Ozzy Osbourne’s sisters are grieving the loss of their beloved brother.
Jean Powell and Gillian Hemming opened up to The Mirror about their sibling, whose real name was John Michael Osbourne, and spoke about the last time they saw and talked to him.
The two were in attendance at the Black Sabbath singer’s farewell concert, and hoped to spend more time with him after the big day.
“He was frail, but it still came as a shock,” Powell said of Osbourne’s death at 76. “He still had plans and things he wanted to do.”
Powell shared, “We last saw him at the concert at Villa Park. I got a text off him as he drove down Lodge Road, where we used to live near the stadium. He said he couldn’t believe all the crowds were walking down our old street to watch him perform. He was blown away.”
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The two sisters watched the concert from the stadium and were overwhelmed by everyone who came out to watch their brother.
“When I saw the sea of people waiting to see our John, I just broke down,” Powell said. “We didn’t really get a chance to chat much because it was such a chaotic visit. But in his last text to me, he said he would be coming to Birmingham again. He said, ‘I can’t wait to come back.’ We were hoping to see him this week.”
Their famous brother wasn’t a celebrity in their eyes and was always “just our John,” Hemming said.
“He used to make us laugh all the time. That’s what I’ll always remember,” Hemming added.
Osbourne died on Tuesday, July 22, just weeks after performing his farewell concert with Black Sabbath. The concert, called “Back to the Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow,” will be released in theaters in 2026.
The singer’s family released a heartbreaking statement after his death, writing that “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.”
The statement said, “He was with his family and surrounded by love.”
