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Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ozzy Osbourne Funeral: Sharon Osbourne and Family Pay Tribute With Peace Signs as Thousands of Fans Chant ‘Thank You Ozzy' in Emotional Procession
Tens of thousands of fans gathered in Ozzy Osbourne's hometown of Birmingham, England on Wednesday for the funeral procession of the legendary rocker and Black Sabbath frontman, who died on July 22 at the age of 76. The hearse holding Osbourne's coffin made its way down Broad Street and past the Black Sabbath Bridge, where his widow, Sharon Osbourne, and children Jack and Kelly Osbourne got out to look at the overwhelming amount of goodbye messages left there. Sharon Osbourne was visibly emotional and leaned on her children for support as they walked hand in hand. After spending about five minutes at the bridge, they turned to the crowd and Sharon flashed Ozzy's signature peace sign gesture. More from Variety Ozzy Osbourne's Legacy (And Many Goofy Faces) Celebrated In New Photo Collection, Featuring Never-Before-Seen Pics Ozzy Osbourne Posthumously Scores 10th Top 10 Album With 'The Essential Ozzy' Kelly Osbourne References Black Sabbath Lyrics to Mourn Ozzy Osbourne: 'I Feel Unhappy, I Am So Sad' It was a tearjerking moment for members of the crowd as well, who cheered on the Osbourne family and chanted 'Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy, oi oi oi!' as well as 'Thank you, Ozzy.' As the family got back into the hearse, purple flowers spelling out 'Ozzy' sitting on top of his coffin could be seen. A private funeral service is being held for Osbourne's family and close friends later in the day at an undisclosed location. Osbourne was back in Birmingham earlier this month for Black Sabbath's final concert, an all-day event titled 'Back to the Beginning.' Not only did Osbourne and Black Sabbath perform, but the show featured tributes from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice in Chains and more. Due to his previous spinal injuries and Parkinson's disease, Osbourne remained seated for the event but otherwise appeared in good health. '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 family said in a statement announcing his death. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.' Best of Variety What's Coming to Disney+ in August 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in August 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Heavy metal icon battling ‘devastating' form of cancer gets married
David Roach, the frontman for popular heavy metal rock band Junkyard, got hitched to his fiancée, Jennifer, amid the rock star's ongoing battle with cancer. Junkyard shared an Instagram post on Sunday, July 20 capturing the wedding with the description, 'Congratulations to the happy couple — Mr. and Mrs. David Patrick Roach." Roach's child, Ray, also posted about the wedding on Instagram with the caption, 'Did you know that you can get a free wedding venue if you just do it in the cancer center lobby after hours? Welcome to the Roach fam Jennifer!' The members of Junkyard attended the ceremony as well, according to both Instagram posts. Roach wrote in a Jan. 21 Instagram post that he was 'going through a medical issue that I'll be dealing with for at least a few more months.' Junkyard later announced in a Jan. 31 Instagram post that Roach was hit with 'an aggressive cancer diagnosis.' The singer was admitted to the hospital last month after experiencing a persistent fever and cough. 'We're still struggling to process the news we received on Tuesday,' a June 26 Instagram post from Roach and Jennifer read. 'We got results that have completely shattered our world. It's devastating and life-altering, and we're trying to navigate through the emotions and uncertainty that come with it.' Despite this uncertainty, Roach was 'showing such incredible strength and resilience,' according to the Instagram post. 'Even in the midst of this darkness, he's still managing to keep his sense of humor,' the post continued. 'It's a reminder of how amazing he is.' The band started donating a portion of every sale of their merchandise to help pay for Roach's medical expenses. The singer was also selling his plaque art to cover the cost of bills. Additionally, a GoFundMe was created in March to help the musician combat 'the financial strain from medical expenses and daily living costs.' The campaign has raised more than $35,000 to date. 'Your support means the world to David, and it will truly help him through this difficult period,' the GoFundMe reads. 'Thank you so much for showing him the love and kindness he deserves!' Junkyard formed in Los Angeles, California in 1987. The band, which is often compared to Guns N' Roses, possesses a 'raw and bluesy hard rock' sound 'with a metal accent and roots in hardcore punk,' according to AllMusic. Junkyard released four studio albums from 1989 to 1998 before going on hiatus. However, the members regrouped a few years later. Junkyard released its first new studio album in almost 20 years, 'High Water' in 2017, as well as their latest singles, 'Lifer' and 'Last of a Dying Breed,' in 2021. More music content Magical music of 'Harry Potter' will come to life at Springfield Symphony Hall Legendary Mass. satirist who sang of the joys of 'poisoning pigeons' dies at 97 Live Wire: Ware River Club celebrates 25th anniversary of second album Iconic metal group celebrating 25th anniversary with special album release Rock legend shares heartfelt message after canceling final show of career Read the original article on MassLive. Solve the daily Crossword
