BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward says he still misses former bandmate Ozzy Osbourne "every single day," reflecting on their friendship during an appearance on the radio show LA Radio Sessions with Mike Stark as the anniversary of Osbourne's death approaches.
Osbourne died of a heart attack on July 22, 2025; his death certificate listed coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease among the contributing factors. His final performance came weeks earlier at "Back To The Beginning," a charity concert in Birmingham, England that reunited him with his original BLACK SABBATH bandmates, including Ward, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler. A private funeral followed on July 31, 2025, attended by 110 people.
"Ozzy forever... dearly missed," Ward said. "We're in the month now, the anniversary, of his passing, and I wanna say his music was just brilliant." He went on to describe the depth of their friendship beyond the band. "I miss the hell out of him. He was one of my best friends... Ozzy was like a brother, and he was one of my best friends," Ward said, adding, "I love him every single day. I miss him every single day, and I loved him every day when he was alive."
Ward, Iommi, Butler and Osbourne founded BLACK SABBATH in Birmingham in 1968, releasing genre-defining albums including "Black Sabbath" (1970), "Paranoid" (1970) and "Master Of Reality" (1971) before Osbourne's exit from the band in 1979. The four reunited numerous times over the following decades, most notably for "Back To The Beginning," in what stands as the band's final performance with Osbourne.
Ward's tribute comes weeks after he revealed he now relies on a wheelchair, though he has said the change in mobility has not affected his outlook or his connection to his BLACK SABBATH bandmates and their shared history.