Hothouse Flowers 'privileged' to play at new Torquay music venue
The Irish rockers emphasised the significance of live music venues, especially as many are closing down, citing the recent closure of Sheffield's Leadmill."The welcome we were given here was like as if we could lie on the hands and just float," said Ó Maonlaí. "With your tribe, you can fill a room. It's up to you then to refill that room."Bandmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin said: "We need our live music venues more than ever, because live music is so important."
Steve Garratt, co-director of Arena, believes that offering a mix of events was crucial for sustainability. "If we just offered music, as much as we love it, we might be closed within a year," he said. The venue, with a capacity of 1,200 standing, aims to cater to diverse interests.Grassroots bands like 3 Days of Wonder are hopeful that Arena will help build a local music scene. "We want to explore new places, play to different crowds, and build our local scene," said Luke Notman from the band.
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Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Why Ozzy Osbourne's first wife has airbrushed the rock star from her life: 'Who'd want to be part of that mad family!'
As the patriarch of reality TV show The Osbournes – presiding in potty-mouthed dysfunction over the family antics – he won a new generation of fans, but no one ever really doubted Ozzy Osbourne loved his family, or that they loved him. That affection was reflected in the statement released to mark his death earlier this week, 17 days after the Black Sabbath frontman's farewell concert in his home city of Birmingham. '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,' came the announcement. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love.' What was perhaps striking about the statement was whom it was credited to: Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis. Sharon, of course, is Ozzy's increasingly fragile, ever-colourful and ever-devoted wife; Jack, Kelly and Aimee are their children together. The name Louis, however, would have been unfamiliar to many. A musician, he was the rocker's son from his first marriage. Two names, however, were missing from the family statement – those of Ozzy's eldest daughter Jessica and his adopted son Elliot. For while Ozzy might have been a trailblazer for reality TV fatherhood, he did have another wife and family first. And save for Louis – who bears a striking resemblance to his father – his first family have maintained a silence in the wake of the 76-year-old's death. Louis, 50, who did make a brief appearance early on in The Osbournes, was, it would seem, at his dad's side at the family's Grade II-listed home on the outskirts of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire when he died. But what of his sister Jessica, 53, who lives just six miles down the road with her husband and their three children? As yet, she has made no public statement. Nor has there been any statement from New Zealand, where his adopted son Elliot Osbourne, 59, who works for a tech firm, lives with his wife. Elliot was five years old when Ozzy married his mother, nightclub hostess Thelma Riley, in 1971, marking an entry into fatherhood Ozzy himself called 'chaotic at best'. As for Thelma, as the Mail discovered this week, despite living in Birmingham since the end of her tumultuous marriage, she has kept her association with him a closely guarded secret. Indeed, on a peaceful street of terraced homes in Harborne, where she lived for more than two decades, it would seem even her neighbours hadn't known she was once married to one of the city's best-known sons. Photographs from the 1970s show Thelma Riley (born Thelma Rees but who was married briefly to Anthony Riley) as a striking young woman with tumbling brunette hair. Now 76, she is silvery blonde but no less striking. She earned an MBA from Oxford Brookes University in 1999 and co-founded a sales and marketing consultancy. A former neighbour Karen, who lived a few doors away until Thelma moved several years ago, remembers her being 'always beautifully dressed'. 'I knew her name, but we never socialised.' But in 2017, following the final appearance of Ozzy's second wife Sharon on ITV's The X Factor, Karen joked with Thelma about her shared surname, asking if she was any relation. Karen recalls: 'I loved The X Factor and when I bumped into Thelma in the street after Sharon's final appearance I had a laugh with her. I didn't really know her but cheekily asked her if they were related and she looked horrified and said, 'No way, who would want to be part of that mad family!' 