Irish Independent
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Ozzy Osbourne flung open hell's musical gates – and changed the world
Just two weeks before his death, Ozzy Osbourne rose from the stage at Villa Park in his home town of Birmingham for his final show, resplendent on a black throne crowned with bat wings. He was unable to stand due to his deteriorating health, but still more than capable of captivating a stadium with his maniacal glare and wild, lycanthropic performance. All day, at an event dubbed Back to the Beginning, this writer had watched rock icon after rock icon take the stage to pay tribute to Ozzy and Black Sabbath, the original lineup reforming for the first time in 20 years to mark Ozzy's last stand. Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Steven Tyler, Tool, Slayer, Billy Corgan, Tom Morello and dozens more put all status and ego aside to perform the music and hail the influence of this heavy metal originator and figurehead. 'I will get back on stage if it f***ing kills me, because if I can't do it then that's what's gonna happen anyway – I'm gonna f***ing die,' he told The Independent during a period he would later describe as being 'laid up' for six years. That Ozzy got his wish, and amid such a loud and star-studded outpouring of affection – arguably the most momentous single gig in metal history – was an amazingly Hollywood ending for a life and career of such drama, delirium and dark chaos. Such cultural significance, too. After all, barely a handful of musicians could be said to have both originated and encapsulated a vastly successful genre that changed music forever. Ozzy Osbourne was among them. In 1969, when this former labourer, car-horn tuner and abattoir worker and his band Earth (guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward) renamed themselves Black Sabbath after a cult 1963 horror movie – drenching their 1970 debut album in the sounds of thunder and church bells, occult narratives, and references to Satan, Tolkien, death and paganism – they captured the murky essence of the post-psychedelia comedown. In this world, for some reason, you have to do some pretty bizarre things before people begin to know what you're about Within Iommi's down-tuned guitar and Ozzy's swooping banshee vocal, the darkness of the heroin-infested late-Sixties blues-rock scene met the societal paranoia that followed the Manson murders and the Stones at Altamont. Add a knowing, somewhat schlocky adoption of the increasingly violent and Satanic imagery of the era's horror cinema and, somewhere deep in the tarry earth of Seventies rock music, a black egg cracked and out crawled heavy metal. Black Sabbath's influence was legion. The lower Iommi tuned his strings on 1971's Master of Reality album – in order to make it easier to play guitar, having lost the tips of two fingers in a sheet metal factory accident aged 17 – the more Sabbath became responsible for doom metal in all its sonorous, tentacles-across-the-ocean-floor forms. The faster Ozzy squealed on 1970's Paranoid, the quicker he summoned speed and thrash rock – and even punk – into being. But such sounds, no matter how evocative, would never have stuck so deeply into rock's flesh had Ozzy not been so deranged and diabolical a conduit. Though Sabbath's lyrical intention was often quite hippie-leaning, Ozzy himself personified metal as a raving, hell-bound lunatic, fully devoted to the nightmarish conceit. He sang of black masses and apocalyptic iron men with genuine menace and soul-staring intensity, a wild-eyed wolfman with a liver of steel. 'One of the problems I found with alcohol was I only had one f***ing mouth,' he told me in 2010. While other rock'n'roll hedonists lived fast and died young, this cackling maniac kicked away the claws any time the devil came to claim him. When he was thrown out of Sabbath in 1978 due to his excessive substance abuse (he admitted to taking LSD every day for two years in Sabbath's heyday), he spent his pay-off on a three-month 'last party' of cocaine and alcohol. Yet he re-emerged with 1980's landmark solo debut Blizzard of Ozz to multi-platinum success that was the envy of his fading former band. Ozzy's sheer survival gave credence to the unearthly metal myths, and offered all the proof that fans needed that there really might be some dark arts at work. That solo success was maintained for decades. No matter how corny or Tales From the Crypt-esque the aesthetic of records like Diary of a Madman (1981) or Bark at the Moon (1983) became, they sold by the tomb-load, contributing to a total of over 100 million album sales in Ozzy's lifetime. And, whether they were built in his image or hard-rock culture tuned to his untamed wildman mentality, the 1980s were made for Ozzy Osbourne. Playing up to his semi-comic Hammer Horror image, he became an icon and totem of hard-rock insanity, his stories the stuff of legend. The line of ants he snorted with Motley Crue. His arrest for unknowingly urinating on the Alamo while dressed in his wife Sharon's evening dress. Biting the head off a dead bat he thought was a rubber toy, thrown onstage in Des Moines, Iowa, during his 1982 tour. And of that unfortunate dove intended to be released during a CBS meeting in 1981 but chewed to bits as a shock tactic once Ozzy realised it was already deceased. 