Yesterday, Ozzy Osbourne passed away at 76, and musicians everywhere are remembering him in their own ways.
Instead of just sharing kind words online, some artists decided to honor Ozzy right on stage, filling their concerts with his songs and stories about what he meant to them. Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band both played their own versions of “Changes,” while Geordie Greep and his band put together a wild instrumental mashup of Black Sabbath tunes in Birmingham, the city where it all began for Ozzy and his legendary group.
At XOYO in Birmingham, Geordie Greep’s band went all out, playing “Symptom of the Universe,” “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Paranoid,” “Sweet Leaf,” and “Crazy Train.” Afterward, Greep told the crowd, “You get a guitar, you go to a rehearsal room when you’re 12 or something, and you play these songs, and you feel like you’re gonna have superpowers. It’s like magic. And it was these fucking guys just coming from this town—which is not exactly Beverly Hills. It’s amazing.… Rest in peace.” He also said Black Sabbath “made this music that really changed everything, and they came from this town.”
Fans think Ozzy’s music will never get old.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga ended her Mayhem Ball show in San Francisco with a surprise—she tore open her jacket, showing everyone an Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt, and then blasted “Crazy Train” over the speakers. Cyndi Lauper did something a little different in Raleigh, North Carolina, by playing “Crazy Train” straight from her phone into the microphone, and the whole crowd sang along.
Sometimes, when people say goodbye, the whole world feels a little bit different, like when your favorite song ends and you wish it would just keep going.
