Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76 – DW – 07/23/2025
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne, the frontman of English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 76.
Nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal," Osbourne is largely credited with founding the heavy metal genre.
Though he parted ways with Black Sabbath in 1979 over his drug and alcohol addictions, he rejoined the band several times, including for a farewell live performance last month.
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DW
a day ago
- DW
Ozzy Osbourne fans in Birmingham honor heavy metal star – DW – 07/30/2025
Thousands of fans lined the streets of Birmingham to say farewell to Ozzy Osbourne. The "Prince of Darkness" died just weeks after his final gig. Thousands of people gathered in the UK city of Birmingham on Wednesday to honor the "Prince of Darkness" and Black Sabbath frontman. The hearse carrying Ozzy Osbourne made its way through the crowd-lined streets of the city where he grew up and where Black Sabbath was formed in 1968. Osbourne died at the age of 76 on July 22, just weeks after a final gig to a sold-out crowd. He had been in poor health, having been diagnosed with Parkinson's a few years earlier. Osbourne once said he wanted his funeral to be a celebration and not a "mope-fest." Today was a mix of sadness and celebration, as crowds chanted "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi." A 16-year-old fan, Fan Reece Sargeant the the AFP news agency, "I think it was important to come and pay our respects.... Ozzy and Black Sabbath really put Birmingham on the map." Long-time fan Antony Hunt said it has been an "emotional" day." "What's amazing is there's so many, such a wide variety of age groups, from little, little children, teenagers to people in their 60s, 70s, so it's great to see that," he said. Birmingham Mayor Zafar Iqbal praised Osbourne as a "son of Birmingham" and "more than a music legend." Graham Croucher, a 58-year-old train driver, said Osbourne was an "absolute legend" and "was the soundtrack particularly to my life growing up." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Osbourne's hearse, topped with flower arrangements, made its way through the city's streets. Led by a live brass band, the procession went past his childhood home in the city's Aston area, down Broad Street and to the Black Sabbath bench. The art installation was unveiled in 2019 and sits on a bridge also named after the band. Osbourne's wife, Sharon, and children, Kelly, Jack, Louis, and Aimee, followed in vehicles behind. The family was visibly emotional as they got out on the bridge to lay flowers and read some of the tributes left by fans. The procession led by police motorcycles then continued its journey to a private funeral service. Black Sabbath is widely credited for popularizing the sound of heavy metal, and Osbourne was known for his legendary antics both on and off stage. Black Sabbath had huge commercial success in the 1970s and 80s, going on to sell more than 75 million albums worldwide. In June, Ozzy and his Back Sabbath bandmates Terence Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward were awarded the Freedom of the City in recognition of their services to the city of Birmingham. They played their final farewell show in early July to 42,000 fans in Birmingham, with the Prince of Darkness on a black throne.
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Int'l Business Times
Thousands Honour Ozzy Osbourne At UK Hometown Funeral Procession
Thousands lined the streets of UK city Birmingham on Wednesday to pay an emotional farewell to hometown hero Ozzy Osbourne as the heavy metal hellraiser was laid to rest. Black Sabbath frontman Osbourne, who earned the nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" and once bit a bat while on stage, died on July 22 at the age of 76. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019 and died 17 days after playing a final gig to a sold-out crowd in Birmingham. Osbourne's funeral procession set off at around 1200 GMT on a route planned with the rocker's family through the English city. Chants of "Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!" could be heard, with one fan crying out "we love you Ozzy!" as his coffin -- sitting in a stately black Jaguar hearse topped with flower arrangements -- and other vehicles crawled by. The procession, which earlier passed the star's childhood home in the city's Aston area, was accompanied by a live brass band performance by local musicians from Bostin' Brass. Fan Reece Sargeant came with friends to say goodbye. "I think it was important to come and pay our respects.... Ozzy and Black Sabbath really put Birmingham on the map," he said. The 16-year-old told AFP the band's last concert had been "out of this world". Osbourne famously once said he wanted his funeral to be a celebration of his life and not a "mope-fest". The procession paused at the Black Sabbath bench -- an art installation featuring headshots of each member on a bridge also named after the band. Visibly emotional family members including his widow Sharon Osbourne laid flowers at the bench and read some of the written tributes