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On July 22, 2025, the heavy metal world got a lot less rowdy as its founding agitator, Ozzy Osbourne, died aged 76. The Prince Of Darkness had been at the heart of the genre for his entire career, from his pioneering antics with Black Sabbath right up to his retirement, when he bowed out at the blockbuster Back To The Beginning concert in his birthplace of Birmingham. He was also a multimedia star who transcended alternative music, as reflected by the tributes that followed his death: Coldplay and Cyndi Lauper honoured him at shows, and Elton John attended his funeral.

One year on, Ozzy remains in the zeitgeist. The last 12 months have been full of high-profile award wins, news stories and even controversies which are all ripples from his catastrophic loss. This is Hammer’s look back at metal’s first year without its leading man – the good, the bad and the confusing.

July 22: Petition to rename Birmingham Airport ‘Ozzy Osbourne International’ launches

Dan Hudson, co-host of the podcast A Gay And A Non-Gay, spearheaded this initiative almost immediately after news of the Prince Of Darkness’ death broke. By December, it had 77,000 signatures and the endorsement of the Osbourne family, but CEO Nick Barton ruled out a name change. “The airport name is so important for our future development,” he argued. Nonetheless, Hudson continues to campaign. He told Hammer in January: “I’ve had it up to here with metalheads being made to feel like we don’t exist.”

July 30: Ozzy’s funeral procession passes through Birmingham

Eight days after Ozzy’s death, more than 10,000 mourners descended upon Birmingham to see his procession drive down Broad Street en route to a private funeral. Led by the Bostin’ Brass Band, playing brass versions of classic Black Sabbath songs, it briefly stopped at the Black Sabbath Bench, where the Osbournes saw fan tributes and laid flowers. The funeral was held later that day at Ozzy’s Buckinghamshire residence, with his Sabbath bandmates, Elton John and Metallica members among those in attendance. A public, albeit unauthorised, memorial service was put on by London bar Helgi’s on August 2.

August 5: Ozzy museum exhibit extended

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery’s free-to-enter exhibit Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero opened on June 25, 2025, to coincide with retirement gig Back To The Beginning, and was initially set to close the following September. However, after Ozzy’s death, its end was postponed to December 2025. In January, it got extended again, and it’s now going to remain open until September 27, 2026. On July 1 this year, the museum added the throne that Ozzy performed on at Back To The Beginning to its display.

August 9–11: Trivium, Mastodon and Gojira cover Black Sabbath at Bloodstock

The biggest out-and-out metal festival in the UK, Bloodstock 2025 brought a host of international heavy bands to Derbyshire, a short distance from Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham. Several of them used the occasion to pay tribute to their late hero. On the Friday, headliners Trivium performed Sabbath’s Symptom Of The Universe with Machine Head’s Robb Flynn. On the Sunday, Mastodon closed their set with Supernaut, before headliners Gojira took on Under The Sun / Every Day Comes And Goes. Gojira’s Joe Duplantier wielded a Gibson SG in tribute to Sabbath’s guitar player, Tony Iommi.

September 7: Yungblud, Aerosmith and Nuno Bettencourt’s VMAs medley

On September 5, it was announced that Ozzy’s protégé Yungblud would join Nuno Bettencourt and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards for an Ozzy celebration. The quartet played a three-song medley: Crazy Train, Changes (which Yungblud previously sang at Back To The Beginning) and Mama, I’m Coming Home. The performance was widely received as the highlight of the event. “Coolest thing to happen [at the] VMAs in the last 25 years,” says the top comment on the official YouTube upload.

October 7: Memoir Last Rites sheds light on health struggles and heart condition

Ozzy’s second memoir was written and announced when he was still alive, but didn’t hit bookshops until almost three months after he died. Last Rites focussed on his health battles during his final years, primarily his experiences with Parkinson’s and the surgeries he endured after a 2018 fall at home. In the final chapter, written just after Back To The Beginning, Ozzy revealed that he had arrhythmia and “a dodgy heart valve”, caused by a sepsis infection following his final surgery. Days later, he died of a heart attack.

