10 Things We Learned From Ozzy Osbourne’s New Book Last Rites

Last Rites, Ozzy Osbourne’s final book, feels like one last conversation with fans—honest, hilarious, and deeply real. The memoir, which he finished just two days before his death in July 2025, dives into the final years of his life, marked by surgeries, pain, and a desperate desire to perform one last time at the Back to the Beginning concert.

But Last Rites isn’t just about illness or saying goodbye. It’s also a reflection on a wild life filled with music, mistakes, and the occasional miracle. Through a blend of humor and honesty, Ozzy shares how much he endured—and how much he grew.

Here are ten of the most important things fans learned from his unforgettable final memoir:

1. He Had the Worst Hangover During His Best Show
Ozzy reveals that his best performance didn’t happen when he was healthiest or most prepared—it happened when he could barely stand. He recalls waking up with a brutal hangover before the 1984 Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, the kind of hangover that makes you question every decision you’ve ever made.

But instead of failing, he charged onto the stage and delivered what he calls one of the best performances of his career.
Reflecting on it later, he remarked how ironic it was: “When you think too much about a concert, it often doesn’t work. But sometimes, when you just go with the flow, everything clicks.” That’s Ozzy logic—chaos creates magic.

2. The Bizarre Reason He Let a Bandmate Go
After guitarist Randy Rhoads died in 1982, Ozzy’s band struggled to find stability. He hired bassist Don Costa, a talented but unpredictable player. Costa became known for outrageous onstage antics, including using a cheese grater on his own skin—ending shows covered in blood.

But things crossed the line when Costa got too personal with Ozzy during a tour. That was it—Costa was fired immediately. Ozzy recalls it as one of the strangest events in a career full of bizarre moments.

3. One Word Cost Black Sabbath a Fortune
Ozzy admits that when Black Sabbath first started, they knew nothing about contracts. One critical mistake cost them dearly. In an early publishing deal, the word “perpetuity”—meaning “forever”—led them to lose their rights indefinitely.

When Ozzy later asked an accountant how much that mistake had cost them, he was stunned to hear: nearly £100 million. He joked that if they’d had that kind of money back then, they probably would’ve partied themselves to death anyway.

4. He Attended AA Meetings with Matthew Perry
In Last Rites, Ozzy opens up about his time in Alcoholics Anonymous and an unlikely connection he formed with Friends actor Matthew Perry. Perry would sometimes come to Ozzy’s house for meetings, and the two bonded over their shared struggle to stay sober.

Ozzy was heartbroken when Perry passed away in 2023. He reflects on how hard Perry worked to stay clean and how addiction can return—even when someone seems strong. It’s a sobering reminder that fame offers no protection from personal demons.

5. The Plane Crash That Still Haunts Him
One of the most painful parts of the book is Ozzy’s retelling of the 1982 plane crash that killed his close friend and bandmate Randy Rhoads. Ozzy had been asleep on the tour bus when he was jolted awake by the sounds of chaos and fire.

Rhoads and makeup artist Rachel Youngblood had taken a joyride with the bus driver in a small plane, which tragically crashed into the tour bus, killing everyone on board. Ozzy recalls the smoke, the screams, and the heartbreak as if it happened yesterday. The pain, even decades later, remains raw.

6. He Finally Made Peace with Dio
When Ozzy was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Ronnie James Dio stepped in as the new frontman, leading to years of tension between the two rock legends. Fans took sides, and the feud often played out in the press.

But in Last Rites, Ozzy says getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to him. It gave him a fresh start, and Dio brought new life to Sabbath. Over time, old wounds healed, and Ozzy came to look back on that period with gratitude instead of resentment.

7. Sharon Made Him “Ozzy” for Real
Before meeting Sharon, Ozzy’s first wife simply called him “John”—his real name. Back then, “Ozzy” was just a stage persona. But Sharon embraced every side of him, both onstage and off.

She helped him merge his personal and professional lives, believing in him when he couldn’t believe in himself. Ozzy says Sharon didn’t just love him—she made him Ozzy Osbourne, the icon the world knows today.

8. He Fell for Two Scams While Desperate to Get Better
Few fans knew just how severe Ozzy’s health problems were in his final years. Determined to walk again and perform one last time, he tried everything—including some scams.

In one case, he paid a man in Canada $170,000 for a supposed “revolutionary scan” that turned out to be nothing more than a basic X-ray. In another, he bought a device claiming to use electromagnetic waves for healing—only to later find out it was illegal in the U.S.

Ozzy took it all in stride, joking that from now on, he’d just stick with Tylenol.

9. A Heartfelt Reunion with Bill Ward
Ozzy and drummer Bill Ward hadn’t spoken for nearly a decade after a falling-out over Black Sabbath’s 2013 album 13, which Ward did not play on. But when Ozzy’s health began to decline, his old bandmates, including Bill, reached out.

Their conversation was full of warmth and love. Ozzy recalls how quickly they fell back into familiar rhythms, swapping stories and laughing. The call ended with both of them saying “I love you,” a touching reminder of the brotherhood that formed Sabbath.

10. He Wrote the Ending Just Before the End
Perhaps the most emotional detail in Last Rites is that Ozzy completed the final chapter just two days before he passed away. In it, he reflects on his final performance in his hometown, surrounded by love.

He sensed that the end was near—joking that death had been “knocking louder and louder” over the past few years—but still held onto plans: to go fishing, to record one more album, to hit the gym. And in classic Ozzy fashion, he had one final joke for his tombstone:
“I told you I wasn’t feeling well.”

One Last Goodbye

Fans have always admired Ozzy Osbourne’s wit, honesty, and unstoppable spirit—and Last Rites captures it all. It’s a love letter to music, family, and simply being alive. More than anything, the book reminds us that even through chaos, pain, and joy, the Prince of Darkness never stopped fighting.