Ghost dedicate Madison Square Garden concert to Ozzy Osbourne
After Ozzy Osbourne passed away at the age of 76 on July 22nd, Swedish rock titans Ghost dedicated their Madison Square Garden gig to the heavy metal legend.
As part of their Skeletour, the band played a sold-out show at the iconic New York arena only hours after the announcement of Ozzy’s death. Notably, Papa V Perpetua participated in Back to the Beginning, the Black Sabbath farewell show that took place on July 5th.
Ghost raced through a few well-known tunes, such as ‘Peacefield’ and ‘Call Me Little Sunshine’. They addressed the crowd before playing their seventh song, ‘The Future is a Foreign Land’: “Good evening, New York City! How are you? It’s one of them days now. We’re gonna dedicate tonight’s show to the memory of the life and laughter of Ozzy Osbourne.”
To a great chorus of Osbourne’s name chanted heartily back to them, they continued, “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…”
Papa V Perpetua had previously covered Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Bark at the Moon’ at the farewell show in Birmingham, commanding the tens of thousands of heavy metal fans with the declaration “Are you gonna bark for me, Birmingham?”
Later, Ghost posted a clip of the dedication on social media, revealing the sheer energy and love in the room.
The news of his passing was announced via a statement made by his family. Released on July 22nd, their statement began: “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.”
Many other musicians have paid tribute to the icon in different ways. Bandmate Tommy Iommi wrote online, “I just can’t believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park. It’s just such heartbreaking news that I can’t really find the words, there won’t ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother. My thoughts go out to Sharon and all the Osbourne family. Rest in peace Oz.”
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