Latest news with #Geezer Butler
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
See last photos of Ozzy Osbourne at Black Sabbath's farewell show 2 weeks before his death
The last photos of Ozzy Osbourne before his death were of him doing what he loved — rocking out onstage. Two weeks before his death on Tuesday, Osbourne took part in Black Sabbath's farewell show on July 5. He performed his final show with his bandmates — Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward — at the Villa Park Stadium in Birmingham, England, where the band was formed in the late '60s. Osbourne sat in a chair for part of his final performance, rocking his signature black eyeliner and long dark hair. He wore a black sequin shirt for the occasion, along with an eye-catching black jacket with a gold band reading 'Ozzy' and leather pants. The epic 10-hour show featured performances from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Jack Black and more, and was hosted by actor Jason Momoa. Ozzy's family confirmed his death in a statement obtained by Page Six. He was 76 years old. '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,' the statement reads. '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.' The heavy metal titan had been struggling with his health over the past couple of years. Ozzy revealed in January 2020 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a secret he had kept for over 15 years. In addition to the progressive brain disorder affecting his nervous system, Ozzy had been reeling from neck injuries he sustained in a 2003 quad biking accident. His final Instagram post was a touching tribute to Black Sabbath. He posted an image Sunday of a poster that was hanging outside of his dressing room door from their final show. The photo showed Ozzy and his bandmates, along with the words, 'Back to the Beginning.'
Khaleej Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76: The Black Sabbath lead singer in five songs
Britain's Ozzy Osbourne, who died on July 22 at the age of 76, was a pioneer of heavy metal music as lead singer of Black Sabbath, producing songs with a powerful and often sinister mix of distortion and dark lyrics. Here are five of his most memorable songs, three of which are from Black Sabbath's most successful album Paranoid (1970). 'Paranoid' (1970) Often listed as one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time, Paranoid came about largely by accident, being written at the last minute because the album of the same name was too short. Describing a man's depressed state, the "rapid-fire chugging" of the song was "a two-minute blast of protopunk", Rolling Stone has said. After leaving Black Sabbath in 1979 and going solo, Osbourne continued to perform the classic at the end of his concerts. 'War Pigs' (1970) Another icon from Paranoid, this is a classic anti-war protest song often associated with the Vietnam War of the period. It was originally entitled Walpurgis — a reference to a satanist festival — but this was changed on the recommendation of Black Sabbath's record company. Described as "dense" by Rolling Stone magazine, it compares military commanders to "witches at black masses" and criticises politicians for starting war and "treating people like pawns". 'Iron Man' (1970) Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler said he wrote the lyrics to this piece, also from Paranoid, when Osbourne described a dark riff by guitarist Tony Iommi as sounding "like a great iron bloke walking about". It tells of a man who is unable to communicate and feels rejected, and so wreaks revenge on the world. Osbourne "gave metal a sense of menace during his first 10-year tour of duty with Black Sabbath, approximating the sound of a nervous breakdown on songs like Paranoid and Iron Man," Rolling Stone wrote in 2018. 'Crazy Train' (1980) After being sacked by Black Sabbath in 1979 because of his substance abuse, Osbourne reinvented heavy metal during an epic solo career, "picking up the pace of his songs and injecting them with baroque noir," Rolling Stone said. Crazy Train, the first single from his debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz in 1980, deals with the Cold War pitting the West against the Soviet Union, and fears of mutually assured destruction. In 2019 Osbourne was reported by US media, as having complained to US President Donald Trump after the Republican used the song unauthorised in a social media video which mocked the 2020 Democratic Party candidates at a debate. 'I Don't Want to Change the World' (1991) Continuing his successful solo run into the 1990s, I Don't Want to Change the World appeared on the multi-platinum winning No More Tears album — his last before retiring for the first time. Osbourne won a Grammy award for his live performance of the piece in 1993.
