Ozzy Osbourne to reunite with Black Sabbath
The original line-up of heavy metal legends Black Sabbath will play together for the first time in 20 years at a one-off concert in Birmingham, England, this summer, organisers said on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters.
The July 5 show at the birthplace of the band will feature Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward - the group that pioneered heavy metal music in the early 1970s with hits such as War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man. Since their last gig together in 2005, Black Sabbath have played in partial reunions but never in their original line-up.
Black Sabbath, in what is being billed as their final show, will top a line-up of rock and heavy metal icons including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Lamb Of God and Anthrax at the Villa Park event. Profits from the show, called Back to the Beginning, will be donated to charities including Cure Parkinson's, organisers said.
Osbourne, the group's charismatic frontman who left the band in 1979 due to drug and alcohol problems and went on to pursue a highly successful solo career, said in 2020 he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
"It's time for me to give back to the place where I was born," Osbourne, 76, said in a statement. "How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal."
Tickets will go on sale on February 14. As per the Guardian, Black Sabbath have sold a reported 75 million albums worldwide and remain amongst the most influential heavy rock band in history. Their first eight albums featured Osbourne and included the UK No 1 Paranoid as well as classics such as Master of Reality and their 1970 self-titled debut.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Black Cloud' installation envelopes Ukraine streets
Feature will be part of the Burning Man festival. Photo: Reuters A massive black cloud has stood in Kyiv's historic Sophia Square this week, emitting flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder in evocation of war, before it travels to the Burning Man art festival in the United States later this year. The Black Cloud installation, by Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Say, measures 30 metres (100 feet) long and 15 high, weighs nearly eight tonnes and is made from four kilometres of fabric. The work also includes the sounds of artillery fire, explosions, drones and military vehicles in a chilling evocation of Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine since February 2022. "Get ready. Evil is just around the corner. It makes sense to face it," Say told Reuters, standing beside his work, in a message to others beyond Ukraine. The 50-year-old, who studied at the Kyiv Art and Industrial Technical School, lives and works in the capital of Ukraine where there has been a surge of "war art" during the conflict. Say's installation will be a Ukrainian contribution to the annual, eight-day independent art festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada in August. "Perhaps the next time someone watches news about Ukraine they will register not only the information but also experience an emotion that goes with it. That's how it (the Black Cloud) is intended to work," said Maria Moroz, executive producer of the project. For Kyiv residents, the Black Cloud is a stark symbol. On a recent day, some took photos while others stood quietly, one couple hugging in silence under its shadow. "It evoked images of explosions and destruction in me," said Natalia, 58, from Kyiv. "It made me think of something evil. It reminded me of the war," said Tetiana, 54. "Constant air raid alerts, missiles, ... drones, this is what it makes me think of."
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Princess Diana's pricey dresses head to auction
Diana's wedding dress from 1981 is also up for auction. Photo: Reuters From colourful frocks and hats to handbags and shoes, items belonging to the late Princess Diana go under the hammer this month in what Julien's Auctions says is the largest collection of her fashion to go to auction, reported Reuters. The live and online "Princess Diana's Style & A Royal Collection" sale will take place on June 26 at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, offering an array of fashion items Diana wore. "This is the largest Princess Diana auction because we have over 100 items from her amazing life and career — keeping in mind Diana herself — sold over 70 of her dresses — back in 1997 to raise money for her charity," Martin Nolan, executive director and co-founder of Julien's Auctions, told Reuters on Monday. He was speaking at the Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge in Ireland during a pre-sale exhibition. Among the highlights is a 1988 silk floral dress by Bellville Sassoon, dubbed the "caring dress" because Diana wore it several times on hospital visits, with a price estimate of $200,000-$300,000. A cream silk embroidered evening gown Catherine Walker designed for Diana's 1986 Gulf tour has a similar price tag, while a Bruce Oldfield two-piece yellow floral ensemble she wore for Royal Ascot in 1987 is estimated at $100,000-$200,000. Other sale items include a Dior handbag gifted to her by former French first lady Bernadette Chirac in 1995, a sketch of Diana's 1981 wedding dress with tulle fabric cut-offs from when she married then Prince Charles in 1981 and a peach hat she wore for her honeymoon send-off. As per the Daily Mail, the collection will also feature a Murray Arbeid midnight blue tulle strapless gown that Diana wore twice in 1986 — to the Phantom Of The Opera premiere and to a dinner with King Constantine of Greece — and to a Royal Opera House performance of Cinderella in 1987, which has a top estimate of $400,000 (£315,000). Additionally, the auction includes pieces belonging to other British royals including the late Queen Elizabeth II and the queen mother. Nolan said Julien's Auctions had previously sold a dress belonging to Diana for $1.14 million. "People do consider these items as an asset class now, because if people own these items today, chances are in years to come they will sell them for more than what they pay for (at) auction," he said. Part of the proceeds from the sale of Diana's items will go to charity Muscular Dystrophy UK. The pre-sale exhibition in Newbridge will run until June 17.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Paramount to lay off 3.5% of US staff in latest job cut, memo shows
Paramount Global is laying off 3.5% of its U.S. staff in the latest round of job cuts as the company grapples with a decline in cable TV subscribers, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The layoff was communicated to its staff on Tuesday morning and it could affect some non-U.S. workforce over time, the memo from the office of the company's three co-CEOs showed. This is in addition to the 15% cuts Paramount had announced last August and comes as the media industry navigates a 'generational disruption' as millions of cable users cut the cord and opt for streaming services such as Netflix. 'We are taking the hard, but necessary steps to further streamline our organization starting this week,'? Paramount Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins wrote in the memo. Paramount had 18,600 employees as of Dec. 31, 2024. CNBC first reported the development on Tuesday. Paramount channels, including CBS and Nickelodeon, to go dark on YouTube TV The company has pitched its $8.4 billion merger with billionaire scion David Ellison's Skydance Media. But the deal is yet to secure regulatory approval, pending a $10 billion lawsuit U.S. President Donald Trump filed against CBS News in October over an interview with then-vice president Kamala Harris that he alleged was deceptively edited to favor Harris.
