Growing up, Jack Osbourne felt like he had to share his dad with the world.
“He was always touring,” Ozzy’s youngest son, 39, tells Rolling Stone over Zoom from his Los Angeles home on Tuesday.
“[The doc] feels like Rocky III when he loses everything and he’s trying to fight to get it all back,” Jack says.
So it’s just a lot of checking in with each other daily and rolling through the emotions of it all.
Also, he wrote it just to set the record straight: “Yeah, I’ve been sick but don’t feel sorry for me, and this is the life.…” He had no regrets.
Jack Osbourne felt he had to tell everyone about his father as a child. Ozzy’s 39-year-old youngest son tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from his Los Angeles home on Tuesday, “He was always touring.”. “I genuinely believe that we first connected as adults while participating in [the travel TV show] World Detour. “”.
While the close relationship between father and son was evident in MTV’s reality show The Osbournes, Jack had the chance to spend genuine quality time with the man who helped create heavy metal with Black Sabbath and later achieved greater fame as a solo artist during the three seasons of World Detour, which ran from 2016 to 2018.
He recalls thinking, “Oh, I’m so lucky I got to do this with him,” while the tourist pair was touring American landmarks and attractions. In that I got him during his final years of good health, I was extremely fortunate. “.”.
After a fall at home in 2019, Ozzy suffered a serious injury to his neck. The rest of his life was clouded by that accident, Parkinson’s disease complications, and other illnesses, which forced him to postpone and cancel tour dates while he healed. Back to the Beginning, a massive charity concert extravaganza in his hometown of Birmingham, England, was the venue for his final performance as a solo artist and Black Sabbath’s singer on July 5 of this year. Weeks later, on July 22, the singer passed away, sparking tributes from all over the world. Her music served as an inspiration for Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, and numerous other metal bands that played at the festival.
Ozzy’s recent book, Last Rites, and the Paramount+ documentary, Ozzy: No Escape From Now, detail the artist’s arduous efforts to recuperate from his injuries in order to appear in Back to the Beginning.
Days before his passing, the singer finished Last Rites. In his own unique words, he describes the suffering his injuries caused him and the love he received from his family and fans in his last years. He also reflects on the numerous times he faced death in the past, from the tragic death of guitarist Randy Rhoads to saying goodbye to friends like John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. He also considers how the Back to the Beginning concert and the subsequent love explosion warmed his heart.
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“We were like, ‘Well, do we go forward [with the book]?'” Jack explains after [Dad] passed away. In my opinion, we all thought, “Well, he wanted the book to be published.”. Holding off on the book felt wrong because that was something he was working toward and continued to do until two days before his death. “.”.
Ozzy: No Escape From Now’s producers started filming the documentary while Osbourne was recording his last album, 2022’s Patient Number 9. They followed him as he performed the songs and during his comeback appearances at the Back to the Beginning concert and England’s 2022 Commonwealth Games. Jack claims that when the doctor loses everything and fights to regain it all, he feels like Rocky III. “That last show’s build-up is really well-explained. “”.
In a direct and heartfelt interview, Jack discusses the influence Ozzy has had on his life and how he, his mother Sharon, and sisters Aimée and Kelly have been coping with the devastating loss.
How have you been doing lately?
It is simply strange. That’s just a typical response to losing a parent, I believe, but I’m doing fine. Having children and readjusting to the school schedule simply makes me concentrate on “All right.”. Come on, let’s keep going. “”.
Ozzy would probably want that as well.
Oh, I see. Totally. I could hear him asking, “What are you all crying for?” incessantly. All of this would seem absurd to him.
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In what ways has the family helped each other?
After spending three or four weeks in England, I returned to L. 1. roughly one month after his death. While Aimée and I are in L, Mom and Kelly are in England. a. It basically consists of constantly checking in with one another and processing all of the emotions involved. It’s really comforting to know that, hey, someone else feels the same way I do, which could be my mom or my sisters.
