Coldplay have paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne following news of his death, performing a stripped-back version of Black Sabbath’s Changes during their Nashville show on July 22.
The performance came just hours after Osbourne’s family confirmed the 76-year-old singer had died, stating he was “surrounded by love” at the time of his passing. Chris Martin introduced the cover by dedicating the entire show to Osbourne, calling him an “incredible genius” and “character-full gift to the world.”
“We send our love to his family,” Martin told the crowd, before closing the tribute with the words, “Ozzy, we love you, wherever you’re going.”
Changes was originally released by Black Sabbath on their 1972 album Vol. 4, and later re-recorded by Ozzy as a duet with his daughter Kelly in 2003. Coldplay’s version stayed close to the original, led by piano and vocals without any theatrics.
The cover follows a string of public tributes to Osbourne from across the music world. Ghost dedicated their Madison Square Garden set to him, while Gojira announced his death live onstage in Istanbul, dedicating Flying Whales and a cover of Under the Sun to his memory. Former bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward have also all issued statements since the announcement.
While the band has mostly kept their setlists intact across the run, the Nashville tribute marked a rare inclusion of material outside their catalogue, and the first time they’ve publicly honoured Osbourne. The performance comes after the recent kiss-cam scandal at a Coldplay show.
Coldplay’s appearance follows a similar performance earlier this month by Yungblud, who also covered Changes at Black Sabbath’s farewell concert in Birmingham. The July 5 show, titled Back to the Beginning, marked Osbourne’s final public appearance and raised close to £200 million for charity.
Coldplay’s Changes cover is not expected to see an official release.
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