Latest news with #NeverSayDie
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne perform final concert in Birmingham: A heavy metal farewell by the founding fathers
Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne , the founding fathers of heavy metal, bid farewell to their rock fans, performing their last gig ever. As the fireworks burst over Birmingham, they were joined by the legendary bands in front of 40,000 fans. Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne bid goodbye... According to the BBC, Ozzy 'Prince of Darkness' Osbourne sang while he sat on his black throne, which had a bat figure as the head of the chair. The singer, who has Parkinson's disease, was clapping, waving his arms and pulling wild-eyed looks. For the first time in two decades, the entire Sabbath lineup joined Osbourne, where he even got emotional and told the crowd at Villa Park, 'You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ' The farewell is not just about the event, but the 'Summer of Sabbath' has been declared for the entire season. Black Sabbath were joined by their fellow rock legends, including Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. The concert started with Ozzy's grand entrance, where he wore a black leather jacket and gold armband, and sang his 5 solo songs. He was joined by the other members of Black Sabbath; however, due to Parkinson's disease and age, Ozzy performed the set while sitting down on his throne. The special performances and appearances Other band members paid their homage to the inventors of metal. 'Without Sabbath, there would be no Metallica. Thank you for giving us a purpose in life,' the frontman James Hetfield said to the crowd. Guns N' Roses' frontman Axl Rose ended his cover set of 1978's song 'Never Say Die' with 'Birmingham! Ozzy! Sabbath! Thank you!" The event included a titanic battle of three drummers, and a special appearance by Jason Momoa , along with a video message from Jack Black, Dolly Parton and Billy Idol. The tickets were priced from £200 to £2,000, and the profits were shared between Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Black Sabbath reunites as Ozzy Osbourne says goodbye at historic Birmingham show
In a spectacle worthy of his legendary status, Ozzy Osbourne closed the curtain on his live performance career on Saturday night at a packed Villa Park, surrounded by 40,000 fans and an all-star lineup of rock royalty. Dubbed the 'heavy metal Live Aid,' the all-day event was both a celebration and a farewell — marking the last time Osbourne would take the stage. The 76-year-old singer, who has Parkinson's disease and other health issues, performed seated on a black throne, waving, clapping, and flashing his trademark wild-eyed expressions. The moment was deeply emotional — for both fans and the man known as the Prince of Darkness. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 'I couldn't hear my grandchildren anymore...' – Find out how she did it. Hearing Magazine Undo 'You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,' Osbourne told the crowd, visibly overwhelmed. For the first time in 20 years, Osbourne was joined by all three original Black Sabbath bandmates — guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward — closing the show with a four-song set, including their 1970 classic Paranoid. Live Events Metal gods unite to salute Sabbath's legacy The historic gig, titled Back to the Beginning, took place just a stone's throw from Osbourne's childhood home in Birmingham. Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, and the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood all performed, along with newer stars like Yungblud and a rotating cast of supergroup musicians. 'Without Sabbath there would be no Metallica,' said frontman James Hetfield during Metallica's set. 'Thank you for giving us a purpose in life.' Guns N' Roses paid their respects with a powerful rendition of Sabbath's Never Say Die, with Axl Rose shouting, 'Birmingham! Ozzy! Sabbath! Thank you!' Steven Tyler, who recently faced serious vocal issues, returned in top form, sharing the stage with Wood, Travis Barker (Blink-182), and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine). Another supergroup performance featured Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and Judas Priest's KK Downing — another metal icon from the West Midlands. Hollywood actor Jason Momoa, who served as the event's master of ceremonies, introduced acts and even jumped into the moshpit himself. 'Make some space for me, I'm coming in,' he told fans before joining the crowd. 'The history of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne is to look back at the best who've ever done it,' Momoa told the crowd. 'We have some of the greatest rock and metal musicians ever here today on this stage.' 'The greatest metal event of all time' The concert also featured a three-way 'drum-off' between Travis Barker, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and Danny Carey (Tool), while Yungblud delivered a stirring version of Sabbath's Changes — originally released in 1972 and later made a hit as a duet between Ozzy and his daughter Kelly in 2003. Backstage, tributes flowed. 'Black Sabbath really kind of started all this, the metal era,' Sammy Hagar told BBC News. 'Everyone looks at them like the kings, and if the kings are going to go out then we're going to go honour them. Everyone that was asked to do this, shoot, you drop everything and do this. This is going to go down in history as the greatest metal event of all time.' Profits from the concert — with ticket prices ranging from £200 to £2,000 — will go to Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Acorn Children's Hospice. For Ozzy, the moment was as personal as it was monumental. 'This is a goodbye as far as my live performances go, and what a way to go out,' he said in an interview provided by the organisers. 'I am forever in their debt for showing up for me and the fans. I can't quite put it into words, but I feel very emotional and blessed.'
