In the wake of Ozzy Osbourne’s tragic death yesterday, July 22, artists around the globe have honored the Prince Of Darkness with heartfelt tributes and song dedications during their live shows.
Coldplay
At their Nashville show on July 22, Coldplay dedicated the entire show to Ozzy before launching into a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes.” Frontman Chris Martin shared, “We’d like to dedicate this whole show to the incredible, genius talent, and characterful gift to the world that was Ozzy Osbourne. We send our love to his family.”
Lady Gaga
During her set in San Francisco, CA, last night, Lady Gaga closed the show with Ozzy’s iconic “Crazy Train” blaring through the speakers while wearing an Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt beneath her leather jacket.
Alice Cooper
Just minutes before his performance in Cardiff, Wales—only two hours from Ozzy’s birthplace—Alice Cooper and his band dedicated the show to Ozzy during their backstage ritual: “Ozzy on three. One, two, three.”
In a lengthy social media post, Cooper shares, “Last night, we found out that the world lost Ozzy just minutes before going on stage in Cardiff, Wales, which is about 2 hours from the place where Ozzy was born. Before going on stage, Alice recorded the following quote for his radio show Alice’s Attic:
“Well, we all know that time is going to take us rockers, but when the giants fall, it’s really hard to accept. Even though everybody saw it coming with Ozzy, it just took our breath away when it happened. So Ozzy and family – your records and your music and your legend and all that you brought – the humor to the rock business – will live on forever and we’re gonna miss you man.”
Ghost
Following their performance of “The Future Is A Foreign Land” during one of their biggest shows of their careers at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Ghost dedicated the night to the memory of Ozzy. The band shared, “We’re gonna dedicate tonight’s show to the memory, of the life and laughter, of Ozzy Osbourne.” Fans erupted into applause and chanted, “Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!” The band continued, “For being the Prince Of Darkness, he sure gave us a lot of light. So we’re gonna tap into that tonight and carry it forward through a time of darkness.”
Pantera
Before closing out their show in Cincinnati, OH, yesterday, July 22, Pantera shared, “This is for Ozzy and his family” before launching into a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan.”
The Who
Ahead of kicking off their July 22 show in Milan, Italy, The Who dedicated their opening song to Ozzy. “We’re gonna do this first one for Ozzy,” they shared. “God bless him.” The band then opened their set with “I Can’t Explain.”
Queens Of The Stone Age
At the halfway point of their performance in Šalata, Zagreb, Croatia, on July 22, Queens Of The Stone Age stopped their set to dedicate “Long Slow Goodbye” to Ozzy. They shared, “This is for you, Ozzy.” Frontman Josh Homme stepped away from the mic to let the fans break out into an “Ozzy” chant before kicking off the performance.
Shinedown
During their July 22 performance in Pittsburgh, PA, Shinedown dedicated their performance to Ozzy. Towards the end of their set, the band covered a verse of Ozzy’s 1991 “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” before tying it to their routine cover of “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Def Leppard
Before Def Leppard hit the stage in Saratoga Springs, NY, last night, Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” played on tape. At the halfway point of their show, they stopped to acoustically cover “Changes,” with a large projection of Ozzy during his final performance with Black Sabbath on July 5 behind the band on stage. They conclude the cover, saying, “We love Ozzy Osbourne. We love Black Sabbath, but we love Ozzy Osbourne.”
Cyndi Lauper
During an extremely moving moment at her performance in Raleigh, NC, last night, Cyndi Lauper pulled her phone out to play “Crazy Train” into her microphone on stage. While she held the phone and solemnly listened to Ozzy’s voice echoing through her mic, the crowd began to clap and sing along to the iconic track.
Beartooth
At their Mansfield, MA, performance yesterday, Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo broke out into a dedication speech to Ozzy. He said, “The only, truly the greatest, to ever do this, the fucking Prince Of Darkness, himself. I need you to make some news for our lord and savior, Ozzy fucking Osbourne, right now. May you rest in fucking power.”
