Remembering Ozzy Osbourne's rocking times in Vancouver
The group's sound was soundly trashed by critics of the day in love with unending Grateful Dead jams and flower power pettiness. The March 8, 2016, review of the End Tour in Vancouver noted, Black Sabbath were the sound of things to come.
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'Caught off-guard by a bunch of Northerners who weren't paisley-pushing art school junkies nodding off through endlessly boring blues rock jamming, the hippie elite did metal a favour forever by trashing it.
Music by working class kids for others like them who weren't getting in on the Summer of Love or any other middle class playtime, metal was loud, angry and amplified release. It still is.'
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Aside from music, Osbourne became a festival mogul with the popular Ozzfest metal festivals begun in 1996, which became a proving ground for up-and-coming modern metal acts as well as showcasing classic stars. The festival was created by Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, after Lollapalooza refused to show any interest in having her husband perform.
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Alongside this new direction for his career, Ozzy and his family became TV stars with the MTV reality TV series The Osbournes. Premiering on March 5, 2002, the show was an instant hit and ran four seasons before the final episode aired on March 21, 2005. In a BBC Radio 2 interview in May 2009, Ozzy confirmed that he was stoned during the entire filming of the series.
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The singer dealt with addiction issues throughout his career, leading to a number of well-publicised events. Among the most famous was on Feb. 18, 1982, when he drunkenly urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph erected in honour of those who died at the Battle of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. The singer was banned from the city for a decade until he donated $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas who maintain the monument in 1992.
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Such was the life of the man proclaimed the 'Prince of Darkness' in musical circles.
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In a post shared by Mercury Studios to Instagram on July 18, it was announced the feature-length concert film Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow, celebrating Osbourne and the legacy of the band Black Sabbath, is slated for release in early 2026.
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CTV News
10 hours ago
- CTV News
Kelly Osbourne says she's lost her ‘best friend' with dad Ozzy's death
Kelly Osbourne (left), pictured with her parents, Ozzy and Sharon, in 2010 (Evan Agostini/AGOST/AP via CNN Newsource) Kelly Osbourne has released a statement following the death of her father Ozzy, saying she 'lost the best friend I ever had.' 'I feel unhappy, I am so sad. I lost the best friend I ever had,' she said on her Instagram story, quoting the lyrics of Black Sabbath song 'Changes.' The song originally appeared on the band's 1972 album 'Vol. 4' before Ozzy and Kelly recorded a version together in 2003 with altered lyrics, changing the song from depicting a romantic breakup to a father-daughter relationship drifting apart. Until 'The Osbournes' – the reality TV show documenting their family life – aired from 2002 to 2005, Ozzy was best known as the 'Prince of Darkness,' a pioneer of heavy metal and rock whose legendary, and controversial, antics on stage once included biting the head off a live bat. (He thought it was rubber.) But through his interactions with his wife, Sharon, and his youngest children, Kelly and Jack, the public were introduced to his domestic side, watching him bumbling around the house and telling his children not to do drugs. Ozzy died on Tuesday at age 76, his family announced in a statement, saying that 'he was with his family and surrounded by love.' They haven't yet announced a cause of death. Just weeks before his death, he played his final show in Birmingham, England, where Kelly got engaged to her long-term partner, rock musician Sid Wilson. She posted a video on Instagram of the moment that Wilson, who is part of heavy metal band Slipknot, got down on one knee and proposed in front of various family members and friends, including her parents. In the footage, Wilson can be heard saying: 'Kelly, you know I love you more than anything in the world.' Ozzy then interjects: 'F**k off, you're not marrying my daughter.' The assembled crowd laughs before Wilson continues: 'Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you. So, in front of your family and all of our friends, Kelly, will you marry me?' The couple, who have been together since at least 2022 and share a young son, Sidney, then embraced as onlookers clapped and cheered. By Issy Ronald, CNN
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
Why Ozzy Osbourne was the prince not just of darkness but of pop culture