'Until this day I had no idea I was a neighbour of Ozzy Osbourne's first wife! She never let on and clearly didn't want to.' A short distance away, at a block of flats Thelma is understood to own and manage, one of her fellow directors tells the Mail that he too is shocked. John Fender, an economics professor, tells the Mail: 'I know Thelma, we are both directors of a company, but I had absolutely no idea. I am in a state of shock, she never mentioned it. She kept it very quiet. I am completely astonished. Osbourne is a fairly common name and I never put two and two together.' She was not always so guarded, though. The Mail spoke to one former colleague who says she burned 'red hot' with fury in the wake of her divorce. Thelma, who is thought to have had a brief third marriage, is now happy with a long-term partner, retired and living quietly on the outskirts of Birmingham. She is very much a part of her children's and grandchildren's lives. That she might want to draw a veil over the torment of her second marriage is not surprising. Ozzy himself spoke regretfully of his treatment of Thelma in his autobiography I Am Ozzy. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Birmingham's Rum Runner nightclub had legendary status. And one night in 1970, Ozzy and fellow Black Sabbath member Tony Iommi, rolled in. In the cloakroom was Thelma Riley. 'Who's that?' asked Ozzy, to be told Thelma was a 'lovely gal. Brainy too. But she's divorced and she's got a kid, so watch yerself'. Ozzy unsurprisingly ignored this instruction and, by his account, the night ended with him and Thelma kissing in the back seat of Tony's Ford Cortina. A year later they married at the Birmingham Register Office. 'A terrible mistake,' wrote Ozzy. Black Sabbath were touring; drugs, booze and groupies were beckoning and Thelma, now pregnant, was home alone. 'I would get this crazy restless feeling whenever I was at home, like I was going out of my mind,' wrote Ozzy. 'If I loved Thelma, I certainly didn't treat her like I did. If I've got any regrets about my life, that's one of them. 'I put that woman through hell. I should never have married her. She didn't deserve it; she wasn't a bad person, and she wasn't a bad wife. But I was a f****** nightmare.' Ozzy's worst excesses have been well documented. On the home front, he once took a shotgun to the 17 cats at the couple's home in Staffordshire. He left a stash of cannabis-laced cake in the kitchen that was accidentally given (by Thelma) to the local vicar. And he also shot all the chickens (purchased by Thelma) with a semi-automatic gun then doused the coop with gasoline and set it on fire, finishing off the sole survivor with a sword. In an interview with the Mail, he once admitted his abuse of Thelma was both mental and physical. 'You name it, I did it,' he said. 'I hit her big time and I was a complete idiot.' In the 2011 documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, he revealed he could not remember when Louis and Jessica were born. Louis recalled: 'When he was around and he wasn't [drunk], he was a great father. But that was kind of seldom, really, I just have a lot of memories of him being drunk... It's not good for family life, really.' Jessica made a brief appearance in the documentary, saying: 'I don't remember being put to bed or having a bath by Dad or anything like that. I wouldn't say he was there for us.' Asked if Ozzy was a good dad, she replied: 'No.' Ozzy's divorce with Thelma was agonisingly drawn out – Sharon, his manager's daughter, was already on the scene, but there was a last-ditch holiday with Thelma and the children to Barbados in 1981. Ozzy said: 'We got there at five o'clock and I was legless by six.' The marriage ended the same year. Ozzy would later declare Thelma got the house and 'every last penny I had in the bank'. He also paid for the kids' private school. But he left scars. His relationship with Elliot, who moved from Scotland to New Zealand around five years ago, appears to have always been strained. Ozzy wrote: 'I spent the whole time when I was home screaming at him or whacking him around the ear hole. And it's not like he ever did anything bad to deserve it. I wish I could have been better with him.' The year after the divorce he married Sharon. Their first child Aimee was born in 1983, followed by Kelly in 1984 and Jack in 1985. Kelly and Jack along with their mother were catapulted into the public consciousness, courtesy of MTV's The Osbournes which aired from 2002 to 2005. Aimee chose to remain away from the cameras. Louis once had an apartment in the garden of his father's Beverly Hills home and has always spoken with pride of his dad. He followed, to an extent, in his father's footsteps. He dropped out of university to take a job in a record shop, before getting his big break as a DJ in Ibiza in 1998. Even while a fledgling artist, he was determined to make it on his own, prohibiting use of his father's name, and is now a respected DJ, producer and broadcaster. As Ozzy told the Mail in 2014. 'I was a bad father, an abusive husband and I had an ego the size of India. I spent decades of my life being an absolute idiot. I've got so many regrets I can't even remember half of them. But wives and kids are right at the top.' After so many years of Ozzy's chaotic neglect, how many of his 'first' family will attend any memorials to the late rock star remains to be seen.
