Ozzy Osbourne tributes flood in as hometown Birmingham mourns
Fans laid floral tributes at a bench and bridge in central England named after Black Sabbath, the band with whom Osbourne pioneered the heavy metal genre in the late 1960s, after his death on Tuesday at the age of 76.
Chloe Allen, a 25-year-old student who was visiting the Sabbath bench, said Osbourne's "Crazy Train" introduced her to metal music.
"(His music made me) realise that actually, you can be alternative, you can wear black, you can rock on, and you can just be you," she said, speaking from the Sabbath bench.
Ozzy Osbourne kisses his wife Sharon during the 'Ozzfest Meets Knotfest' news conference at the Hollywood Palladium, on May 12, 2016, in Los Angeles.
File/Associated Press
Osbourne died 17 days after enthralling thousands of adoring fans in an emotional farewell gig in Birmingham featuring dozens of other performances including by Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler in day-long heavy metal extravaganza.
"It's impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to Metallica," the band said on X. "He taught us how to play in the big leagues while at the same time being warm, welcoming, engaging, and all around brilliant."
Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi said the band had "lost our brother".
"He loved what he did, he loved music, he loved playing together, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity of getting together again to do the (farewell) show," Iommi told BBC Radio.
Tony Iommi (left), Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler pose with their award at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, on Jan.26, 2014.
File/Reuters
Many fans also gathered at The Crown, a now-closed pub where Sabbath performed in their early years and at the site of a mural of the band near Birmingham's main railway station.
Merlin Alderslade, executive editor at the Louder group of rock and metal magazines, told Reuters it was "impossible" to overstate Osbourne's importance to heavy metal, and that his last show was a fitting farewell.
"We were quite shocked at the news," Alderslade said. "But what an amazing way to go out."
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The National
3 days ago
- The National
Ozzy Osbourne AI tribute sparks 'digital resurrection' debate
Fans of Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne have criticised musician Tom Morello after he shared an AI-generated image of the rock star, who died this week at the age of 76. Osbourne bid farewell to fans earlier this month with a Black Sabbath reunion show in the British city of Birmingham. His death led to tributes from fans and musicians. They included Morello's post, which sparked anger among X users. The backlash over the stylised image – which included deceased rock stars Lemmy, Randy Rhodes and Ronnie James Dio – centred on what many saw as an exploitative and unsettling trend, with users questioning the ethics of sharing such visuals so soon after Osbourne's death. It is the latest flashpoint in a growing debate: when does using AI to recreate someone's likeness cross the line from tribute to invasion of privacy? While the tools behind these hyper-realistic images are evolving rapidly, the ethical frameworks and legal protections have not yet caught up. Deepfakes and grief in digital age Using AI to recreate the dead or the dying, sometimes referred to as "grief tech" or "digital resurrection", is becoming increasingly common, from fan-made tributes of celebrities to "griefbots" that simulate the voice or personality of a lost loved one. In an example of grief tech, Canadian Joshua Barbeau last year used Project December, a GPT-3-based chatbot created by Jason Rohrer, to recreate conversations with his dead fiancee from September 2020, eight years after her death. The chatbot's responses were so convincing that she "said" things like: "Of course it is me. Who else could it be? I am the girl that you are madly in love with." Mental health experts warn that such recreations can profoundly affect the grieving process. "The predictable and comforting responses of AI griefbots can create unrealistic expectations for emotional support, which could impact a person's ability to build healthy relationships in the future," said Carolyn Yaffe, a cognitive behaviour therapist at Medcare Camali Clinic in Dubai. "Some people find comfort and a sense of connection through them. In contrast, others might face negative effects, like prolonged denial, emotional pain, or even feelings of paranoia or psychosis." Interacting with AI likenesses can blur the lines between memory and reality, potentially distorting a person's emotional recovery, Ms Yaffe said. "These tools may delay acceptance and create a space where people stay connected to digital surrogates instead of moving on," she added. "Grief doesn't fit into neat algorithms." Lack of legal safeguards There is limited legal protection against these practices. In the Middle East, specific laws around AI-generated likenesses are still emerging. Countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia address deepfakes under broader laws related to cyber crimes, defamation, or personal data protection. But there are still no clear regulations dealing with posthumous image rights or the AI-based recreation of people. Most laws focus on intent to harm, rather than on consent or digital legacy after death. In the UK, for example, there are no posthumous personality or image rights. Some states in the US, including California and New York, have begun to introduce limited protections, while others do not offer any. In China, draft legislation has begun to address AI deepfakes. Denmark, however, has been a pioneer on the issue, proposing a law that would grant people copyright-like control over their image, voice and likeness. The legislation, expected to pass this year, would allow Danish people to demand the removal of unauthorised deepfake content and seek civil damages, even posthumously, marking the first time such protections would be implemented in Europe. "Copyright does not protect someone's appearance or voice," said Andres Guadamuz, a reader in intellectual property law at the University of Sussex. "We urgently need to reform image and personality rights to address unauthorised AI depictions, particularly for vulnerable individuals, including the deceased or critically ill, where dignity, consent, and misuse risks are paramount." Consent, culture and control Ethical concerns about recreating the image or voice of someone who is critically ill or dead go beyond legal frameworks. Arda Awais, co-founder of UK-based digital rights collective Identity 2.0, believes that, even when AI tributes are carried out with good intentions, they carry significant risks. 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"AI-generated responses can completely miss the point, not because the technology is harmful, but because it lacks the essential quality that grief requires – humanity," Ms Yaffe said.
Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Gulf Today
Ozzy Osbourne tributes flood in as hometown Birmingham mourns
Hundreds of Ozzy Osbourne fans gathered at landmarks linked to the rocker in his birthplace of Birmingham on Wednesday, while artists paid tribute to his influence on heavy metal music. Fans laid floral tributes at a bench and bridge in central England named after Black Sabbath, the band with whom Osbourne pioneered the heavy metal genre in the late 1960s, after his death on Tuesday at the age of 76. Chloe Allen, a 25-year-old student who was visiting the Sabbath bench, said Osbourne's "Crazy Train" introduced her to metal music. "(His music made me) realise that actually, you can be alternative, you can wear black, you can rock on, and you can just be you," she said, speaking from the Sabbath bench. Ozzy Osbourne kisses his wife Sharon during the 'Ozzfest Meets Knotfest' news conference at the Hollywood Palladium, on May 12, 2016, in Los Angeles. File/Associated Press Osbourne died 17 days after enthralling thousands of adoring fans in an emotional farewell gig in Birmingham featuring dozens of other performances including by Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler in day-long heavy metal extravaganza. "It's impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to Metallica," the band said on X. "He taught us how to play in the big leagues while at the same time being warm, welcoming, engaging, and all around brilliant." Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi said the band had "lost our brother". "He loved what he did, he loved music, he loved playing together, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity of getting together again to do the (farewell) show," Iommi told BBC Radio. Tony Iommi (left), Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler pose with their award at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, on Jan.26, 2014. File/Reuters Many fans also gathered at The Crown, a now-closed pub where Sabbath performed in their early years and at the site of a mural of the band near Birmingham's main railway station. Merlin Alderslade, executive editor at the Louder group of rock and metal magazines, told Reuters it was "impossible" to overstate Osbourne's importance to heavy metal, and that his last show was a fitting farewell. "We were quite shocked at the news," Alderslade said. "But what an amazing way to go out." Reuters
Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Gulf Today
Ozzy Osbourne, who led Black Sabbath and became the godfather of heavy metal, dies
Ozzy Osbourne, the gloomy, demon-invoking lead singer of the pioneering band Black Sabbath who became the throaty, growling voice — and drug-and-alcohol ravaged id — of heavy metal, died on Tuesday, just weeks after his farewell show. He was 76. "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," a family statement said. In 2020, he revealed he had Parkinson's disease after suffering a fall. Either clad in black or bare-chested, the singer was often the target of parents' groups for his imagery and once caused an uproar for biting the head off a bat. Later, he would reveal himself to be a doddering and sweet father on the reality TV show "The Osbournes." Black Sabbath's 1969 self-titled debut LP has been likened to the Big Bang of heavy metal. It came during the height of the Vietnam War and crashed the hippie party, dripping menace and foreboding. The cover of the record was of a spooky figure against a stark landscape. The music was loud, dense and angry, and marked a shift in rock 'n' roll. The band's second album, "Paranoid," included such classic metal tunes as "War Pigs," "Iron Man" and "Fairies Wear Boots." The song "Paranoid" only reached No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 but became in many ways the band's signature song. Both albums were voted among the top 10 greatest heavy metal albums of all time by readers of Rolling Stone magazine. "Black Sabbath are the Beatles of heavy metal. Anybody who's serious about metal will tell you it all comes down to Sabbath," Dave Navarro of the band Jane's Addiction wrote in a 2010 tribute in Rolling Stone. "There's a direct line you can draw back from today's metal, through Eighties bands like Iron Maiden, back to Sabbath." Sabbath fired Osbourne in 1979 for his legendary excesses, like showing up late for rehearsals and missing gigs. "We knew we didn't really have a choice but to sack him because he was just so out of control. But we were all very down about the situation," wrote bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler in his memoir, "Into the Void." Osbourne reemerged the next year as a solo artist with "Blizzard of Ozz" and the following year's "Diary of a Madman," both hard rock classics that went multi-platinum and spawned enduring favorites such as "Crazy Train," "Goodbye to Romance," "Flying High Again" and "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll." Osbourne was twice inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - once with Sabbath in 2006 and again in 2024 as a solo artist. The original Sabbath lineup reunited for the first time in 20 years in July 2025 in the UK for what Osborne said would be his final concert. "Let the madness begin!" he told 42,000 fans. Metallica, Guns N Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon did sets. Tom Morello, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Billy Corgan, Ronnie Wood, Travis Barker, Sammy Hagar, Andrew Watt, Yungblud, Korn's Jonathan Davis, Nuno Bettencourt, Chad Smith and Vernon Reid made appearances. Actor Jason Momoa was the host for the festivities. "Black Sabbath: we'd all be different people without them, that's the truth," said Pantera singer Phil Anselmo. "I know I wouldn't be up here with a microphone in my hand