In a poignant BBC documentary filmed prior to his passing, Ozzy Osbourne affirmed he “wouldn’t change a thing” about his life.
The iconic rock musician passed away in July at the age of 76, shortly after a star-studded farewell concert held in his hometown of Birmingham.
“That gig was a great way to go out,” he remarked in one of his final interviews for the documentary.
Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home chronicled the last three years of his life and was broadcast on BBC One on Thursday. Initially slated for August, the BBC postponed the one-hour film “respecting the family’s wishes to wait a bit longer.”
“I’ve had a lot of fun,” Osbourne reflected near the documentary’s conclusion. “I’ve had a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, you know.”
“It’s been a great life. If I could live my life again, I wouldn’t change a damn thing.”
He also shared how he nearly succumbed to his “emotions” during his “humbling” final performance at Villa Park in early July.
His daughter, Kelly, recounted in the film how “everyone was crying” in the stadium while he sang “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” a song penned for Ozzy and Sharon by Lemmy of Motorhead.
“I couldn’t get the words out,” Ozzy admitted, adding that it was “torture” to perform seated due to a severe spinal injury.
“The only thing that was terribly frustrating for me, I had to sit there instead of running across the stage,” the former Black Sabbath frontman stated.
“I wanted to get up and sing so much. It was very humbling to sit in that chair for nine songs.”
In addition to Black Sabbath, the event showcased performances by artists they influenced, including Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.
Ozzy, who revealed his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2020, was shown expressing his intention to “retire from public life” in the days following the concert.
Initially known for his music and unrestrained rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, the British singer and his family relocated to Los Angeles in the 2000s and became the stars of their own groundbreaking reality TV show, The Osbournes.
The BBC documentary chronicles Ozzy and Sharon’s plans to move back to their home in Hertfordshire, UK.
“I don’t want to be buried in America,” he declared in the documentary.
The film also depicts him undergoing physiotherapy and using a machine with prosthetic back and leg supports as part of his “determined” effort to return to the stage for a final performance.
“He wants that opportunity to say goodbye to his fans properly,” Sharon noted.
Kelly, appearing in the film alongside Jack and Aimee, Ozzy’s other children with Sharon, commented: “I always thought my dad was invincible. But Iron Man wasn’t really made of iron.”
As the frontman of Black Sabbath, the Birmingham-born musician is recognized as a founding figure of heavy metal, known for songs such as “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.”
However, he faced numerous health challenges, including a serious quad bike accident in 2003 and spinal damage from a fall in 2019, which led to the cancellation of his two-and-a-half-year farewell tour.
His memoir, Last Rites, will be published posthumously next week.
An excerpt, published in the Times on Thursday, revealed that the late star contracted sepsis at the beginning of this year, and his condition “was really touch and go” at one point.
“The whole family basically thought I was a goner,” he wrote.
He also disclosed that he spent eight days in the hospital shortly after moving back to the UK in May due to concerns about his blood pressure.
Furthermore, he wrote that before departing Los Angeles, he replaced his former addictions to drugs and alcohol with fruit. “I did get hooked on apples for a while,” he said.
“Not just any apples, mind you. They had to be Pink Lady apples… I got to the point where some nights I was eating 12 of ’em.”
He added: “It got to the point where I needed to join Pink Ladies Anonymous. It’s a wonder I didn’t wake up one day with an apple tree sprouting out of my arse.”
Following his death, Ozzy was given an emotional send-off as his coffin made a final journey through his home city, witnessed by thousands of fans chanting his name.
A separate documentary about the last six years of his life, titled Ozzy: No Escape From Now, is scheduled to premiere on Paramount+ on Tuesday, October 7.
Select fans will have the opportunity to view it at special preview screenings in Birmingham on Friday and London on Monday.
Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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