paranoid”, “Sweet Leaf”, “Crazy Train”, Symptom Of The Universe”, and “War Pigs.” Again, not singing during the performance, the audience soaked in the moment with a few of them singing the words.
[RELATED: Black Sabbath Honors the Legacy of Ozzy Osbourne After the Prince of Darkness’ Death]
Geordie Greep Shares Few Words On The Impact Of Ozzy Osbourne And Black Sabbath
When ending his tribute to Black Sabbath and Ozzy, Greep told the crowd, “Very cheesy to talk about this kind of thing, maybe. But it’s actually pretty crazy to come to Birmingham when these four f***ing guys — they made this music that really changed everything and they came from this town.”
Knowing how historic Birmingham was to the history of heavy metal, Greep’s performance gained high praise from fans, with one person commenting, “That’s a really impressive. The word legend gets thrown around like confetti but today we’ll celebrate the loss of a true trailblazer jam you’ve captured there. Thank you for sharing this and RIP Ozzy.”
As more and more artists share their stories of Ozzy, the Osbourne family asked for nothing but privacy during the difficult time. “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.”
(Photo by Elena Di Vincenzo/Archivio Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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