It’s clear that Ozzy didn’t want sympathy for him. Why, in your opinion, did he feel the need to write the book and describe the difficulties he encountered following the accident?
He wrote it, I believe, in part to dispel some rumors about this, that, and the other. Additionally, he wrote it to correct the record: “Yes, I have been ill, but don’t feel sorry for me; this is the way of life.”. He had nothing to regret. I believe that he wanted to express his journey and fortunate life in his own words.
The family debated whether or not to publish the book, and I know they did. You must be having a hard time revealing this six-year history. Was it difficult to read about that period of time again?
His inclusion of the last six and seven years in the book was intriguing. I can honestly say that this book is his stream of consciousness during this final period of time. When you read a biography of someone, you always wonder, “How accurate is that?”. I was reading it and was in the middle of a chapter when he began with a story, went off on a tangent, and then returned, and his thought process was exactly as I had imagined. Because of this, I believe it has a very personal touch.
When reading his story of his health issues, what caught your attention?
I wish he had gone a little bit further into some of the health-related topics, but to be completely honest, I believe he was simply so damned sick of it that he didn’t. The one thing that, in my opinion, is evident is how crucial it was that he perform that final show.
How did the Back to the Beginning concert go for you personally?
It took me a few days to get there. They were soundchecked by me. In a surprising way, it was powerful. I said on GMA that it was like a living wake because I knew it would be a difficult day for the entire family, especially him. Strangely, everything had a divine perfection to it. It came to a complete stop. He saw people he hadn’t seen in thirty years, after all. Being in his hometown and getting to see friends and fans was an incredible and heartwarming experience.
What did Ozzy tell you about his experience?
His joy was immense. He developed a bit of a social media addiction after becoming ill. He was on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. He spent a lot of time scrolling through social media because he was comparatively inactive. It was his first time performing and then seeing a direct social media response.
In England, he would receive tabloid newspapers every morning, and each day of the week that followed featured a significant story in one of the country’s newspapers. Seeing all of the wonderful reviews and posts on the internet simply made him very happy. He was elated. I think, “Dad, these reviews are all fantastic.”. He continues, “That does me a lot of fucking good.”. I’m not working anymore. “”.
He details the amount of therapy and effort he put into getting ready for the concert in the book. He must have felt victorious after that concert.
For him, it was monumental. Although he was annoyed that he was unable to leave the chair, I believe he performed an excellent job overall.
It was very moving to watch him sing “Mama, I’m Coming Home.”. Has he mentioned that to you?
“Oh, I fucking started losing it in ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home,’” was the only thing he said to me. My reply was, “Well, everybody was.”. “.”.
How has his family been able to lift his spirits since his accident?
Whether he was working on an album with Andrew [Watt], collaborating with [friend and guitarist] Billy Morrison, or producing the podcast with us, I believe he always felt a sense of purpose. These extended periods of time when he was either in between things or not working toward anything would be difficult. He would simply begin to feel depressed.
He loved his job. He wasn’t his best self, therefore, when he wasn’t. However, either Kelly and Aimée or me and the kids would always be at the house. In an effort to get him to come out occasionally, we would try to see him as much as possible. Still, he enjoyed his routine. He settled into the rhythm of simply being at home, which was both a boon and a bane; he disliked it if you tried to disrupt that pattern.
I eventually moved back in for a while. Moving in with them for six months was just easier for me because I was between houses, and he was in a good place at the time because he couldn’t be unhappy. The house was simply crowded with children.
When did he feel the happiest?
He would be extremely delighted when certain friends came to visit. when our house would host a large dinner. I remember him laughing a lot, even though he wasn’t always joyful. I remember him giggling uncontrollably at some extremely offensive jokes. A dick-in-the-mouth joke to make him laugh.
How has the accident affected his personality?