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Oasis pay poignant tribute to Ozzy Osbourne as ‘Rock N Roll Star' appears on screen at Wembley in emotional song
OASIS have paid an emotional tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at their first gig in London for more than a decade. The band lit up a screen at Wembley Stadium with an image of the rock legend towards the end of the performance of their track Live Forever. 2 2 The Gallagher brothers made a triumphant return to the capital - performing for the first time in London since 2009 - as they continued on their world tour. As the band made their way through staple tracks, an image of a younger Ozzy made its way onto main screen as the crowd began to cheer. After finishing the song Live Forever, Liam announced to the crowd that he wanted to dedicate the next track - Rock 'N' Roll Star - to the late singer. Ozzy passed away at the age of 76 on Tuesday, just 17 days after performing his final gig in Birmingham. Turning to the packed Wembley crowd, Liam said: "I wanna dedicate this one to Ozzy Osbourne, Rock 'N' Roll Star." Oasis performed an electric set at Wembley on Friday night, the first of five gigs over the next 10 days in the capital. They will also perform two shows at the venue in September. Liam told tens of thousands of fans of his pride as the band graced the stage at the iconic stadium 16 years after their last appearance there. Just three songs into their much-anticipated appearance, he declared the crowd was 'f****** beautiful', having bowed to the sea of raised arms before him. Oasis superfans in bucket hats and branded T-shirts had packed the Tube en route to the gig from earlier in the day, with international accents denoting the band's worldwide popularity. Inside Ozzy Osbourne's final days after historic last show 'took huge toll' on his health As with previous gigs, Liam and Noel walked onstage hand in hand, opened with Hello and proceeded to belt out many of their classics including Some Might Say and Morning Glory. The packed-out stadium was in full voice throughout and at one point Liam threw a tambourine into the jubilant crowd, while later positioning one on top of his head. Despite pledging to concentrate on his vocals rather than talking – telling those gathered 'every time I open my mouth at these gigs I seem to get myself into a lot of trouble so I'm just going to do the singing' – Liam later engaged in some light football banter. The well-known Manchester City fan appeared to poke fun at Arsenal fans in the crowd, joking about their position in the Premier league last season. Phone camera torches also lit up the stadium as darkness fell. Friday's show – the eighth of the tour – followed a five-night run of homecoming gigs in Manchester's Heaton Park and the two opening shows in Cardiff earlier this month. After they complete their first stint at Wembley, the band will head up north to Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium before travelling to Croke Park in Dublin. This comes after the band released a new live track from their reunion tour in a treat for fans who couldn't nab a ticket. They immortalised their iconic gigs at Heaton Park by issuing an official release of their live rendition of iconic track Cigarettes and Alcohol. Recorded on the first night of their stint at the park, Cigarettes and Alcohol has become a staple favourite on the brothers' set list.
