As well as being Ozzy’s devoted wife of more than 40 years, Sharon was also his manager and arguably his biggest fan.
During the promotion for his final gig at Villa Park just a few weeks ago, she was a steadfast presence – appearing at events in the city, doing interviews and chatting to fans.
Ozzy suffered with Parkinson’s disease and spinal injuries, so did not appear publicly in the run-up, apart from receiving the Freedom of the City.
From opening the exhibition celebrating his career at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, to turning up unannounced at the site of a Black Sabbath mural, the 72 year-old did not miss an opportunity to talk about about how excited her husband was, or how much they both loved the city where the band was founded in 1968.
She also made the announcement for the gig at Villa Park alongside Ozzy’s bandmate Tony Iommi.
But Sharon has always gone to bat for her husband – in 2001, she told The Guardian, external that the couple’s hugely successful festival, Ozzfest, had begun in 1996 because she approached a different music festival, asking if Ozzy could perform.
The festival turned them down, she said, to which she decided she would organise her own event.
Ozzfest was hugely successful and ran most years from 1996 to 2018.
In July 2023 she attended the unveiling of Birmingham’s mechanical bull sculpture – named after her husband.
The following year, she posted a video interview with Ozzy, in which they talked about the Black Sabbath bench on Broad Street.
It’s fair to say – where Ozzy was, she was as well – they are synonymous with one another.
