Coldplay paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne during their concert in Nashville last night following the musician’s death. Frontman Chris Martin dedicated the performance to Osbourne before the band showcased a cover of Black Sabbath‘s 1972 ballad “Changes.”
“We’d like to dedicate this whole show to the incredible genius, talent, and character-full gift to the world who was Ozzy Osbourne,” Martin told the audience at Nissan Stadium. “We send our love to his family.” Coldplay then showcased a stripped down rendition of “Changes,” which opens with the lines, “I feel unhappy, I feel so sad/ I’ve lost the best friend that I ever had.”
After the song, Martin added, “Ozzy, we love you, wherever you’re going.”
Black Sabbath released “Changes” as part of their album Vol. 4. In his 2011 autobiography I Am Ozzy, Osbourne noted that the song was inspired by the end of guitarist Bill Ward‘s first marriage. In 2003, Osbourne and his daughter Kelly Osbourne released a duet version of the track with revised lyrics.
Earlier this month, Yungblud performed a cover of “Changes” live at Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning benefit concert at Birmingham, England’s Villa Park. Yungblud paid tribute to Osbourne in a lengthy Instagram post, writing, “I will never forget you — you will be in every single note I sing and with me every single time I walk on stage. Your cross around my neck is the most precious thing I own. You asked me once if there was anything you could do for me and as I said then and as I will say now for all of us the music was enough. You took us on your adventure — an adventure that started it all. I am truly heartbroken. You were the greatest of all time.”