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Indian Express
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
When Ozzy Osbourne ate a bat – and became a heavy metal legend
Black Sabbath frontman John Michael 'Ozzy' Osbourne, father of heavy metal and one of its most enduring and outlandish figures, died on Tuesday at 76. Earlier this month, suffering from Parkinson's and unable to stand without assistance, Ozzy rose from beneath the stage at the jam-packed Villa Park in Birmingham, less than a mile away from his home in Aston, where he grew up, seated on a custom-made throne fashioned like a bat. Forty thousand metalheads, who had gathered for a final hat tip to the metal pioneer, roared to the theatrical nod to that shocking moment from 1982 when Ozzy chewed off the head of a bat thrown on stage. Ozzy's bat bite, while not deliberate — he later said he thought it was a rubber toy — clouded the line between performance and reality. The confusion allowed for the power of the absurd to prevail. Parents were worried if kids lined their eyes with kohl, wore black and blared the music of 'Satan's friends'. Ozzy, the freak, was the children's hero, their 'Prince of Darkness'. He himself grew up on a steady dose of The Beatles. After leaving school, he worked as a labourer and in a slaughterhouse before being recruited by bassist Geezer Butler as the singer for his band Rare Breed in 1967. With guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, they became Black Sabbath in 1969. The eponymous debut album, followed by Paranoid, Master of Reality and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, shot through the charts. While Ozzy's substance abuse and alcoholism got him fired by the band in 1979, he embarked on a solo career and was off-balance thereafter musically, and otherwise. A strange Act Two came with The Osbournes, a reality-TV peek into his home. It had Ozzy roaming around in a robe, flinging profanities, trying to figure out a TV remote. While it took away the rock star myth, the vulnerability made it work the TRPs. It felt the same during the farewell concert, when he sang 'Mama, I'm coming home', struggling with the notes. The metalheads sang along, letting him feel the last song. Just before it was time to leave.
International Business Times
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- International Business Times
How Did Ozzy Osbourne Die? Iconic Black Sabbath Singer Dies 'Surrounded by Love' Aged 76 Leaving World of Heavy Metal Shattered
Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary "Prince of Darkness" and a towering figure in the heavy metal world, has died at the age of 76. The Black Sabbath lead singer took the stage seated on a throne at Villa Park in Birmingham less than three weeks ago. He passed away "surrounded by love," his family said in a statement on Tuesday. "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. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis." Death of a Legend Ozzy Osbourne X The news of Osbourne's death comes over five years after he publicly revealed his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in January 2020. Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England, he earned the nickname "Ozzy" during his early school years. Though he faced a difficult upbringing, music became a vital escape and source of expression for him. Struggling with dyslexia, learning didn't come easy for Osbourne. He also revealed that he was sexually abused by bullies at the age of 11 and remembered trying to commit suicide during his teenage years. Ozzy Osbourne performing at his last show three weeks before his death X Osbourne credited The Beatles—particularly their 1964 hit "She Loves You"—as the spark that ignited his passion for a career in music. At 15, Osbourne dropped out of school and took on various manual labor jobs. By the time he was 17, he served six weeks at Winson Green prison after being unable to pay a fine for stealing from a clothing shop. After his release, Osbourne teamed up with his friend Geezer Butler to form their first band, Rare Breed, with Ozzy taking on the role of lead singer. Ozzy Osbourne X In 1967, Osbourne co-founded Black Sabbath, a band widely credited with helping to shape the heavy metal genre. They produced legendary tracks such as "Paranoid," "War Pigs," and "Iron Man," which became defining songs of the movement. Both the band and Ozzy frequently faced criticism for the dark and occasionally "satanic" nature of their lyrics and themes. "When we started gigging way back when, as soon as we started playing this song's opening chords, young girls in the audience would f–king freak out," Osbourne told NME in 2016. "They thought we were Satan's f–king friends or something." "That's when the whole 'Prince of Darkness' s–t started," he explained about the origin of his nickname. "When people get excited about Halloween coming around each year, all I think is, 'Well, we used to have Halloween every f–king night." Troubled Life In 1979, Ozzy was fired from Black Sabbath due to his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction—something he later described as feeling hypocritical, given the band's own lifestyle. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel betrayed by what happened with Black Sabbath," he wrote in his 2009 memoir "I Am Ozzy." Ozzy Osbourne X "We were four blokes who'd grown up together a few streets apart. We were like family, like brothers. And firing me for being f–ked up was hypocritical bulls–t. We were all f–ked up." "If you're stoned, and I'm stoned, and you're telling me that I'm fired because I'm stoned, how can that be? Because I'm slightly more stoned than you are?" he added. That's when Sharon Arden, the daughter of Black Sabbath's manager Don Arden, stepped in to take charge of Ozzy's career as a solo artist. Ozzy went on to release 12 solo albums, featuring iconic tracks like "Crazy Train," "Mama, I'm Coming Home," and "No More Tears." Throughout his career—both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath—he sold over 100 million albums worldwide. In 2005, both Ozzy and Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. A year later, he was welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band. Ozzy also gained notoriety for his outrageous antics. One of the most infamous moments came in January 1982, when he bit the head off a bat during a live performance. Just a month later, he was arrested in Texas for urinating on a monument honoring the fallen at the Battle of the Alamo while heavily intoxicated. That same year, he married Sharon, now 72, and the couple went on to have three children: Aimee, 41; Kelly, 40; and Jack, 39. Ozzy reunited with Black Sabbath several times over the years, officially rejoining them in 2013 to record their final album, 13. He also took part in the band's farewell tour, which ran from 2016 to 2017. Throughout his life, Ozzy battled severe substance abuse issues. He first tried cocaine in 1971 and later admitted to using LSD daily for two years during his time with Black Sabbath. Reflecting on that period, Ozzy confessed that toward the end of his stint with the band,he " got very drunk and very stoned every single day." In February 2021, Ozzy revealed to Variety that he had been sober for seven years. Ozzy Osbourne with his wife Sharon Arden X Later, in August 2022, he expressed frustration over the alarming levels of gun violence in the U.S., announcing that he and Sharon planned to relocate to the UK. However, he eventually reversed that decision, saying he preferred to remain in America. Ozzy is survived by his wife, Sharon, and their three children: Aimee, Kelly, and Jack. He also leaves behind two children from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, 71—Jessica, 45, and Louis, 50. During his marriage to Riley, which lasted from 1971 to 1982, Ozzy adopted her son from a prior relationship, Elliot Kingsley, now 59. The legendary rocker also had ten grandchildren.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOJ permits sale of triggers that allow rifles to fire like machine guns
May 18 (UPI) -- The federal government will allow the sale of devices that enable standard rifles to operate like machine guns, a move that angered gun control groups. The Justice Department said Friday it reached a settlement with Rare Breed Triggers. This is in accordance with President Donald Trump's Feb. 17 executive order Protecting Second Amendment Rights and the attorney general's Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force announced on April 8. "This Department of Justice believes that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety." There are two ways to speed the firing of bullets. Bump stocks use the recoil of the weapon to repeatedly bump the trigger, while trigger devices are aftermarket items that directly engage the trigger. During the first Trump administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives banned bump stocks, which mimic rapid trigger pulls to fire rapidly in a way similar to a machine gun. In 2017, the gunman in a mass shooting killed 58 people in Las Vegas while firing from his hotel room window using bump stocks. In 2022, ATF included specific trigger devices under the National Firearms Act of 1934. The ATF determined that the devices allow a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle to fire as fast as a military M-16 in automatic mode. In 2023, the Justice Department, as part of the Biden administration, brought a lawsuit in New York against Rare Breed Triggers. The National Association of Gun Rights filed a separate lawsuit in Texas challenging the ban and a judge there ruled the ban was unlawful. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote in Cargill v. Garland, ruled ATF exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a rule classifying a bump stock as a "machine gun." The Court's majority found that bump stocks do not meet the definition of a machine gun because they didn't allow for automatic fire with the single pull of a trigger. The next month, the Northern District of Texas applied the case to a device called a "forced-reset trigger" and concluded that they also cannot be classified as a "machine gun." DOJ is avoiding additional legal action against Rare Breed Triggers in appeals and related cases concerning the similar issue, Bondi said. The settlement with Rare Breed Triggers includes agreed-upon conditions that significantly advance public safety with respect to FRTs, including that Rare Breed will not develop or design them for use in any pistol and will enforce its patents to prevent infringement that could threaten public safety. Rare Breed also agreed promote the safe and responsible use of its products. "The cuffs are off. As of May 16, 2025, we're free! Expect the website to be updated on Monday, May 19," the company posted on its website. The decision was condemned by Vanessa Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Giffords, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011 while meeting with constituents in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz. "The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions," Gonzalez said. "This is an incredibly dangerous move that will enable shooters to inflict horrific damage. The only people who benefit from these being on the market are the people who will make money from selling them, everyone else will suffer the consequences." The national gun control advocacy group Brady United said in a press release that "highly dangerous weapons of war can now be purchased anonymously" and without a background check. "The Trump Administration's secret settlement with the gun lobby to permit the sale of Forced Reset Triggers will turn already deadly firearms into weapons of mass destruction," Kris Brown, president of Brady United, said in the release. "Machine guns are weapons of war that have absolutely no place in our communities. This dangerous backroom deal is not only an astonishing abuse of power, but undermines decades of sensible government gun safety policy and puts whole communities at immediate serious risk," he said. Brady previous was called the National Council to Control Handguns and founded in 1974 by Dr. Mark Borinsky, whose son was shot and killed in 1974. In 1981, White House Press Secretary Jim "the Bear" Brady suffered a bullet to the head, and the organization now bears his name.