that have been left there along with balloons and flowers. Thousands of fans have gathered at the bridge in recent days, mourning the death of the musician who was instrumental in pioneering heavy metal. The cortege, led by police motorbikes, then continued its slow journey towards a private funeral service. "Ozzy was more than a music legend - he was a son of Birmingham," Zafar Iqbal, the lord mayor of the central English city, said in a statement. "It was important to the city that we support a fitting, dignified tribute ahead of a private family funeral. "We're proud to host it here with his loving family in the place where it all began," Iqbal, who could be seen hugging family members when the procession stopped in central Birmingham, added. Black Sabbath enjoyed huge commercial success in the 1970s and 80s after forming in Birmingham in 1968. Their eponymous 1970 debut album made the UK top 10 and paved the way for a string of hit records, including their most famous song "Paranoid". The group went on to sell more than 75 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Osbourne was added for a second time last year as a solo artist. Osbourne gained notoriety for his outlandish stunts, many fuelled by his legendary indulgence in drugs and alcohol. In 1989, he was arrested for drunkenly trying to strangle his wife Sharon, which he once mentioned in a 2007 interview. His live performances at the height of his hedonism have gone down in rock folklore, particularly the 1982 gig in the US city of Des Moines when he bit a bat on stage. Osbourne said he thought a fan had thrown a rubber bat onstage, and it was not until he took a bite that he realised it was real. Family members including widow Sharon Osbourne laid flowers and read fans' tributes AFP The hearse travelled over Black Sabbath bridge where thousands of fans have left tributes since the heavy metal legend died on July 22 AFP The group sold more than 75 million albums and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 AFP
Int'l Business Times
6 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Fake AI Photos Of Trump With Epstein Flood Internet
Fake AI-generated photos and videos purporting to show Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein socializing with underage girls have flooded social media, racking up millions of views, researchers said Friday. The surge in deepfakes comes as the US president -- frequently photographed with Epstein during their 15-year friendship -- attempts to distance himself from the disgraced financier, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. One widely circulated AI-generated video appears to show Trump and Epstein leering at a group of young girls dancing, with the song "Is it a Crime?" by the English band Sade added as background music. At least two other fake photos appear to show the pair on a couch alongside underaged girls. Another such photograph purports to shows Trump dancing with a teenage girl on Epstein's private island. Overlaying the image is the caption: "Trump was in his 50's when this was taken. What kind of man does that?" At least seven such AI-generated images and one video cumulatively garnered more than 7.2 million views across social media platforms, according to a conservative estimate by disinformation watchdog group NewsGuard. The watchdog said it used multiple detection tools, including Hive and IdentifAI, to establish that the content was fabricated using AI tools and the actual number of views was likely much higher than its manual tally of high-engagement posts. Trump's ties to Epstein are extensive, and the pair were frequently pictured partying together during their friendship before they fell out in 2004 over a property deal. But there appear to be no known authentic photographs of the pair with underage girls or of Trump visiting Epstein's private island in the Caribbean, NewsGuard said. AI slop -- low-quality visual content generated using cheap and widely available artificial intelligence tools -- increasingly appears to be flooding social media sites, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Many content creators on YouTube and TikTok offer paid courses on how to monetize viral AI slop on tech platforms, many of which have reduced their reliance on human fact-checkers and scaled back content moderation. AI-generated images of Trump spread rapidly after the FBI and Justice Department said in a July 7 memo that there was no proof that Epstein kept a "client list" of elite co-conspirators as conspiracy theorists have contended. Trump's core Make America Great Again (MAGA) base erupted in anger over the memo, calling on the White House to release the so-called "Epstein files." Some even within the Republican president's own party have demanded the files be released, but his administration has declined to do so. Fake images appear to be gaining traction in that vacuum. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the president's name was among hundreds found during an official review of the files, though there has not been evidence of wrongdoing. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the newspaper last week after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.