Geek Vibes Nation
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
Ozzy Osbourne: A Legacy of Music, Reality TV, And Film
The Prince of Darkness Dies at 76 world said goodbye to John Michael 'Ozzy' Osbourne, the legendary frontman of Black Sabbath. He was 76. His family confirmed the news, sharing that Ozzy passed peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. His death follows a long battle with Parkinson's and chronic health issues, closing the final chapter on a career that reshaped music, television, and pop culture. From heavy metal icon to reality TV pioneer, Ozzy's influence is unmatched — loud, unpredictable, and unforgettable. Today, the, the legendary frontman of. He was 76. His family confirmed the news, sharing that Ozzy passed peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. His death follows a long battle with Parkinson's and chronic health issues, closing the final chapter on a career that reshaped music, television, and pop culture. From heavy metal icon to reality TV pioneer, Ozzy's influence is unmatched — loud, unpredictable, and unforgettable. Forging the Sound of Heavy Metal Born in Birmingham, England on December 3, 1948, Osbourne's early life gave little clue of the legacy he'd build. That all changed in 1968 when he co-founded Black Sabbath with Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and Tony Iommi. Named after a Boris Karloff horror film, the band developed a slow, ominous sound that laid the groundwork for heavy metal. Albums like Paranoid (1970), Master of Reality (1971), and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) introduced a new kind of sonic darkness — and Ozzy's ghostly vocals made it unforgettable. Dubbed the 'Prince of Darkness' for his theatrical stage presence and wild reputation, Ozzy was just as beloved for his offstage sincerity. After parting ways with Sabbath in 1979 due to substance abuse, he launched a solo career that began with Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and never let up. He also created Ozzfest, a festival that grossed over $100 million and helped put countless hard rock and metal bands on the map. His final live performance — a Black Sabbath reunion on July 5, 2025, in his hometown — saw him seated on a throne, offering a heartfelt farewell to a crowd of 40,000. Changing TV Forever with The Osbournes In 2002, Ozzy once again broke new ground — this time in reality TV. MTV's The Osbournes, which ran until 2005, gave viewers a fly-on-the-wall look at his eccentric family life with wife Sharon and kids Jack and Kelly. The show was loud, messy, and deeply relatable, turning Ozzy into a baffled-yet-lovable dad figure and launching a new era of celebrity reality shows. Unlike many of its successors, The Osbournes felt real — sometimes painfully so. The series didn't shy away from Sharon's cancer battle or Ozzy's near-fatal ATV crash. The show quickly became MTV's most-watched program and even won a 2002 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program. In a 2023 interview with Spin, Ozzy recalled: 'What you saw was what really went on. It wasn't contrived.' That raw honesty helped the series pave the way for shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but it also set a standard few have matched. Ozzy later appeared in Osbournes Reloaded (2009), a variety show, and Ozzy & Jack's World Detour (2016–2018), a travel documentary series with his son. A planned BBC docuseries, Home to Roost, was announced in 2022 but remains unreleased due to his declining health. From Soundtracks to Cameos: A Pop Culture Fixture Ozzy's voice wasn't just made for records — it helped shape movie soundtracks and gave life to a number of film roles. His music enhanced iconic moments in films like *Iron Man*, *School of Rock*, and *Almost Famous*, while his quirky and sometimes eerie persona lent itself perfectly to the screen. Here are some of his standout appearances: Trick or Treat (1986): Played a reverend in his feature film debut, poking fun at his own 'satanic' image. Played a reverend in his feature film debut, poking fun at his own 'satanic' image. The Jerky Boys (1995): Took on the role of a rock band manager. Took on the role of a rock band manager. Private Parts (1997): Brief but memorable cameo in the Howard Stern biopic. Brief but memorable cameo in the Howard Stern biopic. Little Nicky (2000): Appeared as himself in a scene with flying bats — naturally. Appeared as himself in a scene with flying bats — naturally. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002): Joined the family in a cheeky send-up of their reality TV fame. Joined the family in a cheeky send-up of their reality TV fame. Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) and Sherlock Gnomes (2018): Voiced the character Fawn, proving he could be kid-friendly, too. Voiced the character Fawn, proving he could be kid-friendly, too. Ghostbusters (2016): Popped up in a fun cameo. Popped up in a fun cameo. Trolls World Tour (2020): Voiced King Thrash, the hard-rock villain. Voiced King Thrash, the hard-rock villain. We Need to Do Something (2021): Voiced 'Good Boy' in a dark, surreal horror film. See also Arrow Video's July Releases Include A Sylvester Stallone Classic, Nordic Noir, Cult Favorite Body Horror & More Ozzy also appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2013) and was the subject of the intimate 2011 documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, produced by his son Jack. A biopic based on his memoir I Am Ozzy is in development at Sony, with Ozzy hoping the lead role goes to a talented unknown British actor. He made guest appearances on shows ranging from The Talk to Sesame Street, showing