“For the Prince of Darkness, he sure gave us a lot of light”: Tobias Forge pays tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at Ghost’s sold-out Madison Square Garden show
Yesterday, Ozzy Osbourne sadly passed away, just weeks after putting on the show of a lifetime and raising nearly $200 million through Black Sabbath’s grand farewell gig. As the metal world mourns this monumental loss, artists are honouring the Prince of Darkness’s career, with Ghost even dedicating last night’s Madison Square Garden show to Ozzy.
Before performing The Future Is A Foreign Land, frontman Tobias Forge addressed the sold-out crowd. “We’re going to dedicate tonight’s show to the memory of the life and laughter of Ozzy Osbourne,” he said [via NME]. “For being the Prince of Darkness, he sure gave us a lot of light, so we’re gonna tap into that tonight and carry it forward through a time of darkness.”
READ MORE: “There would be no metal without you”: Jack White, Tom Morello and the guitar world react to the passing of Ozzy Osbourne
In a since-deleted Instagram post, the Swedish metal band shared the clip, re-iterating the fact that the evening was entirely dedicated to Ozzy. “We wish to inform you that Ghost dedicated their sold out New York ritual at Madison Square Garden to the Prince Of Darkness himself: Ozzy Osbourne,” the caption read.
While Ghost were unable to play Black Sabbath’s final show on 5 July, frontman Forge dropped everything to jet overseas on his own, performing solo at Ozzy’s groundbreaking Back To The Beginning farewell concert. Appearing as his Ghost persona, Papa V Perpetua, Forge was part of the ever-shifting roster, temporarily fronting the Ozzy/Sabbath supergroup to cover Ozzy’s 1983 solo track, Bark At The Moon.
Back in March, Forge told NME that Ozzy’s work has always been a major inspiration. “Ozzy as a frontman and Ozzy as a solo artist is something I put a divide between, because I grew up in the ‘80s where he was much more of a rockstar than Black Sabbath were,” he explained. “I gravitated towards that, but I also grew up listening to the old Black Sabbath records.”
“Nowadays, I love most Black Sabbath releases… Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage have been absolute milestones for me for as long as I’ve been writing music. They’ve been very influential, even though it might not be super evident. I’ve always listened to them, and I’ve always been inspired by them.”
News of Ozzy’s passing was shared yesterday (22 July) by his family. “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” an Instagram post said. “He was with his family and surrounded by love.”
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