
Ozzy Osbourne was ‘frustrated' during Black Sabbath's farewell concert: bandmate
Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath guitarist and co-founder, told UK broadcaster ITV that Osbourne was 'frustrated' during the band's farewell concert on July 5. The heavy metal icon died less than three weeks later, on July 22, at age 76.
5 Iommi told UK broadcast ITV that Osbourne was 'frustrated' during Black Sabbath's farewell concert.
ITV News/Youtube
'I think he was moved and frustrated as well, 'cause he wanted to stand up,' Iommi, 77, told the outlet on July 23. 'You could see he was trying to get up.'
Advertisement
The 'Crazy Train' singer, who had struggled with Parkinson's disease since his diagnosis in 2020, performed from a black leather chair during the show at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Though the throne, decorated with a bat motif, was classic Ozzy, Iommi told BBC Radio 4's 'Today' on July 23 that sitting onstage wasn't quite what his bandmate wanted.
5 Osbourne performed from a black leather chair during the show.
Greg Draven/X
'I think of him and the fun we had, really. That's what was weird about this show because Ozzy was seated in a throne, and that's the last thing that Ozzy would have ever wanted to be but it had to,' he said. 'Normally, he's bouncing around onstage and coming up to me and pulling faces. He'd always have a laugh.'
Advertisement
Iommi told ITV that Osbourne had texted him the day before he died, saying he was tired and had no energy.
'We could see it in rehearsal,' he explained. 'We didn't want him there every day at rehearsal because it's too much. He just wouldn't be able to stand it.'
5 Black Sabbath's final performance took place on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham.
REUTERS
He continued, 'They'd bring him in, and he'd sit down and sing a few songs. And then, we'd talk about some rubbish, old times, or whatever, have a laugh, and then he'd go.'
Advertisement
Still, Iommi said the final performance 'meant everything to [Osbourne].'
'This is what we built up for — for that big ending, where he could see all the people, and we could all see all the people and close it in that way,' he added. 'We didn't expect to close it so quick with us. We didn't expect him to go that quick, really. We didn't expect him to go, so it's been a shock.'
5 Osbourne's Black Sabbath bandmates paid tribute to him on social media.
WireImage
After news broke of the Prince of Darkness' passing, Iommi took to Instagram to pay tribute to his late bandmate.
Advertisement
Alongside a carousel of throwback photos of Osbourne and Black Sabbath, he wrote: 'I just can't believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park. It's just such heartbreaking news that I can't really find the words, there won't ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother. My thoughts go out to Sharon and all the Osbourne family. Rest in peace Oz.'
5 Iommi and Osbourne performing onstage.
Redferns
Fellow Black Sabbath members bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward also shared heartfelt messages in the wake of Osbourne's death.
Butler, 76, for his part, posted on Instagram: 'Goodbye dear friend- thanks for all those years- we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston- who'd have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.'
Ward, 77, wrote on X: 'Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you're forever in my heart. Deepest condolences to Sharon and all the family members. RIP Sincere regrets to all the fans. Never goodbye. Thank you forever.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Ozzy Osbourne was the kindest celebrity I ever met
Andrew Vontz is the founder of One Real Voice, a podcast coaching and strategy company. He hosts the 'Choose the Hard Way' podcast and writes the Substack of the same name. I wore a shimmering, faux snakeskin, mid-calf-length, silver-and-black cape to the Ozzy Osbourne interview I did for Mean, a style and culture magazine in Los Angeles. It was 2005, 'The Osbournes' was the most popular show on MTV, and Ozzy was about to release a retrospective box set (of compact discs). After a childhood spent listening to Black Sabbath and teen years spent playing Sabbath-inspired hardcore in a high school band, I figured wearing the cape was only appropriate.


Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
This week, we remember a few icons and visit our happy place with ‘Happy Gilmore 2'
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who is feeling nostalgic after several celebrity deaths. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Ozzy Osbourne, Chuck Mangione and Hulk Hogan died this week, and if you were alive in the '80s, you're familiar with how each shaped music, television and pop culture. Warner is best remembered for playing Theodore 'Theo' Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show.' As the 'engaging, fun-loving teen who also got into a variety of scrapes in the Huxtable household,' Theo was a highlight of Warner's career, earning him an Emmy nomination in 1986, Times senior writer Greg Braxton wrote in an assessment of the actor's career. As for Osbourne, depending on the generation you grew up in, he was either one of your favorite heavy metal vocalists or one of your favorite TV dads (perhaps both). Beginning in 2002, the Prince of Darkness starred in MTV's 'The Osbournes,' a reality show that featured his family — wife Sharon, daughter Kelly and son Jack — and their everyday antics. It pioneered the celebrity reality TV genre, and Osbourne broke the TV dad mold by showing us that you can curse at your family with love. Meanwhile, Mangione, the prolific jazz musician, also left his mark on television after his hit song 'Feels So Good' became a running gag on the animated series 'King of the Hill' — he even lent his voice to the show for several episodes. (The revived series will return in August.) Then there's Hogan, who will be remembered both as a self-made celebrity and controversial figure. He helped lift professional wrestling to an entertainment juggernaut with 'Hulkamania,' but his use of a racial slur led to WWE terminating its 30-year association with him (though he was reinstated to their hall of fame in 2018). Later, like Osbourne, he would get his own reality show, VH1's 'Hogan Knows Best,' but it was canceled after a series of personal events, including Hogan's divorce and a car crash involving his son. It all might leave you feeling a bit wistful and wanting to watch clips of their memorable moments. But if you want to experience some nostalgia and go to a happy place, a comedic cultural touchstone has returned. In this week's Screen Gab, director Kyle Newacheck drops by to discuss Netflix's 'Happy Gilmore 2,' the sequel to the original comedy film that was nearly 30 years in the making. Must-read stories you might have missed Commentary: 'South Park' season opener puts Trump in bed with Satan and has Paramount on its knees: Comedy Central's animated series couldn't have returned at a better time. The season-opening episode is brutal in its treatment of Paramount, CBS and President Trump. 'Happy Gilmore' is back for another round, as are Adam Sandler and his longtime collaborator: Tim Herlihy has had a lasting and prolific creative partnership with Adam Sandler, the star of Netflix's 'Happy Gilmore 2,' which he co-wrote with the actor. De-aged stars, cloned voices, resuscitated dead icons: AI is changing the art and business of acting: AI isn't hovering at the edges of acting anymore. It has reshaped faces, smoothed dialogue and fast-tracked everything from dubbing to reshoots. And its reach is growing. Commentary: When 'Love Island,' 'Summer I Turned Pretty' have to tell fans to back off, should we cry or clap?: A billion-dollar industry is failing to protect the very people who built it in the first place. Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' (Paramount+) The Trekkiest of the 21st century 'Star Trek' series — its very name comes from the Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) speech that runs over the titles of what is now officially called 'The Original Series' — is back for its third season, which began earlier this month. Set in the years before Kirk's starship embarked on its five-year mission, this Enterprise comes with charmingly conceived, wholly convincing younger versions of characters we know well — including Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Scotty (Martin Quinn) — and fuller versions of characters who never got much space on 'TOS,' like Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush). Above all, there are Anson Mount's heroically haired Capt. Pike, revived from the series' initial pilot, and Ethan Peck's Spock, note perfect and yet very much his own Vulcan. Like its model, it's episodic in nature, allowing for event-packed seasons that make it seem like it's been running longer than it has (in a good way), and though it can turn dark and philosophical, it has a lightness of heart that leaves ample room for comedy — and love. — Robert Lloyd 'The Gringo Hunters' (Netflix) I find no joy in watching folks from other countries rounded up by state-sponsored agents, only to be detained with no due process and deported back home, or to who knows where. It's performative political theater, not entertainment, despite what ride-along raid hosts Dr. Phil McGraw and Kristi Noem want us to believe. But when American criminals are rounded up in Mexico and deported back to the U.S. without so much as a trial? That's unique and juicy drama. This Netflix Spanish-language drama follows members of an elite Mexican police unit (played by Harold Torres, Mayra Hermosillo and Manuel Masalva) who specialize in capturing foreign fugitives — mostly Americans — hiding from the U.S. legal system in Mexico. They are, according to one agent, 'bad hombres.' Executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and directed by Adrián Grünberg ('Bandidos') and Natalia Beristáin, the 12-episode series was inspired by a 2022 Washington Post article that chronicled the work of a plainclothes, largely secretive investigative team in Tijuana who relied on intelligence from U.S. agencies to catch suspects, but ultimately, the fugitives are deported for breaking Mexican immigration law. 'Gringo Hunters' delivers a compelling, often darkly humorous narrative that travels through the mansions, barrios, political corridors and bustling businesses in and around Tijuana and Ensenada. The series offers a refreshing spin on the investigative procedural and an alternate view of what it looks like when Americans are targeted for deportation by a country that doesn't want them. — Lorraine Ali A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they're working on — and what they're watching Kyle Newacheck is no stranger to directing, with a long résumé in TV ('What We Do in the Shadows,' 'Workaholics') and film ('Murder Mystery,' 'Game Over, Man!'), nor to working with Adam Sandler, who stars in their latest collaboration, 'Happy Gilmore 2.' At the time 'Happy Gilmore' was released in 1996, it was a modest success, but it gained a cult following thanks in part to repeated screenings on basic cable. Like the first, the sequel was co-written by Sandler and his longtime collaborator Tim Herlihy, and many of their iconic characters have returned too, like Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), Virginia (Julie Bowen) and Hal (Ben Stiller). The film also nods to the iconic actors from the original who are no longer with us, including Carl Weathers, Joe Flaherty and Richard Kiel. Here, the director talks about what it is like joining the project and working with Sandler and other members of the cast. 