February 1: Yungblud’s Changes wins Grammy; Post Malone, Slash and more perform War Pigs

The 68th Annual Grammy Awards show was a triumphant night for Ozzy fans. Yungblud’s take on Changes from Back To The Beginning – for which he was flanked by Adam Wakeman, Sleep Token’s II, Anthrax’s Frank Bello and Nuno Bettencourt – won the Best Rock Performance trophy. There was also a live cover of War Pigs featuring Post Malone on vocals. Guns N’ Roses legends Slash and Duff Mackagan, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Ozzy producer/guitarist Andrew Watt served as his backing band.

February 28: Ozzy wins Lifetime Achievement Award, Robbie Williams sings No More Tears at the BRIT Awards

The BRIT Awards also put on a live Ozzy tribute, getting UK pop-rock megastar Robbie Williams for a stunning version of No More Tears. Ozzy’s longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, Metallica and ex-Ozzy bassist Robert Trujillo, keyboardist Adam Wakeman and ex-Sabbath live drummer Tommy Clufetos rounded out the all-star band. Ozzy’s wife/manager Sharon and daughter Kelly took the stage the same night, accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award on his behalf and delivering a heart-rending speech. “I’m honoured to accept this award for my gorgeous husband,” said Sharon.

March 3: Sharon confirms Ozzfest will return in 2027

Co-founded by Sharon after travelling US festival Lollapalooza refused to book Ozzy, Ozzfest revived the singer’s career and shined an early light on such icons as Slipknot and System Of A Down. Its last edition was a one-day event in 2018 headlined by Ozzy, but Sharon teased in January that it could return in her late husband’s honour. In March, she confirmed that it will “definitely” come back. “We want to do two days at Aston Villa” – where Ozzy played his final gig – “and then come to America,” she said.

March 5: Jack Osbourne names baby daughter Ozzy

Also in March, Ozzy’s son Jack welcomed his fifth daughter (his second with current wife Aree Gearhart). He announced the birth via social media later in the month, revealing that she was named Ozzy Matilda and sharing a picture of her with a cuddly toy bat, referencing that time his dad infamously bit the head off a real bat in 1982. Jack previously confirmed that Aree was pregnant at the end of 2025, shortly after he left the jungle on UK reality TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.

March 27: Black Label Society release Ozzy’s Song

On the same day that they put out their 12th album Engines Of Demolition, Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society released the music video for Ozzy’s Song. The tender ballad was a departure from the band’s usual biker-metal ragers, but for many fans it was the record’s standout moment. “I wrote the music before Oz passed away,” Wylde told Guitar World. “But after Oz passed away … I was just sitting in the house and [this] is when I wrote the lyrics and just sang the song.”

April 30: Ozzy perfume raises money for Cure Parkinson’s

Ever wonder what Ozzy smelled like? British perfumer Czech & Speake let the world know in the spring, releasing a limited-edition bottle of their scent No.88, which was reportedly the Prince Of Darkness’ essence of choice for more than 30 years. The commemorative perfume cost £250 a pop, with £50 of each sale going to the charity Cure Parkinson’s. “So many people in the industry always asked ‘what’s that smell?’,” Sharon told Rolling Stone UK at the launch, “and they never expected it to be Ozzy.”

May 20: Family announce AI avatar, controversy ensues

During a panel at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, Jack and Sharon declared their plans for an AI Ozzy avatar which would “have conversations with fans and move, speak and respond as Ozzy would”. The news proved divisive, with many lambasting the move as a “cash grab” and disrespectful to the singer’s memory. Sharon responded on the Osbourne family’s podcast, saying she doesn’t “need your fucking money”. “I know my husband,” she added. “My husband would say to me over and over, ‘After I go, how long do you think I’ll be remembered?’”

June 17: Hellfest statue unveiled

One day before France’s biggest annual heavy metal weekender opened its gates this year, Sharon took to social media and revealed that a 6m (19.5ft) Ozzy statue had been designed by artist Philippe Pasqua and erected near the entrance to the site. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be at Hellfest for the unveiling of Ozzy’s statue. Unfortunately I had an unexpected trip to the hospital earlier in the week,” she wrote. ”A big thank you [organisers] Olivier Garnier, Ben Barbaud and everyone at Hellfest. Special thank you to [Pasqua] for the absolutely stunning statue!”

