For forty years, Stephen Rea shared Ozzy Osbourne's intimacy. In an exclusive extract from his book Ozzy and Me, he recounts their heartbreaking farewell at the farewell concert in Birmingham — a final face-to-face with the heavy metal legend.
When Stephen Rea was 15, in 1984, his father made him an unforgettable promise: to take him from the family home in Northern Ireland to Brazil to see Rock in Rio, where Ozzy Osbourne, Queen and AC/DC were performing. To reduce the cost of the trip, his mother contacted the Ozzy Osbourne Information Center, the singer's fan club, and found Lynn, Sharon Osbourne's assistant. A few days later, she called back with an improbable offer: free tickets for the whole family, provided they went there.
The concert turned young Rea's life upside down. Not only did he see Ozzy on stage, but he also met him — a moment that would cement a four-decade friendship. In 1996, the singer gave him two leather notebooks, encouraging him to record their adventures in them. These notes became the material for Ozzy & Me: Life Lessons, Wild Stories, and Unexpected Epiphanies from Forty Years of Friendship with the Prince of Darknesspublished today with a foreword by Jack Osbourne.
“Back to the Beginning” : the last show
In February 2025, Lynn told him the news: a farewell concert called Back to the Beginning would take place on July 5 in Birmingham, in the Aston Villa stadium – the same place where Black Sabbath was born. The rumor ignited the world of rock: Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Alice in Chains… all responded to greet the pioneers of metal.
The places flew away. “You’re in the queue.” 120,597 people in front of you »displayed the Ticketmaster site. Rea didn't have a ticket, but Lynn put him on the staff list. Here he is again, forty years later, an honorary member of the Osbourne family.
In Birmingham, he found Sharon, Kelly, and the musicians of all time. He was named “runner” — responsible for countless trips back and forth between the hotel and the stadium. “Once you are part of the clan, you never leave”Mike Inez of Alice in Chains often said.
On the day of the scales, Ozzy, weakened by Parkinson's disease, was hoisted on stage on a gothic throne to sing Mama, I'm Coming Home. Rea, overwhelmed, felt his tears welling up. “You couldn’t miss this”Mike Inez told him. He was right.
A musical farewell
On the day of the concert, Sharon entrusted Rea with a precious mission: to have a poster signed by all the artists present. Slash was the first to initial the canvas. Rea spent the day running between the dressing rooms — Sabbath, Metallica, Guns N' Roses — collecting nearly eighty signatures. A unique testimony to the history of rock.
When Ozzy took the stage, he performed five solo songs and four with Sabbath. His voice was still strong, vibrating with emotion. The audience, tens of thousands of fans from all over the world, gave him a historic ovation.
At the after-party, unexpectedly, Ozzy made an appearance. Rea approached.
— “Ozzy, it was fantastic tonight. You were brilliant. »
— “Yeah, it wasn't bad, huh?” » he replied, with that modest half-smile he had when he was barely congratulating himself.
They spoke briefly. Rea walked away, but was called back by Robert Trujillo (Metallica) to join the conversation.
— “He was just a kid when I met him,” Ozzy said, smiling.
A fan, a roadie, a friend: Stephen Rea had been all of these at the same time.
Seventeen days later
On July 22, 2025, at 12:17 p.m., Lynn called Rea: Ozzy Osbourne had just died. Broken, the writer flew to London. “We still said “the show” instead of “the funeral””he remembers. Ozzy would have laughed.
The morning of the ceremony, he woke up in the hallway of his hotel, exhausted, asleep near a fire exit. “You made a “Dad””joked Jack Osbourne — an allusion to the famous nocturnal escapades of his father, a legendary sleepwalker.
Two days later, Jack asked him to write the preface to the book. “It’s the Osbourne way,” Rea said. “Always think of others. »
The day before leaving, Rea received a message: Ozzy wanted to see him one last time.
In his suite, the singer welcomed him in jogging pants, tablet in hand. Stephen cried the whole time. Kelly hugged him: “Stop, you’ll make me cry too.” »
They posed for one last photo — forty years after the one at Copacabana.
— “Call if you need anything,” Ozzy said. “We’ve known each other for a long time, Stephen Rea. »
A few days later, the Prince of Darkness bowed out.
