‘People say to me, if you could do it all again, knowing what youknow now, would you change anything? I’m like, f*ck no. If I’d been clean and sober, I wouldn’t be Ozzy. If I’d done normal, sensible things, I wouldn’t be Ozzy.’

Husband. Father. Grandfather. F*cking Icon.1948 – 2025

At the age of sixty-nine, Ozzy Osbourne was on a triumphant farewell tour, playing to sold-out arenas and rave reviews all around the world.

Then: disaster.

In a matter of just a few weeks, he went from being hospitalised with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour – and all public life – as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down.

Last Rites is the shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Ozzy’s descent into hell. Along the way are reflections on an extraordinary life and career, including his marriage to wife Sharon, and what it took for him to return to the stage for the triumphant Back to the Beginning concert, streamed around the world, where Ozzy reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates for the final time.

Unflinching, brutally honest, but surprisingly life-affirming, Last Rites demonstrates once again why Ozzy transcended his status as ‘The Godfather of Metal’ and ‘The Prince of Darkness’ to become a modern-day folk hero and national treasure.

"Brilliantly gossipy... unearths a new trove of rock and roll stories" - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

"Self-aware, level-headed and savagely funny, and not just by rock star standards" - THE GUARDIAN

"Genuinely big-hearted rather than contrivedly quirky, refusing to overwrite past ugliness but still brimming with gratitude...a fitting final encore for a life lived at extremes" - SALON