Last Rites
Never-before-told stories of a legendary life from the rock 'n' roll hellraiser
Published on 7. October 2025
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-1-4087-2405-7 (ISBN)
Description
'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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
Self-aware, level-headed and savagely funny, and not just by rock star standards * THE GUARDIAN * Brilliantly gossipy... unearths a new trove of rock and roll stories * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH * Wild, and fun, and funny * THE STANDARD * A self-effacing and unexpectedly affecting portrait of the Prince of Darkness in twilight... Last Rites mixes ancient stories of Ozzy's rock star rapscallionism (entertaining, always) with meditations on the inevitability of death that grow thicker as the book lurches toward the only conclusion it can * THE WASHINGTON POST * An essential, entertaining read * METAL HAMMER * Desperately moving * iPaper * 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 * Haunting, revelatory * ROLLING STONE * Ozzy holds nothing back * MUSIC FRENZY *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
578 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4087-2405-7 (9781408724057)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ozzy Osbourne
Last Rites
Never-before-told stories of a legendary life from the rock 'n' roll hellraiser
E-Book
10/2025
Sphere
€7.99
Available for download
Persons
OZZY OSBOURNE was born in Aston, Birmingham, in 1948 and was one of rock music's most enduring figures as the lead singer of Black Sabbath. He achieved even greater heights as a solo artist. Ozzy is survived by his wife, Sharon, and his five children.