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Love Island star Harry FINALLY admits how he really feels about Helena as she ends romance
LOVE Island's Harry Cooksley finally shared how he really feels about villa partner Helena Ford - as she ended their romance. The dramatic Grafties ceremony exposed previously unseen drama to the Islanders. 4 4 4 Helena was furious as she watched clips of Harry flirting with exes Emma Munro and Shakira Khan - while they were coupled up. She branded Harry a "f*****g joke" and added: "Shakira doesn't want you, I don't wanr you." Fellow OG Islander Conor told Harry later: "Remember what you have first, with Helena. "I think it's quite rare, to be honest, what you do have with her." Harry replied: "I'll be honest mate - and I know you're probably gonna tell her this. "I think it's more friendly, for me." He added: "I just feel like, with Shakira it was way more natural in my opinion. "It was more relationship-focused, more emotional. I feel like I was way more into her." After hearing this, Conor told him: "That's fine man, that's how you feel. No one can blame you for how you feel. "But you just need to communicate it man." The Sun previously revealed that Harry and Helena were to split - due to an explosive row over Shakira. While they had just become exclusive, Harry struggled to shake his past feelings for Shakira. The drama dates back to the trio's early days in the villa - when Harry and Helena snuck to the Hideaway. A source said: 'That old triangle is very much back. In the bust-up, Harry admitted he still had feelings for Shakira. Love Island 2025 full lineup Harry Cooksley: A 30-year-old footballer with charm to spare. Shakira Khan: A 22-year-old Manchester-based model, ready to turn heads. Megan Moore: A payroll specialist from Southampton, looking for someone tall and stylish. Alima Gagigo: International business graduate with brains and ambition. Tommy Bradley: A gym enthusiast with a big heart. Helena Ford: A Londoner with celebrity connections, aiming to find someone funny or Northern. Ben Holbrough: A model ready to make waves. Dejon Noel-Williams: A personal trainer and semi-pro footballer, following in his footballer father's footsteps. Aaron Buckett: A towering 6'5' personal trainer. Conor Phillips: A 25-year-old Irish rugby pro. Antonia Laites: Love Island's first bombshell revealed as sexy Las Vegas pool party waitress. Yasmin Pettet: The 24-year-old bombshell hails from London and works as a commercial banking executive. Emily Moran: Bombshell Welsh brunette from the same town as Love Island 2024 alumni Nicole Samuel. Harrison Solomon: Pro footballer and model entering Love Island 2025 as a bombshell. Giorgio Russo: The 30-year-old will be spending his summer in the sun, potentially his sister Alessia's successful tournament at the Euros in Switzerland. Yaz Broom: Professional DJ from Manchester who appeared on X Factor 2016 in girl group Four of Diamonds. Andrada Pop: Miss Bikini Ireland 2019 winner who hails from Dublin and works as a nail technician and personal trainer. Emma Munro: Harry Cooksley's ex who entered as a bombshell and works as a hydrogeologist. Departures: Kyle Ashman: Axed after an arrest over a machete attack emerged. He was released with no further action taken and denies any wrongdoing. Sophie Lee: A model and motivational speaker who has overcome adversity after suffering life-changing burns in an accident. Blu Chegini: A boxer with striking model looks, seeking love in the villa. Malisha Jordan: A teaching assistant from Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, who entered Love Island 2025 as a bombshell. Shea Mannings: Works as a scaffolder day-to-day and plays semi-pro football on the side. Caprice Alexandra: The 26-year-old bombshell owns a nursery in Romford. Poppy Harrison: The bombshell broke up with her boyfriend after finding out she would be in the villa Will Means: The fourth fittest farmer in the UK according to Farmers' Weekly in 2023 entered the villa as a bombshell Megan Clarke: An Irish actress part of the OG line-up. Remell Mullins: Boasts over 18million likes and 500k followers on TikTok thanks to his sizzling body transformation videos. Alima Gagigo: 23-year-old personal banker from Glasgow who fancies herself as a 'good flirt'. Ryan Bannister: 27-year-old gym hunk who entered the show as a bombshell. 'He said he didn't plan to act on it but Helena was gutted and furious and told him she was done. 'It all happened the day after Shakira dumped Conor and Megan and Blu arrived." Semi pro footballer Harry ditched Shakira after Helena pursued him for weeks. 4
