BREAKING: Ozzy Osbourne dies at the age of 76, family says
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'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,' the statement notes.
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CTV News
26 minutes ago
- CTV News
Fans recall Ozzy Osbourne's performance in Kitchener 44 years ago
Al Ridley posed with an autographed program from the Ozzy Osbourne 'Blizzard of Ozz' tour stop in Kitchener, Ont. (Colton Wiens/CTV News) As people around the world mourn the loss of the 'Prince of Darkness,' people in Waterloo Region are fondly remembering a stop he made in Kitchener exactly 44 years ago. On Tuesday, Ozzy Osbourne's family confirmed the death of the music icon and frontman of Black Sabbath. On July 23, 1982, shortly after he had been kicked out of the band, Osbourne made a solo appearance at Centre In the Square for his 'Blizzard of Ozz' tour. 'He was you and me. He wasn't this big huge rock star – he didn't hold court with his people,' Al Ridley recalled. 'Seeing this guy out on stage who suddenly became somebody else, with the white jumpsuit and the white tassels off the arms and the screaming – and this was Centre In the Square!' 'I was thinking, Centre In The Square - everyone sits in their chairs and they're comfortable and they listen to the KW Orchestra or cultural events. And here's this rock 'n roll mad man,' he said. Ridley can still picture the crowd holding up their fists and flashing devil horns as the deafening music enveloped the crowd. 'It was a fantastic evening of theater,' Ridley said. Ridley was just 15-years-old at the time and was part of a catering group for the event. He still has an autographed program from the performance. Al Ridley Ozzy Osbourne signed program Kitchener, Ont. Al Ridley posed with an autographed program from the Ozzy Osbourne 'Blizzard of Ozz' tour stop in Kitchener, Ont. (Colton Wiens/CTV News) Ridley told CTV about an experience few others can lay claim to: in the green room, he watched his friend's mom ask Osbourne to stop swearing so much. Later, he had a more personal moment with the musician. 'At the far end of the hall, Ozzy Osbourne and his manager come walking out, and they walk down the hall towards us. I thought this is the opportunity. So I said, 'Hey Ozzy can you sign my program?' 'Yeah, sure mate, sure.' And he signs the program, gave me a pat on the shoulder and walked on,' Ridley said. While Ridley didn't think too much of it at the time, it's a memory he cherishes to this day. Al Ridley Ozzy Osbourne signed program Kitchener, Ont. Al Ridley posed with an autographed program from the Ozzy Osbourne 'Blizzard of Ozz' tour stop in Kitchener, Ont. (Colton Wiens/CTV News) Sean Jasmins was 16-years-old when he saw the show in Kitchener. Jasmins said the performance was amazing and included Randy Rhoads on guitar. 'I remember our seats were front row balcony, Ozzy and Randy rocked the house!' Jasmins said in an email. 'I was a big fan and expectations were high. Ozzy delivered with a blistering show!' Jasmins told CTV News it may have been the first rock act to play at Centre In The Square, and he recalls hearing the venue didn't book any rock shows for quite awhile after that. Mark Logan, who is now the owner of Encore Records Ltd., was also there in 1981. He was 17-years-old at the time and stood at the front of the packed crowd. 'It was amazing. At the time, we didn't know. It was his first tour before he did big rooms. It was sort of testing things out. Band was great. [We] got to see Randy Rhoads,' Logan said. 'Ozzy, I remember, came out across the stage, shook hands. His hands were really sweaty, and I remember him standing at centre stage, shaking and not really moving as he's known now for running around and clapping and 'go crazy.' He was pretty scared.' Mark Logan Ozzy Osbourne Kitchener, Ont. Mark Logan carried Ozzy Osbourne albums at Encore Records Ltd. in Kitchener, Ont. on July 23, 2025. (Colton Wiens/CTV News) Logan calls Osbourne's passing incredibly bittersweet after he performed with Black Sabbath earlier this month. 'For him to get to experience that level of adoration that normally you see after you pass, I think it was really special,' Logan said. 'It was one of those things where you wouldn't be shocked if you heard it. But yet, conversely, never expected to hear it because he just kept going no matter what happened to him.' Logan said customers are now looking for Black Sabbath and Ozzy albums at the store. Industry experts say Ozzy's legacy will always live on. Ozzy Osbourne records Ozzy Osbourne records were seen at Encore Records Ltd. in Kitchener, Ont. on July 23, 2025. (Colton Wiens/CTV News) 'The influence of that music led every other rock band to follow, from Guns N' Roses to Metallica to Motley Crue and Poison right up until Green Day, and every 16-year-old kid that picks up a guitar now is eventually going to get into Black Sabbath and Ozzy. That's just the power of the influence that they have,' Eric Alper, a music industry expert said.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
The unique contributions of Ozzy Osbourne to heavy metal and reality TV
