Geezer Butler: Ozzy Was “The Prince Of Laughter” to Me

When it finally came time for Ozzy to take the stage to perform at ‘Back to the Beginning’, you could tell that the days of Ozzy running around throwing buckets of water on people were loooong in the rear view mirror. What the world got was an obviously passionate but physically weakened Ozzy, the years of battling Parkinson’s Disease and various physical ailments having taken their toll.

Though he admitted he was happy to be a part of Black Sabbath’s final performance alongside Ozzy, bassist Geezer Butler said that whole event was an eye-opener for him. In a heartfelt tribute written for The Times, the legendary bassist shared that Ozzy’s popular nickname was a mistake — a more jovial one made more sense.

“To me, Ozzy wasn’t the Prince of Darkness — if anything he was the Prince of Laughter. He’d do anything for a laugh, a born entertainer.”

Truth be told, you never had to meet the guy to know that fact about Ozzy. The dude was always cracking jokes and trying to have a good time.

Later on in Butler’s tribute, he shared what it was like to share his final moments with Ozzy just before the ‘Back to the Beginning’ show started, as well as the understandable shock he feels now that Ozzy’s gone.

“The rehearsals for that final show started a month before at a studio in the Oxfordshire countryside. Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and I ran through seven songs together. Of course, not having played together for 20 years, it took a couple of days to get rid of the rust.

“Then it was time for Ozzy to join us. I knew he wasn’t in good health, but I wasn’t prepared to see how frail he was. He was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones.

“He didn’t really say much beyond the usual greetings and when he sang, he sat in a chair. We ran through the songs but we could see it was exhausting him after six or seven songs. We had a bit of a chat, but he was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old. After a couple more weeks we were ready for the show.”

Now that it’s all in the past and Ozzy’s no longer with us, Butler shared a final “thank you” for the people who came to the event to say goodbye to the Prince of Darkness.

“Nobody knew he’d be gone from us little more than two weeks after the final show. But I am so grateful we got to play one last time together in front of his beloved fans. The love from the fans and all the bands, musicians, singers and solo artists that night was incredible. Everyone had come to pay homage to the Prince.”

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