Recommendations of the Editorial team
Ozzy Osbourne is probably one of the most influential musicians in the heavy metal genre. On July 22, 2025, the “Prince of Darkness” died of heart failure in his estate at the age of 76. Now the singer’s previously unknown music has actually surfaced in the form of a lost tape.
The discovery is a cassette called “Ozzy’s Last Day” from 1980, on which the musician can be heard rehearsing new music. The whole thing was a foretaste of what would become his first solo band.
The tape in question was recorded a year after he was kicked out of Black Sabbath. He was fired from his band on April 27, 1979 due to excessive alcohol and drug abuse. The irony was that the news was delivered by drummer Bill Ward, who was himself heavily intoxicated. The cassette documents a jam session with Ozzy Osbourne himself, guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Bob Daisley before they added drummer Lee Kerslake to the band. This formation would later record the legendary album “Blizzard of Oz”.
Ozzy Osbourne’s voice confirmed on tape
The twelve-minute recording was found in the attic of David Jolly, who befriended Ozzy Osbourne after his expulsion from Black Sabbath and put together his solo band. David Jolly invited Sky News to his home and played the cassette, which features a blues jam, to the news channel. The voice of the deceased can be heard on it.
Sky News then contacted Bob Daisley, who confirmed the musician’s singing as authentic: “When I heard it, I immediately thought: Yes, that’s us, that’s Ozzy’s voice. I don’t know if we were playing to a drummer and just loosening up a bit or if we were just messing around. But it wasn’t a song that we were working on because we already had a few songs ready at that point.”
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Pre-order now: Exclusive 7-inch single “Baltimore”/“Stare” by Prince in MUSIKEXPRRESS 03/26
We are opening the year 2026 with a unique and extraordinary collaboration: on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his death, ROLLING STONE and MUSIKEXPRESS are releasing two world-exclusive vinyl singles by Prince.
A few months before his death, the genius of the century had recorded two albums that once again show him in top form and will be re-released in the new year: “HITnRUN Phase I” and “Phase II”. These were to remain his last works. For “Phase I” he worked with singers such as Rita Ora and Lianne La Havas. “Phase II” shows him as a political observer of his time.
The March issue of MUSIKEXPRESS features a second world exclusive Prince single: “Baltimore” / “Stare”, two songs from HITnRUN Phase II. Prince wrote the ballad-like “Baltimore” under the impression of racist police violence in the USA. Both editions are HERE also available together in a bundle at the special price of EUR 19.90.
Included in delivery: MUSIKEXPRESS issue 03/2026 + exclusive Prince 7″ vinyl single