Recently, I came across a bit of screenwriting advice that goes something like this: all endings should be both surprising and inevitable. These words crept to mind on Tuesday, when I learned of the passing of Ozzy Osbourne at age 76. News of the death of Osbourne, a pioneering heavy metal singer who redefined pop culture (at least twice over and maybe three times), brought a sense of a shock and acceptance. Ozzy lived both hard and well. He too was surprising and inevitable. Born in 1948 in the English industrial town of Birmingham as John Michael Osbourne, Ozzy's beginnings were inauspicious. As a working class 'Brummie,' his career prospects were limited to tool maker, meat packer or car-horn tuner — the latter being about as close as someone of his stock could imagine to a career in the music biz. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW An encounter with the Beatles changed that. A teenage Osbourne hooked up with local musicians Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Terrance 'Geezer' Butler to found the group Black Sabbath — and heavy metal itself. Pulling equally from the paranormal and the predominant English blues rock sound — new listeners to the band's 1970 debut might be surprised to hear just how much honking harmonica it contains — Sabbath turned the flower power vibes of '60s rock upside down. Peace, love and smiling on one's brother were replaced by doom, gloom and a sinister vibe that (at least in hindsight) offered a more honest appraisal of the nuclear era. They were counter-counterculture. 'Who gave a dog's arse about what people were doing in San Francisco, anyway?' Osbourne wrote in his 2009 memoir 'I Am Ozzy.' 'I hated those hippy-dippy songs, man.' With Ozzy's wailing, urgent lyrics juxtaposed against Iommi and Butler's heavy riffing, Black Sabbath set a new template for rock 'n' roll. They were the fathers of heavy metal, whether they liked it or not (Osbourne himself rejected the term). The form was harder, weightier and altogether darker. It was further honed in the U.K. by bands like Witchfinder General, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and in America by the likes of Metallica, Slayer and Pantera. Ozzy sang (or howled) about the apocalypse, drug abuse and shadowy figures lurking at the edge of the bedside — topics that inspired generations of heavy metal fans and practitioners, and raised the ire of just as many generations of concerned parents and church groups. Osbourne himself would long hold the moniker 'Prince of Darkness,' a nickname he shared with no less than Lucifer himself. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Ozzy was arguably as legendary for his music as the antics surrounding it. A prodigious consumer of alcohol and illegal narcotics, his erratic behaviour drove tension in the group. By 1979, Osbourne was dismissed from Sabbath. Undaunted, he began a lucrative solo career. If Sabbath defined the sound of '70s heavy metal, Osbourne's solo band brought it into the '80s: bleached hair, dive-bomb guitar solos and all. The music made Osbourne a superstar of the MTV era and one of the select few artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, alongside his heroes, the Beatles. Naturally, this new fame bred more controversy. In 1982, Ozzy drew headlines after biting the head off a bat while performing onstage. In '85, he and his label were sued by grieving parents, who claimed their 19-year-old son took his own life after listening to Osbourne's 'Suicide Solution' (a judge ruled that the lyrics were protected speech under the U.S. First Amendment). An appearance in the 1988 documentary 'The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years,' showed a jittery Osbourne, wide-eyed and wiped out, struggling to make breakfast in his kitchen. Ozzy's chemical dependencies would become the stuff of not only heavy metal myth, but pop culture fodder. In 2002, MTV premiered 'The Osbournes,' an early reality-TV hit that followed Ozzy and his family: wife (and manager) Sharon, daughter Kelly and son Jack. (Sharon and Ozzy's eldest daughter refused to participate.) A smash, the show offered a fly-on-the-wall look at the Prince of Darkness's relatively humdrum life. Here was the debauched metal icon who bit the head off a bat struggling with the satellite remote. Even judging by the standards of a debased medium like reality television, 'The Osbournes' seems gallingly exploitative today. His music made Ozzy an icon. The TV show made him a punchline. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Such ignominies did little to diminish Osbourne's reputation in musical circles, however. Ozzy eventually committed to sobriety. For years he had suffered tremors, which were written off as the effects of alcohol abuse. As it turned out, they were likely symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a diagnosis he revealed in 2020. Just a few weeks ago, Black Sabbath reunited for a final show in Birmingham, joined by a cohort of heavy metal and hard rock icons — members of Metallica, Slayer, Judas Priest, the Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Guns N' Roses and more — who paid their respects to the group. It was billed as a final farewell. Now it seems like a living wake. Onstage at Birmingham's Villa Park Stadium, a considerably diminished Osbourne sat in a throne befitting rock 'n' roll royalty, performing several solo songs and numbers with his Sabbath bandmates. He closed the concert — and, as it would turn out, his storied musical career — with 'Paranoid' from Sabbath's 1970 album of the same. Listening to it now, the track is at once urgent and sorrowful, surprising and inevitable. Its final lines ring like a cri de coeur from an artist whose altogether untimely passing is betrayed by the fact that he lived, in his 76 years, the lifetimes of several more men: And so as you hear these words Telling you now of my state I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could, but it's too late
