Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne offered a poignant view on the afterlife just weeks before his death on July 22, following a two-decade battle with Parkinson's disease. In his forthcoming posthumous memoir Last Rites, set for release on October 7, the Black Sabbath frontman candidly discussed his expectations for what comes after life.
Ozzy wrote: 'People ask me what I think's gonna happen in the afterlife. I say to 'em, 'I've no idea, but it won't be long now, so if you hand around a bit, maybe I can haunt you and give you the answer.'' He added that his family would not let him discuss what he wanted on his tombstone.
The memoir was completed after Ozzy's triumphant final performance at the 'Back to the Beginning' concert in Birmingham on July 5, which featured Black Sabbath alongside Metallica, Pantera, and Slayer. Despite his reputation for fearlessness, Ozzy admitted feeling anxious ahead of the show, fearing he might not make it to the stage. He considered having a video prepared, but his wife Sharon reassured him: 'If you can't sing on the night, just talk to the crowd and thank them. All you need to do is get up there and be Ozzy.'
In the memoir, Ozzy expressed skepticism about returning to England for his final gig, writing: 'For a while I was convinced my last trip home would be in a pine f***ing box.' He reflected on the overwhelming affection from the full house at Villa Park, saying: 'At Back to the Beginning, sitting on that throne, I felt at home, I felt at peace. I felt comfortable. I'm gonna miss doing it, going on stage. It's the only world I've known for 57 years.'
Ozzy also recalled the notorious 1982 incident in Des Moines, Iowa, where he bit the head off a bat thrown on stage, thinking it was rubber. In his 2010 autobiography I Am Ozzy, he described the moment: 'Something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid. Then the head in my mouth twitched.' The fan who threw the bat maintains it was already dead.