without Black Sabbath." Osbourne embodied the excesses of metal. His outlandish exploits included relieving himself on the Alamo, snorting a line of ants off a sidewalk and, most memorably, biting the head off a live bat that a fan threw onstage during a 1981 concert. (He said he thought it was rubber.) Osbourne was sued in 1987 by parents of a 19-year-old teen who died by suicide while listening to his song "Suicide Solution." The lawsuit was dismissed. Osbourne said the song was really about the dangers of alcohol, which caused the death of his friend Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC. Then-Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York claimed in 1990 that Osbourne's songs led to demonic possession and even suicide. "You are ignorant about the true meaning of my songs," the singer wrote back. "You have also insulted the intelligence of rock fans all over the world." Audiences at Osbourne shows could be mooned or spit on by the singer. They would often be hectored to scream along with the song, but the Satan-invoking Osbourne would usually send the crowds home with their ears ringing and a hearty "God bless!" He started an annual tour - Ozzfest - in 1996 after he was rejected from the lineup of what was then the top touring music festival, Lollapalooza. Ozzfest has gone on to host such bands as Slipknot, Tool, Megadeth, Rob Zombie, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Osbourne's look changed little over his life. He wore his long hair flat, heavy black eye makeup and round glasses, often wearing a cross around his neck. In 2013, he reunited with Black Sabbath for the dour, raw "13," which reached No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart and peaked at No. 86 on the U.S. Billboard 200. In 2019, he had a Top 10 hit when featured on Post Malone's "Take What You Want," Osbourne's first song in the Top 10 since 1989. In 2020, he released the album "Ordinary Man," which had as its title song a duet with Elton John. "I've been a bad guy, been higher than the blue sky/And the truth is I don't wanna die an ordinary man," he sang. In 2022, he landed his first career back-to-back No. 1 rock radio singles from his album "Patient Number 9," which featured collaborations with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready, Chad Smith, Robert Trujillo and Duff McKagan. It earned four Grammy nominations. At the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2024, Jack Black called him "greatest frontman in the history of rock and roll" and "the Jack Nicholson of rock." Osbourne thanked his fans, his guitarist Randy Rhoads and his longtime wife, Sharon. John Michael Osbourne was raised in the gritty city of Birmingham, England. Kids in school nicknamed him Ozzy, short for his surname. As a boy, he loved the Four Seasons, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The Beatles made a huge impression. "They came from Liverpool, which was approximately 60 miles north of where I come from," he told Billboard. "So all of a sudden it was in my grasp, but I never thought it would be as successful as it became." In the late 1960s, Osbourne had teamed up with Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward as the Polka Tulk Blues Band. They decided to rename the band Earth, but found to their dismay there was another band with that name. So they changed the name to the American title of the classic Italian horror movie "I Tre Volti Della Paura," starring Boris Karloff: Black Sabbath. Once they found their sludgy, ominous groove, the band was productive, putting out their self-titled debut and "Paranoid" in 1970, "Master of Reality" in 1971, "Vol. 4" in 1972 and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" in 1973. The music was all about industrial guitar riffs and disorienting changes in time signatures, along with lyrics that spoke of alienation and doom. "People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time," Osbourne sang in one song. "All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy/Think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify." The Guardian newspaper in 2009 said the band "introduced working-class anger, stoner sludge grooves and witchy horror-rock to flower power. Black Sabbath confronted the empty platitudes of the 1960s and, along with Altamont and Charles Manson, almost certainly helped kill off the hippy counterculture." After Sabbath, Osbourne had an uncanny knack for calling some of the most creative young guitarists to his side. When he went solo, he hired the brilliant innovator Rhoads, who played on two of Osbourne's finest solo albums, "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman." Rhoads was killed in a freak plane accident in 1982; Osbourne released the live album "Tribute" in 1987 in his memory. Osbourne then signed Jake E. Lee, who lent his talents to the platinum albums "Bark at the Moon" and "The Ultimate Sin." Hotshot Zakk Wylde joined Osbourne's band for "No Rest for the Wicked" and the multiplatinum "No More Tears." "They come along, they sprout wings, they blossom, and they fly off," Osbourne said of his players in 1995 to The Associated Press. "But I have to move on. To get a new player now and again boosts me on." Whomever he was playing with, Osbourne wasn't likely to back down from controversy. He had the last laugh when the TV evangelist the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart in 1986 lambasted various rock groups and rock magazines as "the new pornography," prompting some retailers to pull Osbourne's album. When Swaggart later was caught with a sex worker in 1988, Osbourne put out the song "Miracle Man" about his foe: "Miracle man got busted/miracle man got busted," he sang. "Today I saw a Miracle Man, on TV cryin'/Such a hypocritical man, born again, dying." Associated Press
