The memoir was finished shortly before The Prince of Darkness’s July passing
Tomorrow (Tues, Oct 7th) marks the publication of Ozzy Osbourne’s second autobiography, Last Rites, via Grand Central Publishing. The memoir was finished just days before the rock icon’s untimely July 2025 passing, and it chronicles the past seven or so years of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter’s life. Read a moving Q&A with Ozzy’s son, Jack Osbourne, below.
Last Rites is the shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Ozzy’s descent into hell. Along the way, he reflects on his extraordinary life and career, including his marriage to wife Sharon, alongside his reflections on what it took for him to get back onstage for the triumphant “Back to the Beginning” concert, streamed around the world, where Ozzy finally reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates and surrounded by the musicians he’d befriended throughout his storied career. Unflinching, brutally honest, but surprisingly life-affirming, Last Rites demonstrates once again why Ozzy has transcended his status as “The Godfather of Metal” and “The Prince of Darkness” to become a modern-day folk hero and international treasure.
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 hospitalized with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour—and all public life—as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down.
Born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, 1948, Ozzy is a rock music legend. He is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author (the new autobiography follows Ozzy’s New York Times bestsellers: 2010’s autobiography I Am Ozzy and 2011’s Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy: Advice From Rock’s Ultimate Survivor). His music career, with more than 100 million records sold (with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist), has spanned five decades, and as a solo artist and a member of Black Sabbath, Ozzy is a multiple Grammy winner and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Q: How did the idea for doing LAST RITES come about?
Jack Osbourne (Jack): My father had been working on Last Rites for a very long time—chipping away at it over the last three or four years. He always felt he needed to do a follow-up to I Am Ozzy, because so much had happened in the 20 years since that book was released. From life after the TV show, to the Sabbath reunion, to releasing his last two albums, and finally, his health issues. It was important to him to capture all of that.
Q: Do you or other family members have favorite passages/anecdotes from the book?
Jack: If I’m being honest, not many of the family members have read the book yet—it’s been a difficult time for everyone. For me, the last chapter is what I’ve reflected on the most. He finished it just a few days before he passed.
Q: Throughout Last Rites, Ozzy reflects on his early life with the insight gained as we grow older. Were there things that changed about him and the way he experienced the world towards the end of his life?
Jack: There’s a lot to reflect on with that question. My father was always considered the “wild man of rock,” the “Prince of Darkness,” and so on, but the last seven years were the complete opposite. Because of his injuries and declining health, he slowed down. And sometimes with a curse comes a blessing. Slowing down gave him the space to really reflect on his journey—his successes, his failures, his joys, his sadness and ultimately, what mattered most to him. This book captures some of that.
Q: Do you recall any moments or conversations with Ozzy as he was working on the book—funny, touching, surprising—about the material he wanted to include or stories about working with a writer on the project?
Jack: He was very private about the process and didn’t share much about what he was including. I’d try to ask, but he’d often brush it off. I’ve often said this about my father; he was the most humble egomaniac you could ever meet. He honestly didn’t think anyone would care about what he was writing in Last Rites. So when I asked him, he always downplayed it.
Q: It’s so clear from reading Last Rites that Ozzy loved his fans. Is there anything that didn’t make it into the book that you’d like them to know?
Jack: Here’s the truth—my father fought a very hard fight to get on that stage in Birmingham on July 5th. He was determined to say goodbye to his fans, and that’s exactly what he did. He loved them deeply because they gave him the life he had. He always said he would have been nothing without their love and support. That last show was his way of giving back one final time.
Q: What do you think Ozzy would like readers to take away from the book?
Jack: My father would want people to smile, laugh, and feel love when they read it. He absolutely hated it when people felt sorry for him. I know some fans will get emotional—it’s hard not to—but he couldn’t stand when people cried in front of him or got sad around him. So enjoy his words. Feel his energy. Remember who he will always be. And never stop loving him.
