
#SHOWBIZ: Sharon Paul, Rusdi Ramli ended their marriage last year
Sharon revealed in a news report yesterday that the couple, who wed in 2008, divorced due to "irreconcilable differences".
"The process went smoothly and we parted amicably," said Sharon, emphasising that she would always maintain a good relationship with Rusdi for the sake of their two sons, Reo Ridza, 16, and Ryan Ridza, 13.
Sharon shared her personal outlook on the separation, stating, "I'd consider this year a time of healing. Sometimes, we've got to fall before rising again."
She added that she now feels "free" after a period of what she described as "cold violence," referring to a time when she and Rusdi were not on speaking terms.
Regarding their children, Sharon confirmed, "We share parenting duties, even though the boys have chosen to stay with me."
She also noted that Rusdi is welcome to visit them whenever he wishes.
Rusdi, known for his role in Tanda Putera, also has an elder son, Efiezal Ridza, 34, from his first marriage.

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New Straits Times
23-07-2025
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Ozzy - 'Prince of Darkness' and maestro of heavy metal
LONDON: 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. ADVERTISING 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. 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. "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. - AFP


New Straits Times
11-07-2025
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Sharon Paul, Rusdi Ramli ended their marriage last year
KUALA LUMPUR: Popular composer Sharon Paul, 48, and actor Rusdi Ramli, 55, concluded their marriage in January of last year. Sharon revealed in a news report yesterday that the couple, who wed in 2008, divorced due to "irreconcilable differences". "The process went smoothly and we parted amicably," said Sharon, emphasising that she would always maintain a good relationship with Rusdi for the sake of their two sons, Reo Ridza, 16, and Ryan Ridza, 13. Sharon shared her personal outlook on the separation, stating, "I'd consider this year a time of healing. Sometimes, we've got to fall before rising again." She added that she now feels "free" after a period of what she described as "cold violence," referring to a time when she and Rusdi were not on speaking terms. Regarding their children, Sharon confirmed, "We share parenting duties, even though the boys have chosen to stay with me." She also noted that Rusdi is welcome to visit them whenever he wishes. Rusdi, known for his role in Tanda Putera, also has an elder son, Efiezal Ridza, 34, from his first marriage.


New Straits Times
06-07-2025
- New Straits Times
SHOWBIZ: Ozzy Osbourne set for swansong at Black Sabbath hometown gig
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom: Thousands of fans flocked to wild man rocker Ozzy Osborne's hometown of Birmingham Saturday for his final gig as Black Sabbath's frontman, with heavy metal heavyweights kicking off the homage to the seminal band. Many thousands more are expected to follow online after tickets for the show, starring the band's original line-up, sold out in just 16 minutes. Osbourne, 76, who revealed in 2020 that he has Parkinson's disease, will join Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the "Back To The Beginning" show in Birmingham, central England, where the heavy metal giants formed in 1968. The gig at Aston Villa Football Club's stadium also features sets by Metallica, Pantera, Guns N' Roses, Tool and Slayer, among others, as well as a short solo set by Osbourne. Anthrax were one of the first acts on stage, with early arrivers giving the US rockers a rapturous welcome and getting the mosh pit into full swing. They were later followed by a rock royalty collaboration, as Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood rattled through Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". "This will be the greatest metal show of all time," Jared Higginbotham, a tall, bearded 34-year-old who travelled all the way from Texas for the gig, told AFP. He is one of the lucky 40,000 who will see the first show by Black Sabbath's original line-up in 20 years. The stadium, Villa Park, which hosted Champions League football last season, was transformed into something resembling a pagan cathedral on Saturday, with fans decked in dark metal T-shirts, many sporting long hair, thick beards and large tattoos. "Birmingham is a city which means so much to Ozzy. When it comes to heavy metal music, Black Sabbath forming and his love of Aston Villa -- it all started here," said his wife, Sharon. Black Sabbath have sold over 75 million albums worldwide and are widely recognised as one of the pioneers of heavy metal, popularising the genre with songs such as "War Pigs" and "Paranoid". All profits from the show will go to charities including Cure Parkinson's and Birmingham Children's Hospital. Osbourne's diagnosis led to him pausing touring. But Sharon told the BBC the Villa Park gig would be his last. "This is his full stop," she was quoted as saying. "I don't think he'll show much emotion, but I think he'll be quite sad," said 22-year-old fan Henry Broderick, who said he was raised on heavy metal by his father. The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was one of the early performers, saying before the gig that "this might be the greatest one-day lineup in the history of rock 'n' roll". The show is expected to deliver the area a multi-million-pound boost, with hotel occupancy in Birmingham city centre expected to surge close to 90 percent. Osbourne's live performances at the height of his hedonism have gone down in rock folklore, particularly a 1982 gig in Des Moines, Iowa, when he bit the head off a bat on stage. Osbourne, known as "The Prince of Darkness", says he thought a fan had thrown a fake rubber bat onstage, and it wasn't until he took a bite that he realised it was real. "I can assure you the rabies shots I went through afterwards aren't fun," he told US TV host David Letterman in 1982. But there are unlikely to be any repeat performances on Saturday, with the rocker mellowing in his golden years. Eager to soak in the historic occasion, many came without tickets, including Derya, who travelled from Cologne with her partner.