Louis Osbourne, the eldest son of the late Black Sabbath icon Ozzy Osbourne, has made a rare public appearance to discuss the overwhelming global reaction to his father’s death earlier this year. Speaking on the latest episode of the “Trying Not to Die” podcast, hosted by his half-brother Jack Osbourne, Louis offered an emotional account of the Prince of Darkness’ final send-off in Birmingham.
Ozzy, who passed away in July at the age of 76, was laid to rest in his home city in England. While the family expected a significant turnout, Louis, 50, admitted that the actual scale of the public mourning took him completely by surprise.
“Before we turned onto the street, I just thought it was going to be like two or three people deep for like half a kilometre before where the Black Sabbath bridge was, and it would be a throng,” Louis told Jack during the interview.
Instead, the procession was met with a scene reminiscent of a royal event or a massive rock festival.
“[Fans were] climbing up lampposts, hanging out of windows, standing on top of bus stops to get a look of it,” Louis recalled. “It kept on going for another half a mile and then people were following us all around town.”
He described the experience as “awe inspiring,” noting that it finally allowed him to comprehend the true reach of his father’s legacy—something that can be difficult to gauge from inside the family bubble.
“I knew people loved him, but I didn’t have a sense of how many and how much,” Louis admitted. “I’ve never got my head round the fact of just how much of a cultural impact he had and how culturally important he was.”
The conversation also touched on Ozzy‘s mindset during his final weeks. The metal legend died shortly after a star-studded retirement celebration, having battled various health issues for years. According to Louis, his father seemed to possess a level of acceptance regarding his mortality.
“I’m not saying he was ready to go, but I think I definitely think he knew his time was coming from the conversations we had,” Louis revealed. “And to some degree, I think he was kind of at peace with that because he’d been in so much pain for so long.”
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