'Happy Gilmore' is a comedic cornerstone from the '90s. Do you remember the first time you watched it? What was it like to come on board for the sequel? I was 12 years old in 1996 when the movie came out, so I think the visuals are imprinted on the back walls of my brain. It was one of the first movies where I realized that movies didn't just 'appear' — somehow people are making these funny movies. After I watched the film, I picked up my grandfather's video camera in 1997 and began shooting funny videos with my friends. 'Happy Gilmore' was a movie that made all of my friends laugh. I remember everyone from my school constantly quoting lines and laughing together. Joining the sequel was a surreal moment for me, to say the least. The sequel brought back a lot of the original cast members who were so memorable, like Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald and Ben Stiller, but you also see new faces in the 'Happy Gilmore' universe like Bad Bunny, John Daly and Benny Safdie. Do you have a favorite moment from filming or a scene where the OG cast and new cast came together? I loved filming the scene where Frank (Safdie) confronts Happy outside the batting cages. Benny and Adam have such great chemistry, and it was fun to see the two worlds collide. Happy stands against his Duster while Frank leans against his electric Rolls-Royce. The scene itself holds this cool subtext that, to me, reaches through the screen. Plus, Happy dissing Frank's breath is always gonna be funny to me. You've directed a couple of other films, but a lot of your work has been on television, including on 'Workaholics' and most recently 'What We Do in the Shadows.' How is directing a film like 'Happy Gilmore 2' different from television? My approach is similar in everything I make, attempting to get the truth of the scene while prioritizing humor. Sometimes I have a lot of resources to do that and sometimes I don't. What was it like getting notes from Adam Sandler on the film as you were working on it? I love working with Adam, a.k.a. Sandman. He is a true maverick. He is not only the star but also wrote the film as well as produced it. He likes to roll up his sleeves and do the work. Him and I share a deep love for the set, and we have a ton of fun out there and definitely challenge each other along the way. Collaboration is at the core of creation. What's your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again? 'The Big Lebowski' [HBO Max]. Love it. It's another formative one for me — this time, I was in high school, about to graduate, and I played on the varsity bowling team. I love the characters/performances the most, and honestly assumed that most of it had to be off the cuff, but learn[ing] years later that the Coens [sibling directors Joel and Ethan Coen] had written every line the way it was performed made me fall in love with the screenplay. I love everything about that movie and can watch it over and over.


Cosmopolitan
3 hours ago
- Cosmopolitan
Is ITV's Under the Bridge based on a true story? The real life case behind Reena Virk's tragic death
A chilling new drama, Under the Bridge,is set to air on ITV tonight (Friday 25th July). The eight-part series recounts the true story of Reena Virk, a 14-year-old who attended a party on an island in British Columbia, Canada, but tragically never made it back home. Seven teenage girls and a boy were implicated in Reena's murder. The story is told through the eyes of Rebecca and local police officer Cam Bentland (played by Lily Gladstone), pulling viewers into the complex world of the teenagers accused of murder - and uncovering some shocking truths along the way. "Under the Bridge is based on acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey's book about the 1997 true story of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) who went to join friends at a party and never returned home," the official synopsis reads. "Through the eyes of Godfrey (Riley Keough) and a local police officer (Lily Gladstone), the series takes us into the hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder - revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer." As Under the Bridge airs read on for the devastating true story that inspired the series. It is. on 14th November 1997, a 14-year-old girl named Reena Virk was attacked by a group of teenagers in Saanich, Canada. Her body was discovered eight days later in a nearby river. In 2008, Reena Virk's father, Manjit, published Reena: A Father's Story, a memoir that explores his daughter's life and the tragedy of her death. He describes Reena as a young girl who often felt like an outsider and endured relentless bullying. Her relationship with her Indian Canadian parents was complex, shaped in part by their strict upbringing and devotion to the Jehovah's Witness faith. At age 14, Virk began spending time with a group of teenagers, including Nicole Cook. According to the book Under the Bridge, tensions escalated when Reena allegedly spread hurtful rumours about Cook - claiming she had fake breasts, wore coloured contact lenses, and had AIDS. On the evening of 14th November 1997, Virk attended a party with some of her friends where she was confronted by Cook, according to the TV show Bloodlust Under the Bridge. Virk allegedly called her a "b***h," which prompted Cook to put a cigarette out on her forehead. Cook and Missy Grace Pleich said that Cook's best friend, Kelly Ellard, and Pleich both started to hit and kick Virk. Then the rest of the group, including Warren Glowatski, joined in. Virk managed to escape, but was followed by Glowatski and Ellard, who continued the assault before drowning her in the Victoria Gorge waterway. They were later tried as adults, and both received life sentences. Eight teenagers were ultimately tried and convicted in connection with Reena's tragic death. Six of them, later dubbed the Shoreline Six, were found guilty of assaulting her. while Warren and Kelly faced murder convictions, held responsible for taking her life. Their convictions were changed to manslaughter. The Shoreline Six included Ellard, Cook, Nicole Patterson, Courtney Keith, Gail Ooms, and Reena Virk's best friend, Pleich. They received sentences ranging from 60-day conditional sentences to one year in jail. Several of the teenagers involved in the initial attack on Virk were given fictional names in the series. For example, Nicole Cook is portrayed as Josephine Bell, played by Chloe Guidry. This was the name given to Cook by Godfrey for her 2017 Vice article about the incident as a way of protecting her identity since she was a teenager (aged 15) when it happened. Under the Bridge starts on ITV1 on Friday 25th July at 9pm.