Yungblud on losing Ozzy Osbourne: ‘He was like Batman to me’

Yungblud “wept for hours” when he learnt of his mentor Ozzy Osbourne’s death, he told Big Issue in an exclusive interview.

“I was in the Bahamas when he died. No signal. Came out for a cig after four hours in the studio, picked up my phone to like 80 messages. I thought my mum or dad had died,” the singer, real name is Dom Harrison, recalled.

“Then someone came in and was like, I’m so sorry to hear about Ozzy. And I just fucking knew. We wept for two hours.” 

When he meets with Big Issue for an exclusive interview – featured in this week’s magazine – Yungblud is still processing his mentor’s sudden passing. Osbourne took the him under his wing after crossing paths in 2022, but the Doncaster-born rocker idolised him long before they met: “Since I was two years old, this guy taught me how to speak.”

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Their closeness continued until Osbourne died suddenly of a heart attack in July of last year, just weeks after Yungblud performed alongside Black Sabbath at their ‘Back to the Beginning’ farewell concert.

Speaking to Big Issue in his Denmark Street venue, Yungblud revealed that Osbourne had been watching back his performance of Black Sabbath hit Changes on the day he died.

“Jack [Osbourne, Ozzy’s son] told me that on the morning Ozzy passed, he was watching it [Yungblud’s performance of Changes]. That is just insane,” Yungblud said

“That whole family – they’re just the greatest. For the amount of success and money that’s come their way, they are so fucking real.”

All proceeds from ‘Back to the Beginning’, Black Sabbath’s epic farewell gig at Villa Park, went to charity, with the Big Issue amongst those benefitting as the gig’s official programme partner. In the new interview with the street magazine, Yungblud compares to “Live Aid or some sh*t”.

“That was the biggest David-and-Goliath moment of my life. If you’re ever going to make a movie, that’s definitely a big scene in it.

“I was the only artist under 30. Six generations of rock musicians, and I’m going out to honour the Boss, who I’ve loved since I was two years old. Before I even knew what music was, he was like Batman to me.”

The Osbournes’ influence in Yungblud’s life has continued since Ozzy’s passing last year. He told the Big Issue that the family have helped him detach from chasing external validation.

“I want to be loved. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. That’s why I started this,” he tells the Big Issue. “But what Ozzy and Sharon and that family helped me understand is – people don’t like Coca Cola, people don’t like chicken tenders, people don’t like fish and chips, but those things are so themselves.

“I used to get eaten up by people saying my music’s shit. Now I love it. People love me or they fucking hate me. Any expression I’m invoking in people is the point of art.”

You can read Yungblud’s full interview in this week’s Big Issue, on sale from street vendors now. If you can’t get to a vendor, you can also buy the magazine from the Big Issue Shop, with all profits supporting Big Issue’s work to support vendors and people living in extreme poverty.

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