Yesterday, Ozzy Osbourne died at age 76. He is best known as the frontman of Black Sabbath and godfather of heavy metal, but he later became a solo artist and a reality TV star. Today on Commotion, guest host Eli Glasner sits down with Toronto rocker Danko Jones, culture critic Niko Stratis and music journalist Melissa Vincent to discuss the legacy of Ozzy Osbourne. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Eli: Ozzy's voice, you can't get away from it — the moment you hear it, it's singular. But it comes from Birmingham, working class roots. This is a guy, he was caught up in burglary, all sorts of mischief. Niko, do you hear that when you listen to him sing? Can you hear that in his vocals? Niko: Oh, absolutely. The best voices are ones that have that texture. A good voice tells a story, and it tells where it's been …. Ozzy had a very working class background, he grew up in Birmingham. His voice really tells a story of where he came from, this working class background. It is this very learned thing that you can't really teach, and you can't hone it, and you can't force yourself to sound like that. It is a very authentic thing, which the best voices always do. It's a harder thing to come by now. You can't imagine one of the biggest bands in the world having somebody on stage who is maybe not a "technically" great singer, but is a beautiful singer, whose voice always tells a story. It's such a unique thing that we have lost, the voice of Ozzy. Even if you're not a big Sabbath person, you hear it, you know what it is. That's the mark of something really beautiful left in this world: if you hear it, it's immediately recognizable, you know what it is. Eli: Melissa, the lyrics [from Paranoid ], "Happiness, I cannot feel / And the love to me is so unreal," some dark stuff there. Why did this song blow up? WATCH | The official video for Paranoid: Melissa: Extreme music across all genres, it's uniquely capable of shining a light on things that people feel — sometimes they feel in ways that resonate in the body, but there's no way for them to articulate it in words. A lot of metal does that through screaming. And even when screaming is tonally impossible to understand, somebody can capture the feeling of anguish or despair with a really razor thin point of precision. Paranoid, which on the surface is one of the most recognizable riffs of the 20th century, I feel like it functions like this car that is revving its engine. And I feel like part of what makes it so appealing is that this song is teasing you, in a way. It's sort of like, "Do you want to go further? Do you want to go heavier? Do you want to go more extreme?" … I think we get this real sense of how dynamic Ozzy is as a vocalist. Where at the same time, there's grit, there's the sense of poetry, where it's really difficult to tell where the line between the protagonist and antagonist ends, especially if he's talking about something that feels like it's so evil. Eli: Danko, how did that show [ The Osbournes ] change reality TV? Do you think it had an impact? Danko: Well, first of all, I was totally against it when I first saw it. I thought the veil had been pulled from my childhood, and I didn't want to see the wizard behind it, but I couldn't take my eyes off it. And I remember JC, our bass player, he downloaded some of the episodes, and we were on tour, and I think we were in a McDonald's or a Burger King, and we just watched it there. I couldn't believe that this had been exposed. I was dead against it. But again, I watched every episode. It created reality TV. It solidified it, with American Idol and Survivor. Ozzy's credited with starting heavy metal, and he kind of can be credited with starting reality TV. And I don't know if I like that. I like my Ozzy scary, to scare the living crap out of me. I don't want to meet him. When we did play with him, I was not in any hurry to meet him. We played with him four times. I never met him at the show.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Maritime music fans remember heavy metal and pop culture icon Ozzy Osbourne
Maritime fans remember Ozzy Osbourne – who passed away at the age of 76. Music fans around the Maritimes are mourning the loss of one of the most famous figures in heavy metal history. Ozzy Osbourne, known for decades as a solo artist and the lead singer of heavy metal band Black Sabbath, passed away on Tuesday according to a statement released by his family. 'Absolutely gutted. It feels like a family member has died, to be honest with you,' said Robbie Simms, a performer in the Sydney, N.S., area. Simms started listening to Osbourne's music when he was 15-years-old. He remembers how he quickly found himself trying to emulate the man's every move on stage. 'Once I heard him, I became addicted,' Simms said. 'Like, I worshipped the man. I had to learn everything, every song, every album.' Jim Deleskie of Sydney is a devoted superfan who even made the trip to Osbourne's hometown of Birmingham, England, to see him perform. 'I've probably seen Ozzy, or Black Sabbath with Ozzy, at least 20 times,' Deleskie said. 'I've met Ozzy six times. He is (like) somebody's dad when you meet him. It's like, not meeting your own father but meeting a father figure type person or a friend's dad.' Osbourne's live show was well-known to Maritime audiences. He played at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax - then known as the Halifax Metro Centre - in 2008, and again with Black Sabbath in 2013. 'I'll remember him as someone who brought a lot of joy to a lot of people, a lot of spark, and made some of the greatest rock and roll ever made,' Simms said. Like many others, Simms feels it was only fitting that Osbourne got to perform one last time at home in Birmingham just 17 days before he died. 'We love you Oz. We'll remember you forever. Cheers,' he said. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