off the full range of his personality. Fans online continue to hail The Osbournes as one of the greatest reality shows ever and praise Ozzy for transcending generations. Leaving a Legacy That Won't Be Forgotten Ozzy Osbourne's influence can't be overstated. He didn't just help create heavy metal — he became its face. Artists like Billy Corgan and John Darnielle credit him as a major influence, and his honesty and vulnerability on reality TV helped change public perceptions of rock stars. He leaves behind his wife Sharon, their children Aimee, Kelly, and Jack, and a growing number of grandchildren — not to mention millions of devoted fans around the world. His final concert film, Back to the Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow, is set to be released in 2026. It promises to celebrate both his life and the enduring power of Black Sabbath. Though the Prince of Darkness has taken his final bow, his music, his image, and his voice will live on. Forever loud. Sources: The New York Times, Wikipedia, Ozzy Osbourne Official Site, The Mirror US, IndieWire, People, Hollywood Reporter, IMDb, TV Guide, EBSCO, American Songwriter, Yahoo Share your favorite Ozzy memory — whether from the stage, the screen, or the small screen — in the comments below. Let's honor a legend together.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ozzy Osbourne obituary
If a single individual could be said to embody the attributes of heavy metal, it would be Ozzy Osbourne, who has died aged 76 after suffering from Parkinson's disease and other disorders. In a career stretching across six decades, Osbourne became a star with Black Sabbath in the 1970s, launched a hugely successful solo career in the 1980s, turned himself into a heavy metal entrepreneur in the 1990s with his travelling Ozzfest rock festival, and in 2002 became an unlikely but wildly successful reality TV star, thanks to the MTV show The Osbournes. The Black Sabbath repertoire included songs with titles such as Paranoid, Evil Woman, Hand of Doom and Children of the Grave. The atmosphere was darkened further by the guitarist Tony Iommi's fondness for tuning his strings lower than usual, and lyrics (mostly written by the bass player Geezer Butler) that alluded to the occult and mental illness, sung in Osbourne's urgent high-register whine. His voice was not pretty but it was impossible to ignore as it sliced through Sabbath's dense sludge of drums, bass and fuzz-toned guitar. 'Sabbath never set out to be legendary,' Osbourne said in 2005. 'The only thing we set out to do was scare people.' Sabbath were a hit straight out of the blocks with their debut album, Black Sabbath (1970), which sailed into the UK Top 10 and reached 23 on the US Billboard chart, despite a hostile response from rock critics. Later that year they released the follow-up, Paranoid, which topped the British chart. Its tough and edgy title song gave them their only British Top 10 single (it went to No 4), while Iron Man and the outspokenly political War Pigs became staples of the Sabbath catalogue, each featuring a distinctive Iommi guitar riff. View image in fullscreen Ozzy Osbourne on stage with Black Sabbath at the Lewisham Odeon, London, 27 May 1978. Photograph:The band's hot streak continued through the albums Master of Reality (1971), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) and Sabotage (1975), but Never Say Die! (1978) signalled Osbourne's departure and the end of Sabbath mark one. Following some chaotic touring and abortive recording sessions, Osbourne was fired in 1979. An alcohol-and-cocaine lifestyle coupled with legal squabbles with their management and record label had sapped the band's strength. 'I was drinking like a fish for two years,' Osbourne said. 'I would have been dead in two or three years if I'd carried on.' Black Sabbath were managed by the notably unsentimental music mogul Don Arden, who assigned his daughter, Sharon, to keep Ozzy sufficiently acquainted with the straight and narrow to be able to write songs and perform. She became his manager and, in 1982, his wife. She launched him as a solo artist, leading his own band, The Blizzard of Ozz, which featured the gifted guitarist and songwriter Randy Rhoads. When Warner Bros and EMI turned Osbourne down as a solo artist, Sharon signed him to her father's label, Jet. Osbourne's solo career was immediately successful, his debut album, Blizzard of Ozz (1980), producing a couple of hit singles with Crazy Train and Mr Crowley, the latter inspired by the occultist Aleister Crowley. View image in fullscreen Ozzy Osbourne with his then fiancee, Sharon Arden, Los Angeles, 1981. Photograph: Douglas Pizac/AP/PA Photos The follow-up, Diary of a Madman (1981), was another bestseller – in his autobiography, I Am Ozzy (2010), Osbourne cited this as his favourite album – and contained the drug-inspired hit single Flying High Again. However, Osbourne's progress was rarely incident-free, and, marriage aside, 1982 was a particular annus horribilis. In January that year, when he was perfoming in Des Moines, Iowa, an audience member threw what Osbourne took to be a rubber bat onstage, whereupon he bit its head off only to discover that the creature was real flesh and blood. He was forced to seek precautionary treatment for rabies. The following month, he was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, after urinating on the Alamo cenotaph. As a police officer remarked, 'Son, when you piss on the Alamo, you piss on the state of Texas.' Osbourne was banned from performing in the city until 1992, when he made a public apology and donated $10,000 to maintaining the monument. In March 1982, Rhoads was killed in Florida while