Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Alice Cooper are among the music artists who have honoured the “Prince of Darkness”, Ozzy Osbourne, by paying tribute to him during live concert performances.
The death of the music star, who fronted heavy metal band Black Sabbath, was announced in a statement to the PA news agency saying he was “with his family and surrounded by love”.
His Black Sabbath band mates – Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward – led tributes to Osbourne alongside fans from his home city of Birmingham and celebrity friends including Kiss star Gene Simmons and Queen guitarist Brian May.
His death at the age of 76 comes just weeks after Osbourne took to the stage for a farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham – a stone’s throw from where the band was formed in 1968.
The concert featured performances from Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, with Osbourne’s Black Sabbath bandmates the last to appear on stage.
US pop star Lady Gaga took to the stage in an Ozzy Osbourne t-shirt as she ended her first Mayhem Ball show in San Francisco on Tuesday.
“We’ll miss you Ozzy”, she said, as Osbourne’s song Crazy Train played in the background.
Crazy Train was released in 1980 as Osbourne’s debut solo single, which featured on his debut solo album, Blizzard Of Ozz.
The Bad Romance singer, 39, is currently touring her latest studio album, Mayhem, across the US and Canada.
During a concert in Nashville, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin led a rendition of Changes by Black Sabbath in tribute to the heavy metal star.
“Okay Ozzy we love you, wherever you’re going, thank you for everything”, he said after playing the tune on a piano.
The song was originally released in 1972 as part of the Vol4 Black Sabbath album, and was re-released in 2003 as a duet with Osbourne’s daughter, Kelly, containing revised lyrics.
Singer Yungblud, who has hailed Osbourne as “the greatest of all time”, played the song during his farewell concert on July 5.
US rockstar Alice Cooper described Osbourne as an “unmatched showman and cultural icon” in a social media post that said the band had found out about his death “minutes before going on stage in Cardiff, Wales”.
Cooper and his band dedicated the show to Osbourne and posted a clip of them shouting “Ozzy” before going onto the stage.
Following the show, Cooper summed up his thoughts and said: “The whole world is mourning Ozzy tonight. Over his long career, he earned immense respect among his peers and from fans around the world as an unmatched showman and cultural icon.
“I always saw Ozzy as a cross between the prince of darkness, which is the persona his fans saw, and the court jester. That was the side that his family and friends saw.
“He was and will continue to be a rock n roll legend. Rock n Roll is a family and a fraternity. When we lose one of our own it bleeds. I wish I would have gotten to know my brother Ozzy better.
“Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and the rest of the Ozzy brood – our prayers are with you tonight. A titanic boulder has crashed, but rock will roll on.“
Swedish rock band Ghost dedicated their New York show at Madison Square Garden to Osbourne.
In a video posted to social media, frontman Tobias Forge said: “We’re going to dedicate tonight’s show to the memory of the life and laughter of Ozzy Osbourne.
“For being the Prince of Darkness, he sure gave us a lot of light. So we’re going to tap into that tonight and take it forward.”
