Howard Stern Takes Surprise Break From Summer Vacation to Talk Ozzy Osbourne Death, Final Concert With Lars Ulrich: ‘Profoundly Sad’

Howard Stern unexpectedly returned from his long summer break on Wednesday morning (Aug. 5) to pay tribute to one of his favorite musicians, longtime friend of the show Ozzy Osbourne. With Ozzy’s “Mama, I’m Coming Home” playing the background, Stern said he was playing the song because, “Ozzy’s gone and I’m profoundly sad.”

Calling him “one of the fabulous guests” of all time on his SiriusXM show, Stern invited Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich on to discuss Osbourne’s passing on July 22 at age 76 of a heart attack and the to describe the vibe at at Osbourne’s final concert, the all-star Back to the Beginning gig on July 5 in Birmingham, England.

Ulrich first recalled the time in 2006 when Metallica inducted Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and played a few of their songs as Ozzy, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward looked on from the audience. He described the “generational element of respect and love” he and his bandmates had for their metal forebearers and inspirations, despite, or perhaps because of, Metallica’s subsequent success. “They were the generation that helped shape, and ultimately dictate, what we became” he said of Sabbath and their ilk.

That’s why when Back to the Beginning musical director Tom Morello called in September asking Metallica if they’d take part in what was being billed as Ozzy’s final show the answer was a quick hell yes. “For him to feel that the journey was coming to a respectful end, that fulfilling end that he needed so the book could be closed… and I knew in my heart that he wanted to do that,” Ulrich said of Osbourne’s determination to play one more show for fans despite the many serious health issues that had kept him off the road for seven years.

“Of course we were [like] ‘f–k yeah!,’” Ulrich said of Metallica’s answer to the invite to honor their musical heroes. Stern reminded Ulrich that he once said that heavy metal should have probably just been called “Black Sabbath” given how influential the band was to the genre. “You’ve always had this complete love for Ozzy,” Stern said to Ulrich, before wondering if Lars had gotten a chance to say a personal goodbye to his friend. “Did you have a sense he was going to be dead in a few days?” Stern wondered.

“No, no… we hung, we said hello, we hugged,” Ulrich said of the interactions he had with Osbourne over the 3-4 days they were in Birmingham for the show. He described longtime Ozzy photographer Ross Halfin pulling together group shots of Ozzy and his Sabbath bandmates on one of the first rehearsal days, with Ozzy taking his seat on the huge throne he performed from during the gig.

“He was there and the Sabbath guys were there and we all positioned ourselves around [Ozzy] and Ross was directing traffic and he asked me to sit on the armrest of Ozzy’s throne next to Ozzy,” Ulrich said during the shoot that he said felt like a “class reunion.”

“It was such a great moment, because you walk in and it’s, ‘Oh my God, there’s Steven Tyler! Oh my God, there’s Chad Smith! Oh my God, there’s Sammy Hagar! Oh my God there’s Yungblud!,’” Ulrich said before describing sitting on the armrest and hugging it out with Ozzy before asking him what it felt like to be back in his hometown for this final bow.

“He was very eloquent and very sharp in his answer,” Ulrich said of Osbourne, who grew up about a mile or two from the stadium where the show took place. “We were just sitting doing small talk, but it was so warm and he was very present, coherent. It was just his body that was not in good shape, but his mind… he was eloquent and talking and in the moment.”

He and his Metallica mates were also among the few on hand who got to watch Black Sabbath’s soundcheck the next day. “All the rest of us were just losing our f–king minds and then they started playing ‘War Pigs’ with the lights on and the show and air raid sirens and then we were obviously, as fans — and I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn here or being disrespectful — as fans I think there was a sense from all the other musicians and friends of Black Sabbath who were there… we were hoping for the best. We wanted it to be the best. We wanted it to be a grand slam, but we didn’t know, because ultimately none of us knew what kind of shape they were in.”

As they continued playing “War Pigs,” Ulrich said everyone realized that Sabbath sounded just as good, if not better than ever. “Then Ozzy came in singing and sounded great, hit all the notes and the lyrics and the timings and everybody was like, ‘this is gonna be fine, they’re gonna f–king kill it,’” Ulrich said he thought.

There were no final goodbyes, Ulrich said, because nobody felt that this was the definitive end. “Obviously it was the end of the music and the end of the live experience, but it wasn’t like… yes, he wasn’t in great shape, but nobody walked away from that three or four day weekend going, ‘that’s the last time we’ll see Ozzy,’” he said.

So, when Osbourne passed two weeks later, Ulrich said the shock of the “surreal” news was “indescribable.”

“We were all just so stunned,” Ulrich said of the universal reaction among Ozzy’s many musical compatriots and friends. “So sad. But at the same time he got to live, to accomplish that concert and that appearance that had been in him since before COVID. He got up there, he played [five solo songs and four Sabbath songs]…. and I think probably if you’re going go play [a] little quarterback/psychiatrist, Monday morning, maybe it was just a load off his shoulders and he got to accomplish what he wanted and maybe he just sort of let go.”

Stern praised Osbourne as a great friend, but also a “great radio guest,” who would always do something wacky on his show, with both men also noting that Ozzy was funny, warm and caring and, as Ulrich said, “made everybody laugh that was in the room.”

Ulrich also said he’s spent his time off this summer checking out Oasis on their reunion tour, including a gig at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday night (Aug. 3). Asked by Stern if he went backstage to “counsel them” on how to get along — in reference to formerly battling brothers and Oasis co-founders Liam and Noel Gallagher who split for 16 years following a last straw backstage row in 2009 — Ulrich said he could assure Howard that “the love up on stage and the love in the stadium… they don’t need any counseling. They’re getting along like a house on fire. It’s beautiful.”

Metallica famously brought in a therapist in the early 2000s to hash out their toxic intergroup dynamics, but when Ulrich noted that he was also at the first Oasis reunion shows in Cardiff, Wales on July 4, he said there’s nothing the Gallaghers need from him. “As awesome and as next level as it was in Cardiff a month ago, which was the first show in 15 years, it was even better at Wembley a couple days ago. They don’t need any counseling or advice from me,” said self-proclaimed “huge” Oasis fan Ulrich, who has seen the band between 20-30 times over the years.

Though they were happy to discuss Ozzy and Oasis, the ostensible reason for the chat was to announce the year-round Maximum Metallica channel on SiriusXM, which will launch on Aug. 29 on channel 42 and the SiriusXM app. To help launch the channel, the band will play a live show at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, N.Y. on Aug. 28.