'In this world, for some reason,' Ozzy told NME at the time, 'you have to do some pretty bizarre things before people begin to know what you're about.' Rock is a deeper, darker, louder and more cathartic place because of Ozzy Osbourne What Ozzy was about – extreme freedom; visceral entertainment; the fascination of the ancient, mystical and macabre; battling all manner of modern and classical evils – often bypassed those who didn't want to look beyond the bared teeth and lyrical witchery. Condemnation inevitably plagued him. Religious groups picketed his gigs and denounced his work, inaccurately, as promoting suicide, murder, cannibalism and Satanism. 'The only evil spirits I'm interested in are called whisky, vodka and gin,' he later joked. There were death threats and attempted attacks. At one Sabbath show in Memphis he remembered a hooded figure invading the stage with a knife, only to be knocked unconscious by a roadie with an iron bar. In 1988 and 1991, he found himself in court defending his 1980 anti-alcohol song Suicide Solution against charges that it had influenced the suicides of fans by means of subliminal messaging. 'If I was going to put hidden messages on a song,' he told me, 'they'd say 'buy more records'.' Torment followed him too, as it will the reckless rocker. On a 1982 tour, his guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed when the small plane he was in crashed while trying to 'buzz' the tour bus where Ozzy was sleeping. Ozzy told me he had 'the Egon Ronay guide of rehabs' and numerous arrests on his charge sheet, most terrifyingly for attempting to strangle Sharon in a drunken blackout in 1989. Yet, throughout, his persona remained a charmingly fatalistic one, a well-meaning Brummie tearaway dragged through life by his demons. As much as his rebirth as a confused, doddering reality TV star phenomenon in The Osbournes punctured his dark prince mystique, the metal scene's respect for him never faltered. When the emo and nu-metal festivals shunned him in the 1990s, metalheads flocked instead to his Ozzfest events, launched in 1996 and grossing $100m over the next 22 years. His chart-topping, million-selling 2003 re-work of Sabbath's Changes as a moving mid-life duet with his daughter Kelly was received as a towering anthem of the genre. And, as Back to the Beginning hammered home, Ozzy's revered standing as metal's founding father endured to the very end.
Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Tearjerking moment Black Sabbath said goodbye to Ozzy Osbourne live on stage
Ozzy Osbourne's final time on stage saw him share a sweet moment with his Black Sabbath bandmates after they entertained over 40,000 people at Villa Park for Back To The Beginning Ozzy Osbourne took to the stage for one last time just weeks before his death aged 76. The iconic rocker was joined by an array of the best in the music business for a day to remember at his beloved Villa Park. The Back To The Beginning show saw the likes of Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Pantera and super bands including Ronnie Wood and Steven Tyler join together to give Ozzy a great send off. But it was Ozzy's last time on stage in front of over 40,000 people that tugged on the heartstrings. Clearly struggling, Ozzy was seen rising on a gothic throne to sing four of his solo songs to his adoring crowd. He followed with a quintet of tunes from his Black Sabbath era alongside guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. While fans of the livestream were left upset by what appeared to be a cold send-off by his bandmates at the gig, footage from the day showed this was far from the case. Some fans complained his bandmates failed to acknowledge him as they left the stage, but it turns out they were just grabbing one last surprise for him. Footage captured showed the moments after the livestream had cut off. An emotional Ozzy was seen reaching out for guitarist Iommi's hand. Iommi and bassist Butler then waved to the stadium fans while other famous faces, including Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne watched on. Shortly after the show, Butler also addressed the final farewell. "I keep hearing that people watching the stream thought that our set ended us just walking off," he said. "Sorry if it seemed that way. I went off to get this cake for Ozzy. Cheers to the fan that captured the proper ending." The image then showed Ozzy looking at a cake with his name and face printed on it as he was flanked by his bandmate. Ozzy's death was confirmed on Tuesday by his loving family. He died surrounded by his wife Sharon, 72, and their children Kelly and Jack following a tough battle with Parkinson's disease. Over the years, Ozzy suffered many significant health woes, but the rocker's life changed completely when he was given the diagnosis back in 2020. Prior to his Birmingham show, Ozzy explained how tough things were and the efforts he went to to make sure he performed one last time. In May, he told Sirius XM: "I am in heavy training because I haven't done any physical work for the last seven years. "By hook or by crook. I've got to make it there. I have got this trainer guy who helps people get back to normal. It's hard going, but he's convinced that he can pull it off for me. I'm giving it everything I've got. "It's endurance. The first thing that goes when you're laid up is your stamina. I am having my blood pressure taken 15 times a day... I've got this f***ing device on my finger. It's a monitor to say how my heart rate is. I'm constantly in training seven days a week I've got this guy who's virtually living with me, and I'm in bed by seven."
