Ozzy Osbourne’s Sisters Honor Their ‘Loving and Funny’ Brother After His Death at 76

Ozzy Osbourne’s sisters have broken their silence as they paid tribute to their brother following his death aged 76. 

The metal legend died on Tuesday just weeks after he took to the stage for his final show with Black Sabbath, with his family confirming the sad news in a statement. 

His sisters Jean Powell, 85, and Gillian Hemming, 80, stayed up all night ‘reminiscing’ about their ‘crazy’ brother, who they described as ‘loving and funny’. 

Speaking to The Mirror, Jean told how the sisters saw Ozzy – whose real name was John Michael – when he was back in Birmingham in June where he and Black Sabbath were given the freedom of the city.     

‘It was upsetting because he could not stand up straight, but he was still our John, still cracking the jokes,’ she said. ‘To us he was our brother, not a celebrity, so it’s crazy to see the outpouring of love since his death was announced.   

‘We just can’t believe he is gone and we won’t be getting another phone call or text from him. Every week without fail he would get in touch, either by phone or text, to ask how we were all doing and what was going on.’

The sisters learned of Ozzy’s death by phone call. Jean said Ozzy texted her the night of Black Sabbath’s final gig at Villa Park and said he couldn’t believe the crowds who turned out as he drove down Lodge Road in Birmingham, near where the family used to live.

Jean added that she ‘broke down’ when she saw the crowds in the stadium waiting to see her brother but sadly didn’t get to chat to him much that night. 

Despite being ‘frail’ in his final weeks, the sisters said Ozzy’s death still came as a shock but they are ‘thankful’ he died in England. 

‘We were proud as punch about him and everything he achieved,’ added Gillian. ‘But it never went to his head. What the public saw of John was exactly what he was like in real life. It wasn’t an act.’ 

Ozzy’s funeral plans have not yet been made public by his family, but Ozzy previously revealed he didn’t want it to be a sad occasion but a time to say ‘thanks’.

‘There’ll be no harping on the bad times,’ he told The Times back in 2011. 

‘It’s worth remembering that a lot of people see nothing but misery their whole lives, so by any measure, most of us in this country — especially rock stars like me — are very lucky.

‘That’s why I don’t want my funeral to be sad, I want it to be a time to say ”thanks”.’

Ozzy insisted he wanted it to be a celebration rather than a ‘mope-fest’ and that he didn’t care what music was played as long as it made his loved ones happy.

‘I honestly don’t care what they play at my funeral; they can put on a medley of Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle and We Are the Diddymen if it makes ’em happy,’ he quipped.

Known for his humour, Ozzy joked he’d like to play a prank to make people smile, such as a playing a video of him asking a doctor for a second opinion on his death.

However, in another interview a few years later, Ozzy narrowed down his song choice to A Day In The Life by The Beatles.

Ozzy has previously credited The Beatles for inspiring him to become a musician himself, revealing he became an avid fan after hearing their 1964 hit She Loves You.

When asked about his funeral song, Ozzy insisted he would want a Beatles number being played rather than any of his own music on the day. 

‘I really need a few more years to think this over, but probably something from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Revolver,’ he told NME in 2016.

‘I definitely don’t want my f**king greatest hits album – I never ever play that thing, I’m f**king embarrassed about it. And I definitely don’t want a f**king happy song – I’m dead.’

The rock star died on Tuesday morning with his family confirming the news in a statement.

‘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,’ they shared.

‘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.’

He is survived by his wife Sharon and his six children. He shares three kids – Aimee, 41, Kelly, 40, and Jack, 39, with Sharon.

Ozzy also welcomed two children – Jessica and Louis – from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, while he also adopted her son Elliot from her previous relationship.

The musician had undergone seven surgeries in the past five years, including a fourth spinal operation in 2023, and had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2003. 

Ozzy took to the stage for his farewell concert at Villa Park Stadium in his native Birmingham less than three weeks before his death. 

The rocker reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005 to bid an emotional farewell to his decades of performing live on stage. 

After selling out in minutes, over 42,000 fans packed into Villa Park for the aptly-titled Back to the Beginning show, which saw Ozzy and Black Sabbath return to their hometown – 56 years after they formed there. 

The final photograph of him before his death was taken on stage as he sat on a black throne aptly decorated with a bat to perform his best-known hits for his loyal fans.

His final words on stage were: ‘It’s the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’ 

A message on screen then read: ‘Thank you for everything, you guys are f***ing amazing. Birmingham Forever,’ before the sky lit up with fireworks. 

Before his final show, Ozzy said he hoped to continue recording music after retiring from live performing, but he heartbreakingly died before he was able to do so.

He told Metal Hammer magazine: ‘I still enjoy doing my own work, I also enjoy singing on other people’s work. 

‘For the foreseeable future, I will keep on recording if the projects interest me, it’s very important.’

Ozzy’s last solo album, 2022’s Patient Number 9, featured a long list of guest artists, including hid Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Zakk Wylde, and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, among others.

Black Sabbath pioneered heavy metal music in the early 1970s with hits such as War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man. 

Ozzy grew up in Aston, Birmingham, and Black Sabbath – though they were known as Earth at the time – held their first ever gig at The Crown pub in Birmingham in 1968. 

They renamed the band in 1969 in tribute to their favourite horror film, and the move set them on the path to heavy metal royalty. 

Black Sabbath’s impact on music was enormous and they brought a heavy metal genre that had been in its infancy when they began to the attention of millions of fans.

His wife Sharon later came up with the idea for the fly-on-the-wall documentary about her family that was filmed at their Beverly Hills home.

It proved a major hit for US network MTV, running between 2002 and 2005. Aimee however refused to take part and criticised her parents for their antics, despite the fact that the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Programme.

It covered major events including Sharon’s 2002 colon cancer diagnosis and Osbourne’s quad bike crash in 2003. Sharon survived the cancer battle despite a poor prognosis. 

Ozzy admitted that he ‘fell apart’ during his wife’s treatment, whilst Jack tried to take his own life due to the impact of his mother’s condition on his mental health. 

Sharon forged her own career as a TV star, most famously as a judge on hit talent show The X Factor. She now also hosts chat show The Talk on Talk TV.

In recent years, Ozzy struggled with his health and he had to cancel shows in 2019 after a fall left him needing surgery on his neck.

He began to experience numbness which he thought was connected to his 2003 accident but in January 2020, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The star underwent major spinal surgery in June 2022, which Sharon later said had been a success. 

To help him recover, the family lodged plans for a rehab wing at their Buckinghamshire mansion.

The extension was to feature a self-contained nurse’s flat as well as ‘discreet grab rails and aids’ and ‘an abundance of stopping and sitting spaces’.

The plans also included a ‘health and exercise studio’ as well as a ‘pool house orangery’ and ‘garden room’.

In September 2023, he had yet another operation, this time on his neck once again. He said afterwards that it was his ‘last procedure’.