The Province
2 days ago
- The Province
Vancouver creative community reacts to the passing of Ozzy Osbourne
FILE - Ozzy Osbourne, of Black Sabbath, performs at Ozzfest on Sept. 24, 2016, in San Bernardino, Calif. Photo by Amy Harris / Amy Harris/Invision/AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors He was called the Prince of Darkness. But many in the Vancouver creative community think Prince of Kindness was a better nickname for the late Ozzy Osbourne. Drew Pautler, CEO of local ad agency Good Fortune Collective, worked on a Best Buy ad for the 2011 SuperBSuper BowlOzzy and Sharon Osbourne, and a then-rising Canadian pop star named Justin Bieber. The humorous spot juxtaposes Ozzy as the embodiment of old 5G technology and Bieber as the coming future of 6G. The ad featured Sharon, as well. As art director on the set, Pautler said the team was on script number 70 without an approved version with only three weeks before game day. When they finally got approval, two versions of the spot had to be filmed quickly at Warner Brothers Burbank studios, and he expected it to be challenging. Instead, he recalls, it was a shoot for the history books. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Previous celebrity shots had all been similar with stand-standoff-maintenance personalities. But Ozzy was completely different, giving take after take, riffing with us, working hard to give us what we wanted,' Pautler says. 'Yes, you had to talk loudly to him as his hearing wasn't great, but that character you saw on The Osbournes was an act. Instead, you had someone who understood nuance, parody and bringing out the best in the moment. 'I wouldn't call him the Prince of Darkness, as my experience was he was the Prince of Kindness.' Drew Pautler (at far left) with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne on set for a 2011 Super Bowl Best Buy ad. Drew Pautler, Good Fortune Colle Taking that kindness even further, Ozzy invited the whole ad team to come see his show at the Hollywood Bowl the following week where he met them backstage, was engaging and a perfect host. Onstage, he was the heavy metal god. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Working in the creative industry, anyone who has created a new style or genre has made the ultimate accomplishment,' said Pautler. 'He did that with heavy metal. Seeing him perform War Pigs from the side stage was absolutely electric.' Heavy metal rock band Fear Factory performed on Ozzfest four times. Photo by Dario Ayala / The Gazette B.C. resident Johnny Morgan was a keyboardist for Ozzy's opening act Fear Factory at Ozzfest 1997. The American industrial group performed on four different years of the tour, which was key in building its global reputation. The musician noted that Osbourne's music touched a generation. 'Sharon was like a mom to the entire tour, she was very accessible, but ran a very tight ship,' Morgan said in an email. 'Ozzy was not really around much due to his health, which didn't seem great even back then. And he didn't really integrate with the rest of the tour and bands very often. He would get a vitamin B shot before going on each night and just come alive on stage like a totally different person.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Morgan recalled being able to watch Osbourne and Black Sabbath perform at least 20 times during the tour. 'And it was incredible, every night, how many people knew and identified with his music,' Morgan says. The Vancouver band Mystery Machine opened for Ozzy at Rogers Arena in 1996 Toronto Sun Files Chilliwack's Shane Ward was a member of the indie band Mystery Machine. Signed to Nettwerk Records, the group were well-ensconced in the club scene and mining different musical terrain than Ozzy when they were asked, at the last minute, to open for him at Rogers Arena in 1996. Ward recalls opening for Osbourne was a sort of teenage fantasy, and that he never stopped loving the music of Black Sabbath. But the reality of the gig left him with a different vision of the iconic rocker. 'This was before The Osbournes show, so nobody really knew how f—d up he was at the time. But when I saw him after our set it was a very decrepit, hurting old man who only ended up making it through three songs before he called it a night and rescheduled,' said Ward. 'The band determined he was 51, but that night he didn't look a day over 80.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. To this day, whenever anyone ever inquires about Mystery Machine's biggest concert ever, it's an easy answer for the local musician. 'I always say Ozzy, hands down,' he said. Ward offers up the following advice to listeners everywhere when asked the question of what you can listen to after Black Sabbath. 'More Black Sabbath,' he advised. 'Ozzy was bigger than life, an absolutely legendary human.' sderdeyn@ Read More Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Soccer Vancouver Canucks News
