Billy Corgan says he didn’t see Ozzy Osbourne’s death coming at all.
The Smashing Pumpkins front man, who played alongside Ozzy Osbourne just weeks before the metal icon’s death, has since reflected on their final encounter and the emotion behind what would become Ozzy’s farewell show.
Speaking on the Klein.Ally.Show on KROQ, Corgan described the experience as surreal and deeply moving. “To be with them on that day, it was like a magical dream,” he said. “It was the greatest musical event I think I’ve ever been a part of as sort of a one-day thing.”
The performance took place in Birmingham, Ozzy’s hometown, at the Back to the Beginning tribute show. The charity event saw Corgan form a one-off supergroup with Steven Tyler, Sammy Hagar, Adam Jones, and Tom Morello. Together they tore through covers of ‘Snowblind’ and ‘Breaking the Law’ in front of a crowd that knew it was watching the end of something historic.
Corgan said the outpouring of tributes following Ozzy’s passing has been “beautiful,” but that nothing about Ozzy that night suggested it would be his last. “He was obviously not at 100 percent,” he admitted, “but I saw nothing in his spirit that told me that he was anywhere near the end of his life.”
He went on to wonder whether the show itself had given Ozzy a final push. Perhaps something for him to stay focused on. “Maybe the concert actually elongated his life because he had something to strive for,” Corgan added.
While he didn’t spend much time with Ozzy at the show, Corgan says one brief moment stuck with him. During Sabbath’s final soundcheck, Corgan and one unnamed member of another alternative band were the only people in the empty stadium besides security. As Ozzy spotted them from the stage, he flashed his trademark peace sign and smiled. “That’s the moment I’ll always hold on to,” Corgan said. “We both started crying because we couldn’t believe this magical dream of this band in our lives was coming to an end.”
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