Latest news with #VillaPark
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Send your pictures and stories of why you love Villa
On Monday, we asked you to tell us why you fell in love with Aston Villa and some of your favourite moments supporting have already been getting in touch with your photos and stories and here is just a taste from Prit:"I was born in Aston, lived the other side from Villa Park and Aston Villa meant everything to me. I used to mind cars on Frederick Road and used to run to the Holte End 20 minutes before the end so me and a bunch of small skinny kids could sneak in. I would then run back to collect my 10p for minding the car."My father took my brother and myself to our first ever match at Villa Park (August 1970) vs Plymouth in the old Division Three. I was so young that I thought we were watching Celtic in the green and white hoops. I was hooked!"Lots of great memories. Seeing Santos and Pele play during the three-day week, Johan Cruyff bringing his Barcelona team in the Uefa Cup and the legendary match against West Bromwich Albion in 1981 when Peter Withe scored in the 88th minute to effectively win us the Division One title."So join the conversation and send your best photos about why you love the first visit to the stadium? A special kit? An amazing away trip?Send us your pictures and stories
The Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Ozzy Osbourne's cortege makes touching detour past his childhood home
The cortege carrying Ozzy Osbourne and his loved ones made a poignant detour down the road where he grew up – and where the star's name is still etched into brickwork beside his old front door. Two police outriders led the procession into Lodge Road, Aston – a side street less than a third of a mile from Villa Park's Trinity Road stand – during its journey into central Birmingham. The hearse and the following funeral cars slowed as they passed the property, adorned with a picture of Osbourne and numerous other tributes including a balloon, as a handful of fans and well-wishers paid their respects from the pavement. Speaking to the media before the cortege arrived, Mohabbat Ali Zaman, the owner of the terraced house where the then John Michael Osbourne was raised, paid tribute to the late music star as a 'legend' who was a 'true Brummie'. Clutching letters from countries including America and Germany sent to the house by Black Sabbath fans in recent days, Mr Zaman told how he was only thee months old when his parents bought the property from the Osbournes in the autumn of 1972. He also recalled how Osbourne – who was 'funny and good company' – sometimes phoned his family and asked to visit the property to reminisce. Mr Zaman, 53, said: 'My parents actually lived next door for a few years and they knew of the Osbournes and they did know that the child was into music because they used to hear music coming out of the house all the time. 'The house went up for sale at the time and my parents bought it.' Mr Zaman said he and his family were obviously not aware that Osbourne would 'become the legend that he is today' but were contacted in 1995 when the BBC was making a documentary. 'Then we thought wow – we did buy this house from his parents,' he said. 'And that's when the journey started. From that point on we started getting messages.' After pointing out the words 'John' and 'Iron Void' – the latter thought to be a potential band name – carved in the brickwork near the front door of the house, Mr Zaman added: ' People come here as tourists with candles and plaques.' Messages sent to the house's email – ozzyhousetribute@ – and letters delivered there are being passed on to the Osbourne family to ensure they receive any condolences directed to the property. Mr Zaman told reporters: 'For us it's quite important because we are trying to capture the final messages for Ozzy Osbourne that his family can have as part of condolences messages. 'Only last year we've had people from China, Russia and America and they do knock the door and then we talk to them about the house. 'It's been a journey. Whether the journey is going to continue or not we don't know. 'This year obviously because of his passing we've seen a lot of people actually come to the address and leave lots of beautiful messages and poems. 'Some of the messages you read make you think – he has actually changed people's lives through his songs and all the charity work he has done.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ozzy Osbourne's cortege makes touching detour past his childhood home