UPI
18-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
DOJ permits sale of triggers that allow rifles to fire like machine guns
1 of 3 | The U.S. Justice Department said it will allow the sale of devices, including by Rare Breed Firarms that enable standard guns to operate like machine guns. Photo courtesy Rare Breed Firearms/Instagram May 18 (UPI) -- The federal government will allow the sale of devices that enable standard rifles to operate like machine guns, a move that angered gun control groups. The Justice Department said Friday it reached a settlement with Rare Breed Triggers. This is in accordance with President Donald Trump's Feb. 17 executive order Protecting Second Amendment Rights and the attorney general's Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force announced on April 8. "This Department of Justice believes that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety." There are two ways to speed the firing of bullets. Bump stocks use the recoil of the weapon to repeatedly bump the trigger, while trigger devices are aftermarket items that directly engage the trigger. During the first Trump administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives banned bump stocks, which mimic rapid trigger pulls to fire rapidly in a way similar to a machine gun. In 2017, the gunman in a mass shooting killed 58 people in Las Vegas while firing from his hotel room window using bump stocks. In 2022, ATF included specific trigger devices under the National Firearms Act of 1934. The ATF determined that the devices allow a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle to fire as fast as a military M-16 in automatic mode. In 2023, the Justice Department, as part of the Biden administration, brought a lawsuit in New York against Rare Breed Triggers. The National Association of Gun Rights filed a separate lawsuit in Texas challenging the ban and a judge there ruled the ban was unlawful. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote in Cargill v. Garland, ruled ATF exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a rule classifying a bump stock as a "machine gun." The Court's majority found that bump stocks do not meet the definition of a machine gun because they didn't allow for automatic fire with the single pull of a trigger. The next month, the Northern District of Texas applied the case to a device called a "forced-reset trigger" and concluded that they also cannot be classified as a "machine gun." DOJ is avoiding additional legal action against Rare Breed Triggers in appeals and related cases concerning the similar issue, Bondi said. The settlement with Rare Breed Triggers includes agreed-upon conditions that significantly advance public safety with respect to FRTs, including that Rare Breed will not develop or design them for use in any pistol and will enforce its patents to prevent infringement that could threaten public safety. Rare Breed also agreed promote the safe and responsible use of its products. "The cuffs are off. As of May 16, 2025, we're free! Expect the website to be updated on Monday, May 19," the company posted on its website. The decision was condemned by Vanessa Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Giffords, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011 while meeting with constituents in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz. "The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions," Gonzalez said. "This is an incredibly dangerous move that will enable shooters to inflict horrific damage. The only people who benefit from these being on the market are the people who will make money from selling them, everyone else will suffer the consequences." The national gun control advocacy group Brady United said in a press release that "highly dangerous weapons of war can now be purchased anonymously" and without a background check. "The Trump Administration's secret settlement with the gun lobby to permit the sale of Forced Reset Triggers will turn already deadly firearms into weapons of mass destruction," Kris Brown, president of Brady United, said in the release. "Machine guns are weapons of war that have absolutely no place in our communities. This dangerous backroom deal is not only an astonishing abuse of power, but undermines decades of sensible government gun safety policy and puts whole communities at immediate serious risk," he said. Brady previous was called the National Council to Control Handguns and founded in 1974 by Dr. Mark Borinsky, whose son was shot and killed in 1974. In 1981, White House Press Secretary Jim "the Bear" Brady suffered a bullet to the head, and the organization now bears his name.
Associated Press
18-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Rare Breed Triggers Unveils Advanced FRT Series: A New Era in Firearm Precision and Performance
Rare Breed Triggers has released an updated lineup of its Forced Reset Triggers (FRT), including the original FRT-15, and the more advanced E3, L2, and L3 models—each offering improvements in weight, stability, and performance. These triggers are designed for civilian gun owners, tactical professionals, and collectors. As of a recent federal court ruling, Rare Breed's triggers are legal to purchase and own at the federal level, though users are advised to check local regulations. Fargo, ND - April 17, 2025 - Rare Breed Triggers is proud to announce the latest evolution of its Forced Reset Trigger (FRT) lineup, designed to deliver unparalleled speed, precision, and reliability for firearm enthusiasts, tactical professionals, and collectors alike. Introducing the FRT Series: Legal Status and Compliance: As of July 23, 2024, a federal court ruling in Texas determined that Rare Breed's FRT-15 and Wide Open Triggers (WOTs) are not classified as machine guns under the National Firearms Act (NFA). This decision affirms the legality of these triggers at the federal level for individuals and entities not prohibited from possessing firearms. However, it's important to note that some states have independent regulations that may restrict the possession of forced-reset triggers or similar devices. Therefore, prospective buyers are strongly encouraged to consult their local laws to ensure compliance. About Rare Breed Triggers: Founded in Florida and now based in Fargo, North Dakota, Rare Breed Triggers has been at the forefront of innovation in firearm components. With a commitment to quality and performance, Rare Breed continues to lead the industry in developing cutting-edge trigger systems. For more information or to purchase the FRT series, please visit Rare Breed Triggers. Media Contact Company Name: Rare Breed Trigger Contact Person: Tim Larson Email: Send Email Phone: 7193724116 Address:2715 Delta Pl City: Colorado Springs State: Colorado Country: United States Website: Press Release Distributed by To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Rare Breed Triggers Unveils Advanced FRT Series: A New Era in Firearm Precision and Performance
