A poignant moment between British artist Yungblud (Dominic Richard Harrison) and heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne unfolded backstage at Black Sabbath‘s farewell concert in Birmingham on Saturday, July 5th. Yungblud shared a video capturing the tender exchange, revealing that he presented Osbourne with a custom cross as a symbol of profound respect and gratitude.
The gesture held significant personal meaning for Yungblud. He explained the context, stating: “Back in 2022 on the video shoot for The Funeral, Ozzy gave me his gold cross and said, ‘I hope this brings you luck.’ I thought, on this monumental moment for him and Sabbath, it was time for me to return the favor and let him know what he and the band means to me.” This act of reciprocation highlighted a deep connection formed years prior between the two artists.
The emotional exchange occurred just before Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath took the stage for their final performances at Villa Park. Earlier in the evening, Yungblud himself contributed to the star-studded event, performing a version of Sabbath‘s “Changes.” For his rendition of the track, originally featured on Sabbath‘s 1972 album Vol. 4, Yungblud was backed by an impressive supergroup featuring Extreme‘s Nuno Bettencourt on guitar, Anthrax‘s Frank Bello on bass, Sleep Token‘s II on drums, and Black Sabbath / Ozzy Osbourne touring keyboardist Adam Wakeman on keys.
Yungblud‘s admiration for Ozzy Osbourne is well-documented. He previously discussed his relationship with Ozzy and his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, who both made cameo appearances in the music video for “The Funeral,” the lead single from Yungblud‘s self-titled third album.
Speaking to Louder earlier this year, Yungblud reflected on a key piece of advice Ozzy imparted during that video shoot. “A lot of people compare me and Ozzy,” Yungblud noted, clarifying, “Not our music, ’cause that’s different, but I believe we have this unfiltered f**king thing that is hard to put your finger on.” He elaborated on Ozzy‘s philosophy about authenticity in rock music: “If you can be completely truthful, people aren’t going to get it, and then they’re gonna get it… Ozzy was, like, ‘That’s the journey. When you look back at it at 70, that’s the f**king fun bit… He said, ‘You don’t want to live your life censoring it, or don’t be a rock star.’ He said, ‘You get this opportunity because you are not afraid to say the things other people will be. So when you stop f**king doing that, you ain’t a rock star anymore.’”
This profound statement resonated deeply with Yungblud, who concluded: “That s**t hit me like a ton of bricks. Because, f**k, yeah!”