The cortege carrying Ozzy Osbourne and his loved ones made a poignant detour down the road where he grew up – and where the star's name is still etched into brickwork beside his old front door. Two police outriders led the procession into Lodge Road, Aston – a side street less than a third of a mile from Villa Park's Trinity Road stand – during its journey into central Birmingham. The hearse and the following funeral cars slowed as they passed the property, adorned with a picture of Osbourne and numerous other tributes including a balloon, as a handful of fans and well-wishers paid their respects from the pavement. Speaking to the media before the cortege arrived, Mohabbat Ali Zaman, the owner of the terraced house where the then John Michael Osbourne was raised, paid tribute to the late music star as a 'legend' who was a 'true Brummie'. Clutching letters from countries including America and Germany sent to the house by Black Sabbath fans in recent days, Mr Zaman told how he was only thee months old when his parents bought the property from the Osbournes in the autumn of 1972. He also recalled how Osbourne – who was 'funny and good company' – sometimes phoned his family and asked to visit the property to reminisce. Mr Zaman, 53, said: 'My parents actually lived next door for a few years and they knew of the Osbournes and they did know that the child was into music because they used to hear music coming out of the house all the time. 'The house went up for sale at the time and my parents bought it.' Mr Zaman said he and his family were obviously not aware that Osbourne would 'become the legend that he is today' but were contacted in 1995 when the BBC was making a documentary. 'Then we thought wow – we did buy this house from his parents,' he said. 'And that's when the journey started. From that point on we started getting messages.' After pointing out the words 'John' and 'Iron Void' – the latter thought to be a potential band name – carved in the brickwork near the front door of the house, Mr Zaman added: 'People come here as tourists with candles and plaques.' Messages sent to the house's email – ozzyhousetribute@ – and letters delivered there are being passed on to the Osbourne family to ensure they receive any condolences directed to the property. Mr Zaman told reporters: 'For us it's quite important because we are trying to capture the final messages for Ozzy Osbourne that his family can have as part of condolences messages. 'Only last year we've had people from China, Russia and America and they do knock the door and then we talk to them about the house. 'It's been a journey. Whether the journey is going to continue or not we don't know. 'This year obviously because of his passing we've seen a lot of people actually come to the address and leave lots of beautiful messages and poems. 'Some of the messages you read make you think – he has actually changed people's lives through his songs and all the charity work he has done.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Black Sabbath Bassist Recalls Final Gig and 57-Year Friendship with Ozzy Osbourne: ‘I Wasn't Prepared to See How Frail He Was'
'I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him," Terence 'Geezer' Butler said of his late bandmate and friend While the world mourns the Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath's Terence 'Geezer' Butler is mourning the 'Prince of Laughter' — his friend and bandmate of nearly six decades. Just weeks after the curtains closed on the pioneering rock band's final gig together, frontman Osbourne died at age 76 on July 22. Now, in an essay for The Sunday Times, the bassist, 76, pulled back the curtain on his '57 incredible years of friendship' with Osbourne — from the band's formation to its farewell concert. The Birmingham native, who formed Black Sabbath in 1968 alongside Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, began the tribute by detailing his and Osbourne's long history with Villa Park. Butler and Osbourne both grew up near the Birmingham soccer stadium. In 2024, the stadium's team, Aston Villa, reunited the rockers for an ad. (Prior to the spot, Butler 'hadn't seen or spoken to Ozzy since Black Sabbath's The End tour in 2017,' he said.) 'So it was quite fitting, for Ozzy and Black Sabbath to end the long journey from our beginning in 1968 to our final show back in Aston at Villa Park, on July 5," he wrote. Still, Butler added, 'I didn't realize then that I would never see Ozzy again after that night.' Rehearsals for the final gig, Butler said, began a month out, with just himself, Iommi and Ward to start — and they were a bit rough at first. 'Then it was time for Ozzy to join us,' he explained. 'I knew he wasn't in good health, but I wasn't prepared to see how frail he was,' the bassist recalled in the essay. 'He was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones.' 'He didn't really say much beyond the usual greetings, and when he sang, he sat in a chair,' Butler continued. 'We ran through the songs, but we could see it was exhausting him after six or seven songs. We had a bit of a chat, but he was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old.' But 'the strangest part of that show,' the bassist revealed, 'was the end.' 'Normally, we would all hug each other and take a bow to the audience,' Butler said. 'But Ozzy was on his throne and we hadn't thought that out. What do we do? Tony shook his hand, I presented him with a cake, but it was such a strange feeling to end our story like that. I wish I'd had more time backstage with Ozzy, but wishes are redundant now. As Ozzy used to say: 'Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which comes first.' ' Butler also shared more insight into his relationship with the 'Crazy Train' singer, including their first time meeting, which doubles as the beginning of Black Sabbath's formation. The band, originally called Earth, was 'the most incredible journey of our lives,' the bassist said. And it all began with Osbourne arriving barefoot on his doorstep, and Butler almost immediately declaring, 'Okay, you're in the band.' Along with Iommi, 77, and Ward, 77, the foursome 'became inseparable brothers in arms,' Butler said, 'always looking out for each other.' There 'was always an invisible link between Ozzy, Tony, Bill and me,' he added in the emotional essay. 