He was much quieter simply because his life slowed down so much. I believe that slowing down gave him a slightly better perspective. He seemed to be much more present in some respects. He would still blast music at 10 billion decibels despite being quieter, but it was a different version of himself.
What kind of music was he blasting?
He would perform the most improbable shit. At one point, he experienced a strong Eighties phase and a deep Michael Jackson phase. He would play Peter Gabriel every time.
The embarrassing thing is that Roger Waters was always playing Pink Floyd, which is one of the things that pisses me off the most about the whole fucking Roger Waters bullshit. How the fucking asshat that guy is. I believe it to be merely jealousy. “Dude, they might just do a cheers at the local pub when you die,” it goes like. “”.
I became upset when I read about all the surgeries he underwent, particularly how the first one added to his problems. What are the family’s current thoughts on everything?
I’ve been angry about it for a very long time. The L has both advantages and disadvantages. A. . Doctor: This city has excellent doctors, but they will never give you the straight talk because they don’t want to be the one who screwed someone. In my father’s medical field, I observed that the surgeons were almost too afraid to be open about the procedures.
Although there were a few excellent doctors, things really took a turn for the worse after that initial surgery, and the latter doctor should never have performed the procedure in the manner that he did. It simply started my dad on a very difficult path. Upon entering COVID, the response was simply, “Yeah.”.
Everyone was merely hoping that this surgery would be the one to heal him. That first one caused so much damage that it was difficult to dig out of the hole, but this will be the one that fixes him.
According to your mother, she intended to sue that doctor a few years ago. Is it still being worked on?
We ought to have done it right away, as I’ve been saying from the beginning, but I’m not sure. When you look at it, you think, “Okay, sure, you could sue this doctor or whoever, but it’s not going to bring [Dad] back.”. It won’t help him get better. Yes, it makes it clear to everyone that the doctor is a jerk, but I suppose I would have done it five years ago if I had a magic wand.
How is your mom handling everything right now?
She isn’t okay, but she is okay. It has its ups and downs. Despite the fact that she has a lot of love and support around her, she is still attempting to figure out where she should go from here, how to navigate, what the new baseline is, and what she should do without her significant other. I am returning her to L. a. this week. . Since it’s her birthday on Thursday, I’m actually taking a flight to England tomorrow.
So, yes, we need to keep going. He always wanted to keep going forward and detested people who felt sorry for him, as you even stated.
When I opened my phone after the funeral, I saw a video of my dad on David Letterman a week after Randy [Rhoads] had died. David Letterman said to him, “I’m surprised you came,” and everyone was having a rough morning. Right now, you’ve been going through it. The answer from my dad is, “I’m about rock and roll, and I have to keep going, and I have a job to do.”. And I raised it up. I thought, “Look, he’s telling us.”. I have to keep going. “.”.
How close your parents were to each other until the very end was one of the things that really stood out to me about the documentary.
Yes, indeed. I also discussed the blessing and curse of him getting hurt and slowing down. I believe it significantly strengthened their bond. They had undoubtedly experienced their own issues, and in a way, I believe it helped to heal a lot of things. We spent a lot of time with him over the past seven years, so that’s the plus, if there is one.
What legacy do you think your father left behind?
I believe he always did it with the attitude that “this could all go away tomorrow.” He certainly became the rock star, as many musicians do. I believe that his legacy also includes the fact that he was not a one-dimensional person. He was able to adapt to the times, take chances, and change. I’m not merely saying that when I say that he had an influence for every decade. It’s simply a fact.
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“I’ve had a loud life,” your dad wrote in the final chapter of the book. Now I’m ready for some peace. Do you believe that he meant it?
One hundred percent. In one of our conversations, he turned around, looked at me, and said, “I think I’m going to grow a beard.”. My hair is going to be chopped off. “What?” I asked, and he replied, “Yeah, I’m not a rock star anymore. I thought, “Oh, fuck off.”. He’d resemble a Brooklyn hipster.
