Overview

• In his essays Butler recalls meeting Ozzy in Birmingham in 1968, describing the singer’s entrance in a work gown with a chimney brush over his shoulder
• He details month-long rehearsals at a countryside studio in Oxfordshire where Osbourne needed assistance from a nurse, helpers and a gold-adorned cane
• The July 5 Back To The Beginning concert at Villa Park reunited all four original Black Sabbath members for Ozzy’s final live appearance in a seated, emotionally charged show
• Butler expresses profound shock at Osbourne’s death on July 22 and gratitude that they shared one last stage in their hometown before his passing
• Sharon Osbourne tasked guitarist Tom Morello with curating the farewell lineup, leading to surprise guest performances that honored Sabbath’s wide-ranging influence