When Ozzy Osbourne and daughter Kelly sang stunning duet at Buckingham Palace

24 July 2025, 18:26

Together, they performed Changes, a reimagined version of the 1972 Black Sabbath ballad that the father-daughter duo had turned into a surprise UK No. 1 just months earlier. Picture: BBC/Youtube

By Giorgina Hamilton

As the world mourns Ozzy Osbourne, we look back at one of his most tender public performances — singing side by side with daughter Kelly on London's famous Mall.

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As tributes pour in for Ozzy Osbourne following his death at 76, fans and fellow musicians alike are revisiting the many chapters of a career that spanned decades.

The "Prince of Darkness" was known for many things: heavy metal trailblazer, bat-biting icon, reality TV dad, and cultural shapeshifter.

But one of the most unexpected—and unexpectedly moving—moments in his long musical career came not on a Black Sabbath stage, but on a summer's evening at Buckingham Palace.

It was June 26, 2004, and the Olympic Torch was making its ceremonial route through London ahead of the Athens Games.

In its original form, 'Changes' was a melancholy track about loss and transition. But in the Osbournes’ hands, it became a delicate, stripped-back duet. Picture: BBC/Youtube

A crowd of 40,000 gathered outside Buckingham Palace's gates, Union Jacks waving, the Mall filled with anticipation.

Amid a line-up of British musical royalty—including Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Razorlight, and the Sugababes—Ozzy Osbourne took the stage with his daughter, Kelly.

Together, they performed Changes, a reimagined version of the 1972 Black Sabbath ballad that the father-daughter duo had turned into a surprise UK No. 1 just months earlier.

It was while Ozzy was recovering in hospital from a serious quad-bike accident in late 2003 that the song unexpectedly topped the charts – marking his first and only UK No. 1 single.

That it came through a tender duet with his daughter made the moment all the more poignant.

The stripped-down, vulnerable performance at Buckingham Palace on 26 June 2004, part of the Olympic Torch celebrations, remains one of his most moving public appearances—symbols of transformation, family, and healing.

A crowd of 40,000 gathered outside Buckingham Palace's gates, Union Jacks waving, the Mall filled with anticipation. Picture: BBC/Youtube

Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025 aged 76, just weeks after perforning a farewell concert to fans at Villa Park in Birmingham. — Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025 aged 76, just weeks after performing a farewell concert to fans at Villa Park in Birmingham. Picture: BBC/Youtube

In its original form, 'Changes' was a melancholy track about loss and transition. But in the Osbournes’ hands, it became a delicate, stripped-back duet.

The performance showed how the Osbournes had gone from wild reality stars to beloved household names.

Just two years earlier, The Osbournes reality show had premiered on MTV and become an unlikely phenomenon, drawing millions of viewers to its wild, bleary-eyed domestic scenes.

Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack were no longer just a rock family—they were household names, tabloid fixtures, and reality TV royalty.

For Kelly, the performance at the Olympic Torch concert was a milestone in her own growing career.

But it was also an act of solidarity with her father, who at the time was managing early signs of health complications and the emotional fallout of sudden new fame.

OZZY OSBOURNE - Changes (Olympic Torch Concert 2004)

In a 2025 interview with Hola!, Kelly reflected on seeing her parents’ vulnerability: "I always thought of my parents as being so invincible…and then all of a sudden, you realise that they’re fragile and…now it’s my job to show them the way."

And she shared her greatest fear:

"My biggest fear is losing a member of my family. Because we are such a unit… and we’re nothing without the other."

Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025 aged 76, just weeks after performing a farewell concert to fans at Villa Park in Birmingham.

In 2004 Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack were no longer just a rock family—they were household names, tabloid fixtures, and reality TV royalty. Picture: Getty

Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne on Gogglebox

A statement from his children and wife Sharon Osbourne reads: "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.

"He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis."