In July 2025, only two-weeks after the Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park saw him say farewell to a stadium of adoring fans – and with thousands viewing his final performance online – Birmingham’s beloved son, Black Sabbath frontman and pioneering metal artist, Ozzy Osbourne passed away: a beautiful death, accompanied by a unique outpouring of local, national and international grief.

In his new book The Beautiful Death of Ozzy Osbourne, cultural theorist and acclaimed metal writer Keith Kahn-Harris reveals not only the story of Ozzy’s own complicated life – his roots in working-class Aston, his long struggle with substance abuse, and his infamous, quasi-mythical on-and-off stage exploits, (yes, including that one with the bat!) – but also how much we can learn about our own lives from the sound and culture Ozzy undoubtedly – perhaps unwittingly – pioneered.

In conversation with founder of the Birmingham Music Archive, Jez Collins.