joyriding in a Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft, which crashed. The albums Bark at the Moon (1983), The Ultimate Sin (1986) and No Rest for the Wicked (1988) carried Osbourne through the 1980s on a surging tide of sales, but controversy was never far away. In 1986 he was sued by the parents of Daniel McCollom, who had killed himself while listening to Blizzard of Ozz; the parents contended that the song Suicide Solution was a 'proximate cause' of his death. The case was dismissed in 1988, but Osbourne was then sued by the parents of another young man, Michael Waller, who alleged that their son too was driven to kill himself by hidden messages in the song. Again, the suit was dismissed. In 1989 Osbourne was arrested for attempted murder after trying to strangle Sharon while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. This caused him to spend six months in rehab. After he recorded the album No More Tears (1991), he announced that the tour to promote it (he called it No More Tours) would be his last before he retired. The album contained Osbourne's only Top 40 solo hit single in the US, Mama, I'm Coming Home. The song was addressed to Sharon, from whom he was temporarily estranged. View image in fullscreen Kelly, Jack and Ozzy Osbourne, from the first season of The Osbournes, 2002. Photograph: MTV/Everett/Rex Features Recordings from the tour were released as Live & Loud (1993), which included many of his best-known songs, with the other members of Black Sabbath joining Osbourne for the track Black Sabbath. Live & Loud was intended to bring the curtain down on his career, and the track I Don't Want To Change The World won him a Grammy for best metal performance in 1994. Ozzy was born John Osbourne in Aston, Birmingham. His father, Jack, did night shifts at the industrial company GEC, while his mother, Lillian (nee Unitt), worked for the motor components firm Lucas. He had three older sisters, Jean, Iris and Gillian, and two younger brothers, Paul and Tony. The family managed to squeeze into a two-bedroom home with an outside toilet in Lodge Road, Aston. He acquired the nickname 'Ozzy' at primary school, after being initially dubbed 'Oz-brain', and while his school work was hampered by dyslexia, he showed interest in music and performing when he took roles in school productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas including The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado. Soon, the influence of the Beatles loomed large. Ozzy claimed he had originally wanted to be a plumber, then decided he wanted to be a Beatle instead. He left school at 15 and took a variety of jobs, including trainee plumber, slaughterhouse assistant and apprentice toolmaker, and for a time worked at the same Lucas factory as his mother, where he tuned car-horns. An amateurish attempt at petty crime led to him being arrested while trying to steal a television, and he spent six weeks in Winson Green prison. View image in fullscreen Ozzy Osborne at his home in Beverly Hills, California, 1987. Photograph:After a stint as vocalist with an R&B band called the Approach, in 1967 Osbourne was recruited by Butler to sing with his band, Rare Breed. The group imploded almost immediately, whereupon Osbourne and Butler joined Iommi and the drummer Bill Ward to form Earth. In 1969 they changed their name to Black Sabbath, after a 1963 horror film featuring Boris Karloff. With help from the Birmingham club owner Jim Simpson, who acted as their manager, the band secured a deal with Vertigo Records, which released their debut album, recorded and mixed in two days. Osbourne's early 1990s retirement lasted only until 1995, when he came roaring back with a new album, Ozzmosis. Though hardly a classic, this sold three million copies within 12 months, and, after his follow-up Retirement Sucks tour proved one of the biggest successes of the summer, Osbourne and Sharon created the heavy metal touring package that they dubbed Ozzfest. This became an annual event in the US, Europe and eventually Japan. Ozzfest presented a huge array of metal, thrash and hardcore bands, from Metallica and Judas Priest to Slipknot, Slayer, System of a Down and Linkin Park. In 2004 Ozzy and Sharon presented Battle for Ozzfest on MTV, in which bands competed to be included on the 2005 bill. In 1997 Ozzfest included a Black Sabbath reunion, after which the band recorded the live album Reunion (1998) and continued touring into 1999, appearing again at Ozzfest. A mooted new Black Sabbath studio album was put on hold while Osbourne completed a solo album, Down to Earth (2001). It was now that his career took its surprising lurch into TV. Following an appearance on MTV's reality show Cribs, about celebrity homes, the Osbourne family were recruited for their own series, The Osbournes, which ran for three years from 2002. Featuring Ozzy and Sharon with their children Jack and Kelly – their elder daughter Aimee hated the idea and opted out – it resembled a surreal, outlandish sitcom liberally spattered with X-rated language, and became one of MTV's greatest successes. He was back on TV in 2016 with Ozzy & Jack's World Detour, which ran for three series, with Kelly joining her father and brother for the third in 2018. In 2003 Ozzy almost died after crashing his quad bike at his estate in Buckinghamshire. While he was in hospital he topped the UK singles charts for the first time with Changes, a Black Sabbath song he had re-recorded as a duet with Kelly. In 2005 he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame as both solo artist and member of Black Sabbath, and the following year into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath. An album of cover versions, Under Cover (2005), was received unenthusiastically, but he was back to chartbusting ways with Black Rain (2007) and Scream (2010). The long-awaited Black Sabbath studio album, 13, finally appeared in 2013. Memoirs of a Madman (2014) was a compilation of the best of Osbourne's solo work. In 2015 he received the Ivor Novello award for lifetime achievement at a ceremony in London. View image in fullscreen Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne in 2007. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters In 2016, Black Sabbath, including Ozzy, embarked on a year-long world tour, billed as the group's swansong. However, it was overshadowed by further Osbourne family dramas. In May, news broke that Ozzy had moved out of the family home after 34 years of marriage. It emerged that he had been having a four-year relationship with Michelle Pugh, a hair stylist, and was being treated for sex addiction. Ozzy made a public apology, saying that he was undergoing 'intense therapy'. In 2019, he was forced to postpone his No More Tours 2 concerts in Europe after being hospitalised with a respiratory infection. He was also diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, though this was not made public until 2020 (in 2005 he had been diagnosed with Parkin syndrome, a genetic condition which causes symptoms similar to Parkinson's). In September 2019 he reached No 8 on the US singles charts with his performance on Post Malone's Take What You Want, his first entry into the Top 10 since 1989. He released a well-received new solo album, Ordinary Man (2020), but cancelled planned north American shows to enable him to undergo treatment for Parkinson's in Switzerland. In 2022 he released his 13th solo album, Patient Number 9. Earlier this month he gave his concert farewell at Villa Park, Birmingham as the finale of a day of metal music. A short set of solo songs was followed by another with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Iommi, Butler and Ward, ending with Paranoid. In 1971 he married Thelma Riley, and they had three children, Jessica, Louis and Elliot. Shortly after their divorce in 1982 he married Sharon. She survives him, along with the three children from each marriage.
SBS Australia
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath singer and heavy metal's 'prince of darkness', dies aged 76
Ozzy Osbourne, the British rocker who pioneered heavy metal with his band Black Sabbath, has died at the age of 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,' Osbourne's family said in a statement early on Wednesday AEST. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love.' A cause of death was not disclosed. Osbourne's death comes just weeks after Black Sabbath performed a sold-out farewell gig in the English city of Birmingham, where the band was formed. Osbourne, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, performed while seated on a giant leather throne topped with a bat. A 'working class kid from Aston' John Michael Osbourne was born in 1948 in Warwickshire in the UK. Growing up in Aston, Birmingham he struggled with dyslexia, left school at age 15, did a series of menial jobs, and at one point served a brief prison sentence for burglary. Then came Black Sabbath. "When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of 60, with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and California, I wouldn't have put money on me. No f-cking way," he once said. In 1968, Osbourne joined guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler to form Black Sabbath. They released their debut, self-titled album two years later. Ozzy Osbourne (right) formed Black Sabbath alongside bandmates Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward. Source: Getty / Chris Walter/WireImage Its follow-up, Paranoid, also released in 1970, is often cited as one of the most influential metal albums of all time. It contained many of their most well-known songs, including War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man. The band combined hard riffs and dark subject matter — from depression to war to apocalypse — combined with an instinct for Halloween theatrics. In 1982, Osbourne had an infamous encounter with a bat thrown on stage by a fan. He always insisted he thought it was a toy until he bit into it, realised his mistake and rushed to hospital for a rabies shot. The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, and won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, along with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Osbourne was a regular target for conservative and religious groups concerned about the negative impact of rock music on young people. He acknowledged the excesses of his lifestyle and lyrics — but poured scorn on the wilder reports that he was an actual devil worshipper. "I've done some bad things in my time. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time," he said in a 2010 biography. Osbourne married his manager, Sharon Arden, in 1982. Source: Getty / Greg Doherty In 2002, Osbourne won legions of new fans when he starred in US reality TV show The Osbournes, featuring the singer alongside his family, wife Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack. In his final concert on 5 July, Osbourne thanked thousands of adoring fans, some of whom were visibly emotional. Osbourne's performance followed a number of tributes on stage and on stadium screens from rock and pop royalty including Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Metallica's James Hetfield and Elton John. "Thanks for your support over the years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you," he said.