'We had gone through the best of times and the worst of times; the bond was unbreakable.' 'To me, Ozzy wasn't the Prince of Darkness — if anything, he was the Prince of Laughter. He'd do anything for a laugh, a born entertainer,' Butler wrote of Osbourne. The rock legend's reputation as a 'feral wild man,' he added in the essay, did not detract from the fact that he 'had a heart of pure gold.' 'Most of his infamous antics — the bat saga, biting the head off a dove, pissing on the Alamo, snorting lines of ants, and the rest — came in his solo years, away from the restraints of the Sabbath crew,' Butler said. 'But if you were a friend in need, Ozzy was always there for you.' When Butler's son 'was born with a heart defect,' he offered as an example, 'Ozzy called me every day to see how I was coping, even though we hadn't spoken for a year.' 'Nobody knew he'd be gone from us little more than two weeks after the final show. But I am so grateful we got to play one last time together in front of his beloved fans,' the bassist wrote. 'The love from the fans and all the bands, musicians, singers and solo artists that night was incredible. Everyone had come to pay homage to the Prince.' 'I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him,' he continued. 'Of course, there are millions of things I will think of that I should have written, but how can I sum up 57 incredible years of friendship in a few paragraphs? God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. All three of Osbourne's Black Sabbath bandmates shared heartfelt tributes to the beloved rocker following his death, with Iommi writing, 'It's just such heartbreaking news that I can't really find the words, there won't ever be another like him.' Meanwhile, Ward wrote, in part: 'Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you're forever in my heart.' Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kelly Osbourne shares heart-wrenching tribute to Ozzy Osbourne following his death aged 76
Kelly Osbourne has shared another moving tribute to late father Ozzy with social media followers, six days after his 'unexpected' death. The Black Sabbath legend passed away at his Buckinghamshire home on July 22 following a lengthy battle with Parkinson's disease. Little more than a fortnight earlier, the 76-year old Osbourne had reunited with former bandmates Tony Iommi, 'Geezer' Butler and Bill Ward for an emotional farewell show at Birmingham 's Villa Park - the home of his beloved Aston Villa. Returning to Instagram on Monday, daughter Kelly, 40 - who accepted partner Sid Wilson's marriage proposal at the show - drew attention to the close bond she shared with her father in an undated video of the pair, filmed when she was a teenager. Perched on Ozzy's knee in the brief clip, Kelly appears to reference his notoriously colourful use of the English language after telling an accompanying camera crew: 'I can't say f**k, I have to behave myself.' Pulling her in for a hug, Ozzy jokes: 'Terrible isn't it, the way children speak these days?' 'But I learned from you daddy, it's alright,' she replies, to which he adds: 'You learned from the best, baby.' On Wednesday, MailOnline revealed that an air ambulance was called to Osbourne's multi-million-pound country home as paramedics battled to save his life. The Thames Valley air ambulance landed in a field close to Welders House, the singer's Grade II listed mansion on Tuesday morning at around 10.30am. It's believed that calls from Welders House had led call handlers to believe that the Black Sabbath singer's life was in the balance. A chopper was dispatched from Thames Valley ambulance base at RAF Benson in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, some 27 miles from the mansion which is located close to the village of Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire. The crew were airborne for around 15 minutes before landing in the grounds of the mansion and were then with Osbourne for around two hours, trying but failing to save his life, it's understood. The statement announcing his death was signed by four of his children, and it remains a mystery why his two other children, Jessica and Elliot, were snubbed from the family tribute. Osbourne took to the stage for his farewell concert at Villa Park Stadium in his native Birmingham less than three weeks before his death. The rocker reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005 to bid an emotional farewell to his decades of performing live on stage. After selling out in minutes, over 42,000 fans packed into Villa Park for the aptly-titled Back to the Beginning show, which saw Osbourne and Black Sabbath return to their hometown - 56 years after they formed there. The final photograph of him before his death was taken on stage as he sat on a black throne aptly decorated with a bat to perform his best-known hits for his loyal fans. His final words on stage were: 'It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.' A message on screen then read: 'Thank you for everything, you guys are f***ing amazing. Birmingham Forever,' before the sky lit up with fireworks.