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Inside Never Say Die: The British Bourbon Backed By America's Whiskey Elite
Never Say Die bourbon There are worse things to base a whiskey brand on than a horse who refused to die. In the early 1950s, a foal born in Kentucky was declared lifeless after a traumatic birth. He was revived, as legend goes, with a shot of bourbon, and named accordingly: Never Say Die. A few years later, that same horse would be shipped to Britain and, against 33-to-1 odds, win the 1954 Epsom Derby—the first American-born colt to do so in over 70 years. One of the bettors who cashed in was Mona Best, a Liverpudlian mom who used the winnings to open the Casbah Club where The Beatles—then known as the Quarrymen—would play the first show. Her son even became The Beatles' first drummer, preceding Ringo Starr. So yes, the name comes with baggage, and the bourbon that now bears it leans all the way in. The idea came to life at the Kentucky Derby, where David Wild—one of the brand's seven co-founders—reconnected with Pat Madden, whose family owned the farm where Never Say Die the horse was born. Wild and Madden had known each other since studying together at Cambridge, and this story, shared over a few mint juleps, became the spark. What if a bourbon could follow the same improbable journey? Born in Kentucky. Shipped across the Atlantic. Finished in Britain. Wild brought in Martha Dalton early on, having worked with her and Fran O'Leary at political consultancy Lodestone. Dalton now leads the UK arm of the business, while Madden brought in Brian Luftman—an agricultural investor with strong ties to Kentucky bourbon—to run operations in the States. On the production side, Pat Heist and Shane Baker of Wilderness Trail were brought in to craft the liquid itself. Never Say Die founders David, Brian and Martha That founding legend fast became more than just a name. As the idea developed, the team realised the horse's unlikely voyage across the Atlantic could inform more than the branding. "We realised it would actually shape the whiskey, too," Dalton says. 'It wasn't just a symbolic journey. It would create a genuine difference in the flavour.' Never Say Die's bourbon now spends at least five years ageing in Kentucky, then six weeks at sea, and is finally finished in England, where the cooler, more consistent conditions slow the ageing. "That combination of three distinct environments creates a flavour profile you don't get with traditional bourbon," Dalton explains. 'It adds complexity and smoothness, and it's something people can genuinely taste in the final product.' The founding team had much more than the liquid to worry about, of course. They were also building a business from scratch—many of them with limited experience—and designed the early investor model to bring people into the process, not just onto a balance sheet. "One of the things that made our approach stand out was that every early investor was given a barrel of bourbon as part of their investment," Dalton says. 'They could choose to bottle it themselves, let us handle it, or even keep it aging. It meant they weren't just investing in a brand, they were literally getting a piece of its history.' 'Because our investors were whiskey enthusiasts, they were genuinely excited about the opportunity to be part of something from the ground up—especially something as unique as this. The bourbon investment space can sometimes feel like a closed shop, so being able to invest directly—and in such a personal way—really resonated with people.' The reputation of the production team helped, too, distilled and aged by Shane Baker and Pat Heist of Wilderness Trail, who use a proprietary sweet mash bill unusual in an industry where sour mash is standard. 'It's more effort to produce, but it gives a smoother, higher-quality spirit. That attention to detail is a big part of what makes Never Say Die what it is.' Yet even with a future award-winning liquid in place, international trade policy nearly killed the project before it began. When the UK placed retaliatory tariffs on American whiskey in response to the Trump administration's own tariffs, Dalton helped launch the Bourbon Alliance—a campaign group that brought together distillers, importers, bars and retailers to support one another and effect real change. 'We successfully campaigned for the tariffs to be removed, building cross-party political support and working with the media to keep up pressure. Eventually the tariffs were dropped in 2022, and within hours the first shipment of Never Say Die was on a ship making its way across the Atlantic.' "That campaign really felt like a moment where both of my worlds aligned," she says. 