Ozzy Osbourne Tried Rushing to Lemmy Kilmister’s Side Moments Before His Death
At this year’s Metal Hammer Golden Gods, Ozzy Osbourne received the Golden God award. While at the ceremony, Ozzy spoke about losing longtime friend and fellow legend, Lemmy Kilmister, adding he was on his way to see Lemmy moments before the Motorhead icon died.
In late 2015, Lemmy found out he was suffering from cancer of the brain and neck. Just two days later, rock and roll’s Ace of Spades stopped breathing, leaving a legacy of music that spanned over four decades.
Speaking with Metal Hammer, Osbourne revealed that he was one of the last people to ever speak with Lemmy, though Kilmister wasn’t able to communicate. “I phoned him on the day he died. I knew he was dying. He didn't even know it was me,” Osbourne recalls. “I had to say to him: ‘It's Ozzy, Lem.’ He just gurgled down the phone to me. I said ‘Lemmy, for fuck sake, stay there, I'm coming.’”
Ozzy continues, “I said to Sharon, ‘Fuck it, get in the car, we're going around to his apartment.' And just as we were leaving she came up to me and said, ‘Don't worry, he's gone.’ And I went, 'Oh god…’ I just sunk. It hit me really hard, I'm not going to pretend it didn't.”
In the days following Lemmy Kilmister’s death, Ozzy penned a piece calling the Motorhead frontman “my hero.”
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