The South African
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The South African
Ozzy Osbourne: 'Prince of Darkness' and maestro of heavy metal
Ozzy Osbourne will go down in rock history as the 'godfather of heavy metal' who fulfilled his hard-living dreams as the frontman of Black Sabbath. After decades of debauchery and more than 100 million albums sold, the British singer died on Tuesday at the age of 76, leaving behind his wife Sharon, six children, a host of grandchildren and a permanent legacy in the annals of rock'n'roll. His death came a little more than two weeks after Black Sabbath played a farewell concert to 40 000 fans at Villa Park, in his native Birmingham. Rock royalty lined up to pay tribute to him including Metallica, Guns N' Roses and members of Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones at the stadium that is the home to his beloved Aston Villa football team. Ozzy, as he was routinely referred to, attracted legions of new fans in the 2000s after appearing as the hard-of-hearing, slightly crazy but doting grandfather in MTV's hit reality show 'The Osbournes', a far cry from the excesses that defined his 1970s heyday. Until his renaissance, he was best known in the mainstream for biting the head of a live bat during a concert and for urinating in the wine glass of a record-label chief – as well as on the Alamo monument in Texas. But for hard-rock fans he will forever be remembered as the 'Prince of Darkness' leading Black Sabbath, the band that helped launch heavy metal, a blend of rock and blues drenched in distortion and dark lyrics. The band enjoyed immediate success on the release of its eponymous debut album in 1970. Hundreds of thousands around the world continued to flock to hear rock hymns such as 'Paranoid', 'War Pigs' and 'Iron Man' at the band's riotous live shows for almost 50 years, until the band brought down the curtain a first time with a gig in Birmingham in 2017. The hit reality TV show 'The Osbournes' introduced Ozzy to legions of new fans, along with wife Sharon and children Jack and Kelly © LUCY NICHOLSON / AFP/File Ozzy, like many of his contemporaries, suffered from gaps in his memory due to drink and drugs on on the road, but few can claim to have such monumental black holes. He said that he had forgotten attempting to strangle his wife Sharon the year their eldest daughter was born, adding that he had very few recollections from the 1990s as a whole. In 2010, scientists even analysed his genome to try to understand how he had survived so much self-inflicted punishment. Ozzy said he could not remember where he performed Black Sabbath's debut album for the first time. 'But I can sure as hell remember the audience's reaction: all the girls ran out of the venue, screaming,' he recalled in his autobiography 'I am Ozzy'. His wild lifestyle led to run-ins with the law, including visits to court on charges of satanism and encouraging suicide, though his criminal career started before he joined the band, spending time in jail for stealing a television and baby clothes. John Michael Osbourne was born into a working-class family in Birmingham on December 3, 1948. He inherited his nickname in primary school. Dyslexic and angry with homework, he left school at 15 before working in manual jobs, including at an abattoir. But he decided he would become a rock star after hearing the Beatles on the radio, a fantasy he realised incredibly quickly. Shortly after meeting guitarist Tony Iommi, the two decided to 'stop doing blues and write scary music instead', inspired by horror movies. The resulting sound of heavy riffs accompanied by Ozzy's droning voice singing lyrics exploring the dark side of human nature became the template for heavy metal. After leaving Black Sabbath in 1979 Ozzy embarked on a successful solo career, releasing 11 albums, while juggling a turbulent personal life © HECTOR MATA / AFP/File 'Pink Floyd was music for rich college kids, and we were the exact opposite of that,' he said. Albums followed at a frantic pace, often shunned by critics but acclaimed by fans. Ozzy left the band in 1979, going on to have a succesful solo career and releasing 11 albums while juggling a turbulent personal life. His first marriage to Thelma, with whom he had two children, Elliot and Jessica, was by his own admission a disaster. In 1982 he married Sharon, his manager, who quickly became his rock. They had three children – Aimee, Kelly and Jack – and adopted another boy, Roberto. Despite his seemingly carefree personality, the deaths of his rocker friend Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and David Bowie left him in a reflective mood. 'Everybody's dying around me, but I'm at that age,' he told Rolling Stone magazine in 2016. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, with all profits from his last concert on July 5 going to charities including Cure Parkinson's and Birmingham Children's Hospital. The Prince of Darkness clung on for another six years after his diagnosis, before joining his peers in the pantheon of late, great British musicians. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