July 22: Birmingham hosts Ozzy Day to celebrate its most metal son

To mark the anniversary of Ozzy’s death, Birmingham is putting on Ozzy Day: a city-wide celebration of his life featuring musical performances, film screenings and limited-edition merchandise. The Bostin’ Brass Band, who led Ozzy’s procession, will perform at multiple spots, including the Black Sabbath Bench. The City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) will play at the Bullring shopping centre, the branch of Selfridges at the Bullring will sell an exclusive Ozzy Day t-shirt, and the 10m (33ft) moving statue Ozzy The Bull will be made up to resemble its namesake singer. Sam Watson, chair of co-organisers Central BID, calls the day “a fantastic example of Birmingham working together to celebrate the legendary Ozzy Osbourne”.

Rock and pop are not short of music journalists who have left behind the notepad to take a punt on stardom, such as The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant. But for Guitar World editor-in-chief Mike Astley-Brown, the driving force behind instrumental alt.rock project Maebe, fame was never the goal.

“I still find it a bit unsettling being on the other side,” he admits. “I’ve gone through life with so much social anxiety that in conversations I’ll be the guy who’s always asking the questions. So being an interviewer felt quite natural. But then having them put back to me, it really puts you in the perspective of other artists.”

He needs to get used to it, because Maebe’s new album, Brain Paint is a lyric-free work of wonder, referencing the wild invention of Mogwai, the intricate heavy beauty of Oceansize and the riffy fun of And So I Watch You From Afar and bringing them together in exciting new shapes.

Living a small-town life in the Cotswolds, where there was no real music scene to speak of, he started learning classical guitar when he was seven – and hating the lessons.

“I would cry every time I had to practise guitar,” he says. “I think it was just that classical music wasn’t really doing much for me.”

It all changed when the nu-metal and the pop-punk renaissance hit at the turn of the century, and revealed a world of potential. He says his favourite band of all time is Soundgarden, but that grunge foundation opened up to new possibilities when he went to university in Bristol and discovered Mogwai. It was here that he also discovered like-minded music fans, and creating finally became a reality. Performing, however, was a different matter, and his first ever gig in the city with a fledgling band uncovered a case of crippling stage fright.

“We were literally sitting in a café opposite, getting some food,” he recalls, “and I was saying that I would rather die than go on stage, like I actually cannot do this.”

The show turned out to be an amazing experience, and his newfound confidence set Astley-Brown on the path to Maebe. Which brings us neatly to Brain Paint. The title came from a review he’d read in The Guardian, and neatly sums up the musical direction he’s taking.

“The phrase was: ‘There is not enough brain paint in the world to wipe this from your memory.’ Brain Paint sums up exactly what we’re trying to do, which is to just leave a lasting impression. It’s playful and fun. It’s heavy, but I don’t think there’s any point where it feels morose or it drags. I want to make instrumental rock fun again.”

Mission accomplished.

Brain Paint is out now via Ripcord Records.

A sculpture honouring Swindon art rockers XTC has been unveiled in the town’s Queens Park. The sculpture – known as ‘XhibitA’ or ‘The Sandwich’, depending on who you ask – was completed after a crowdfunding project led by two fans, Mike Smith and Graham Carter, raised just under £6,000.

“It’s an amalgamation of a couple of XTC albums [the logos from Drums And Wires and English Settlement],” says Smith. “It’s here today, and it’s going to be here for 25 or 30 years as a lasting recognition and a celebration of XTC and their music.”

“I’m honoured by it – it’s totally unexpected,” says XTC guitarist Dave Gregory, who attended the ceremony. “It’s nice to have something like this to recognise the band. Many people around the world know Swindon as the place XTC came from.”

“In some respects, if you think of the economic history of Swindon, the railways are quite pivotal in it,” says local MP Heidi Alexander. “And if you think about the musical history of Swindon, a lot of people would say XTC are quite pivotal as well. I think XTC are the equivalent of the railways in Swindon’s musical history.”

The ceremony was followed by a live performance by EXTC, a band led by drummer Terry Chambers, XTC’s founding drummer, at the Town Gardens Bowl. The performance took place on the 50th anniversary of an XTC show at the same venue in 1976, and featured a cameo appearance from Gregory, making it the first time the two musicians had appeared onstage together since XTC ceased touring in 1982.

Gregory joined the band for four XTC songs: Senses Working Overtime, Towers of London, Real By Reel, and Life Begins At The Hop.