'It meant a huge amount to be able to contribute something meaningful to the wider industry, not just our own brand.' The duality of those two worlds—the private sector and the drinks industry—continues to shape Dalton's personal approach. "It's definitely a bit of a juggling act, but the two roles feed into each other more than people might expect," she says. "I've spent years helping clients understand how government works and how to get things done behind the scenes. That experience really came into its own." Never Say Die's three expressions Today, Never Say Die has three expressions: a Small Batch, a Rye, and a UK-exclusive Barrel Strength. The Small Batch and Rye both picked up Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the brand has expanded to nine US states, with Europe and Asia next on the list. On-trade (and in my own personal, drinks writing experience), it's also rapidly gaining ground among some of the world's best bartenders who, as Dalton puts it, 'love having something with a proper story behind it to share with customers.' The bottle offers a helping hand, too, packed with references, designed by Stranger & Stranger to reward close inspection. "We wanted the bottle to reflect that full-circle transatlantic journey—from Kentucky to England—and honour both the horse's legacy and our own," Dalton says. Among the visual touches: Lester Piggott's racing silks in magenta and silver, a crest mixing Kentucky grains with ocean waves, and a gold seal bearing an arm and hammer to represent craft. Another seal reads "Matured in England," with a British coat of arms—where the unicorn has been replaced by a horse. "One of my favourite touches is the perforated edge on the label, which looks like an old bookie's betting slip," Dalton says. "That's a reference to Mona Best. She used her winnings to open the Casbah Club in Liverpool and bought her son, Pete Best, some drums—and from there, the early Beatles story began." Never Say Die has become a bartender favorite As one of the few women leading a whiskey brand, Dalton is increasingly vocal about the need for better representation in the industry, as well. 'Whisky has always been seen as quite a male space—both in terms of who drinks it and who works in it—but that perception is really out of date. The audience is far broader now, and the industry needs to reflect that.' 'I'm such a big supporter of what Becky Paskin is doing with OurWhisky. She's done a brilliant job spotlighting women across the industry and pushing for more inclusive representation—not just in leadership, but in how whisky is talked about and marketed.' Dalton also points to Marianne Barnes and Dawn Davies as important figures. 'Whisky really is for everyone… or at least, it should be. The more we celebrate that diversity and shift the narrative around who whisky is 'for', the stronger the category becomes.' That sense of collective progress is baked into the brand's ethos. 'Success isn't just about your own brand—it's about the strength of the category as a whole. That's something I've carried with me while building Never Say Die. There's room for all of us, and we're better when we back each other.' There are collaborations on the horizon, too. A recent tie-up with White Peak Distillery has seen English whisky aged in freshly emptied Never Say Die barrels. "Because it's gone into a freshly emptied, wet barrel—which is pretty rare for Bourbon finishes in the UK—we're hoping you'll actually be able to taste the difference," Dalton says. "That extra layer of character the wet cask might bring." "We're always on the lookout for partners who share our approach to craft and aren't afraid to try something a bit different," she says. 'When the passion's there on both sides, that's when the good stuff happens.' And with more than a bit of passion on both sides of the pond now, Never Say Die is, unequivocally, producing the good stuff.
NBC News
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Original Black Sabbath lineup to play for 1st time in 20 years as part of Ozzy Osbourne's last show
The original Black Sabbath lineup, featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, will perform at the 'Back to the Beginning' concert on July 5 in Birmingham, England. It will mark the first time in 20 years the group's original members will play together. The landmark concert will also feature a set from Osbourne in what will be his last show. 'The all-star event will celebrate the true creators of heavy metal and will see @OzzyOsbourne play his own short set before joining with Black Sabbath for his final bow,' the band said in a statement on its Instagram page, which Osbourne also shared on X on Wednesday. 'It's my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born,' Osbourne said. 'How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.' Black Sabbath remains one of the pioneering bands in heavy metal, blazing a path for future acts in the genre. The band formed in 1968 and sold more than 75 million albums, according to Black Sabbath's website. They stayed together until their final release, 1978's 'Never Say Die,' before undergoing several lineup changes over the years. 'Back to the Beginning' will feature an all-star roster of talent, including performances from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon. Other big names slated to appear include Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), David Draiman (Disturbed), Duff McKagan and Slash (Guns N' Roses), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Jake E. Lee, Jonathan Davis (Korn), KK Downing, Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Sleep Token ii (Sleep Token), Papa V Perpetua (Ghost), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Wolfgang Van Halen and Zakk Wylde. 'This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever,' said music director Morello. Tickets can be purchased beginning Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. GMT, 5 a.m. ET, from Live Nation.
