‘If Anything, He Was the Prince of Laughter’ – Geezer Butler Pens Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne

In the aftermath of Ozzy Osbourne‘s death, Geezer Butler has now shared a tribute he penned about his onetime bandmate that offers recollections and insights to the rocker we’ve all come to know over the years.

In the immediate aftermath of Osbourne’s death, each of the Black Sabbath members issued brief statements on social media acknowledging the passing of the legendary singer. Butler, at the time, commented, “Goodbye dear friend- thanks for all those years- we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston- who’d have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you,” in a post shared on Instagram.

Now the bassist has opened up a bit more with a lengthier tribute that was shared in The Times U.K., and keeping with the spirit of their reunion, Butler waived his fee for the written piece by donating the money to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

How Did Ozzy Osbourne Join Black Sabbath?

As Butler shared at one point in the piece, Ozzy made an immediate impression when it came time to put a band together.

“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,” shared Butler.

The bassist says he first became aware of Ozzy when he’d see him out pulling all-nighters at a rock club called The Penthouse in Birmingham. But they never actually met until his band was looking for a singer. As he started to look through music store ads, he spotted one that claimed “Ozzy Zig needs a gig,” so he tracked down the singer only to be told he wasn’t at home.

“I left my address with [his sister] and later that evening, as the Butler family were sitting down to dinner, there was a knock at the door. My brother answered it and said to me, ‘Hey, there’s something at the door asking for you.’ I said, ‘What do you mean by ‘something’?’ He said: ‘You’ll see,'” recalled Butler.

“It was the cropped-hair mod I’d seen walking home from the all-nighters, except he didn’t have a suit on — he had his dad’s brown work gown on, a chimney brush over his shoulder, a shoe on a dog leash and no shoes on his bare feet. He said, ‘I’m Ozzy.’ After I’d stopped laughing, I said, ‘OK, you’re in the band.'”

Butler recalls the band’s early days, sharing that their first gig ended in a brawl. But of his new bandmates, he shared, “We became inseparable brothers in arms, always looking out for each other.”

What Did Geezer Think After Reconnecting With Ozzy for Back to the Beginning?

Butler says of getting the band back together for Back to the Beginning, “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,” he shared.

In reflecting on the final show, Butler shares that he’d wished he had more time backstage with Ozzy. He added, “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.”

Who Was the Ozzy Osbourne That Geezer Butler Knew?

Within the discussion, Butler made several comments that offered some insight into who Ozzy was beyond the stage.

“People always thought Ozzy was a feral wild man, but he had a heart of pure gold,” said Butler. “Most of his infamous antics — the bat saga, biting the head off a dove, pissing on the Alamo, snorting lines of ants, and the rest — came in his solo years, away from the restraints of the Sabbath crew. But if you were a friend in need, Ozzy was always there for you. When my son was born with a heart defect, Ozzy called me every day to see how I was coping, even though we hadn’t spoken for a year.”

He added, “I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him. Of course there are millions of things I will think of that I should have written, but how can I sum up 57 incredible years of friendship in a few paragraphs? God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!”

The full Geezer Butler tribute to Ozzy Osbourne can be found in The Times U.K.

How Did Ozzy + Black Sabbath Finish Out Their Career?

Back on July 5, Ozzy and Black Sabbath headlined the Back to the Beginning concert at the Aston Villa venue in Birmingham, England. The all day concert featured legendary acts such as Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Slayer, Pantera and more paying homage to Ozzy and the band in the lead up to the big event – the final live performance of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.

Having mended fences with drummer Bill Ward, Black Sabbath finally got the send-off with all four members that their farewell tour hadn’t provided as Ward had sat out over a contract dispute.

READ MORE: Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne Dies at 76 – Rockers Pay Tribute

The big finish started with a five-song solo set from Ozzy that featured the songs “I Don’t Know,” “Mr. Crowley,” “Suicide Solution,” “Mama I’m Coming Home” and “Crazy Train.”

After that, Ozzy was joined onstage by his Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

The band’s final performance included Ozzy and his Sabbath bandmates performing a four-song set that included “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.”