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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lita Ford Remembers Ozzy Osbourne: ‘In Ozzy's Name, Keep Rocking'
'Can you believe I'm in Ozzy's hometown tonight?' It's a quarter to ten, and Lita Ford, 66, is backstage at K.K. Downing's club in Birmingham, zipped into leather, the air thick with anticipation and sweat. Ford is about to deliver what will be the most wrenching live performance of 'Close My Eyes Forever' — her aching 1989 power ballad with Ozzy Osbourne that became Osbourne's first and only Top 10 hit. 'It's going to be really emotional,' she says. 'I didn't tear up until I turned around and looked at the beautiful stage set we have in Ozzy's honor, and everything sort of kicked in. I keep thinking — how did we end up here? How did Ozzy end up passing away? And here we are in Birmingham — Birmingham! — where it all began.' More from Rolling Stone Ozzy Osbourne Documentary 'No Escape From Now' Still Set for Release This Fall Drake Honors Ozzy Osbourne at Birmingham Concert Ozzy Osbourne's Top Ten Beatles Songs That kind of eerie alignment is how the song came into the world in the first place. It was 1987. Ford was 29, figuring out her post-Runaways identity; Osbourne was 39, adrift in addiction. But one wine-soaked night at Record One Studios in Los Angeles, the two rockers went into a cramped room with a keyboard and an amp, and by morning, had written something bruised, delicate, and timeless. Ford spoke to Rolling Stone about that night, what Black Sabbath meant to her, and the Easter dinner that ended with Osbourne holding a carving knife as everyone realized, a bit too late, that this was not a great idea. Tonight feels like a night to remember where we came from, where Ozzy came from, where we all came from, and the music that lives through our souls. I know the audience is going to get pretty choked up when they hear 'Close My Eyes.' Ozzy has been such a huge part of my life in so many ways, starting from when I was just a little girl. I grew up listening to Black Sabbath. I used to walk through the house and play their riffs on guitar. My first concert ever was Black Sabbath in 1972 — I was just a teenager. My parents didn't always like everybody, but they always tolerated Black Sabbath and supported me. My mother would always ask me, 'Oh, Lita, play some Black Sabbath!' So I'd go off and play 'War Pigs' or something, and she loved it. She was a big fan, and both my parents loved Ozzy and Sharon. One time they came over for Easter dinner. Picture this: a small middle-class neighborhood, and they pull up in a limousine. Of course, Ozzy gets out with Sharon, and the neighbors were losing their minds. Sharon comes in and sits down in the middle of my bed — I still lived at home, had been there since before The Runaways days in 1975. She was tiny, had lost a bunch of weight, and she sat cross-legged and looked at me. 'Do you like my belt?' she asked. I said, 'Yeah, it's awesome.' She smiled and said, 'I haven't worn this belt since I was 14.' She felt so good and was so happy. Meanwhile, Ozzy sat in the corner of the living room and chugged a bottle of wine. We gave him a glass, but he put it down, grabbed the bottle, and started to sink slowly into the sofa. After he finished the wine, my father asked if he wanted to carve the Easter lamb — my mother had roasted a leg of lamb. 'Yeah, I'll cut it,' he said. My father handed him the knife, and he got up and started cutting. Somehow it slipped off the table, went off the plate, and ended up underneath the table. My father stood there and laughed his ass off at Ozzy. He thought Ozzy was so entertaining and amusing — and he was. Then Ozzy looks up at my mom and says, 'I don't eat meat.' Ozzy was, by the way, always the best-dressed guy. He always had the best clothes, jewelry, and shoes. Sharon was a big part of that, but he just looked amazing all the time. Sometimes there's money — a lot of money — and looking amazing, and sometimes there's just getting yourself together without so much money. You've got to find those magic things and own them and wear them and be who you are. The night we wrote 'Close My Eyes Forever' came not too long after that. Sharon had come over to the studio to see me with a housewarming gift: a life-size duplicate of Koko, this massive gorilla. After she left, Ozzy stayed at the studio. There was a little room off to the corner of the control room with a keyboard and guitar, so we went in there and started playing. Ozzy started singing, I started playing the guitar parts, and it all came together overnight. By the time we came out of that little room, the sun was up. We were a little high, I have to admit. Sometimes that's what you've got to do — you just have to lose yourself to be creative. I mean, I pick my poison every once in a while when I need an attitude adjustment. Mine is whiskey. I love my whiskey. Artists as creative as Ozzy, who grew up in Black Sabbath, need something to take the edge off. Ozzy enjoyed drinking and doing drugs — he enjoyed it. He also became more creative when he drank and did drugs, though he might pass out afterwards. During the creative process, sometimes you just have to have a little bit of poison to write something like that. These songs are poisonous songs, and I think that's what everybody loves about them. That's why people can relate. That morning, we came out with this great song. I drove home with Koko strapped to the front seat of my Jeep. Ozzy went the opposite direction over Laurel Canyon — we put him in a taxi because I couldn't drive all the way over there and back. When he got home, Sharon was upset with us. She called and gave me a mouthful, and I'm sure Ozzy got one too. She was not happy. But hey, we got a Top 10 hit single out of it, so I'm going to be happy about that. 'Close My Eyes Forever' is something a lot of people play at funerals. A lot of people have love for that song because it's beautiful. In Ozzy's name, keep rocking. Great rock stars never truly die. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
Perth Now
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Halestorm's Lzzy Hale feared Back to Beginning performance invite was fake and didn't reply at first
Halestorm's Lzzy Hale didn't respond to Sharon Osbourne's email inviting the band to perform at Black Sabbath's last-ever concert for two days - because she didn't know if it was "real". The 41-year-old singer is the only woman who has been invited to perform at the star-studded 'Back to the Beginning' event, which will feature Black Sabbath's original line-up, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, as well as performances from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice In Chains, and Lamb Of God among others. Speaking to Audacy Music, Lzzy said: "Dude, so we got this e-mail from [Ozzy's wife and manager] Sharon Osbourne. And I didn't answer it for two days. 'cause I'm, like, 'Is this real?' It's wild. "I've been a Black Sabbath fan since I was 11. The first riff I ever learned a guitar was 'Heaven And Hell' by Black Sabbath. "To be the only woman asked to be there is an honour as well." Several of Lzzy's fellow female singers, including The Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen and Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee, have told her how "proud" they are ahead of her performance at 'Back to the Beginning', which will take place at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5th. She added: "I was talking to my friends, Taylor Momsen and Amy Lee and [In This Moment's] Maria Brink and all of my sisters in this genre, and they're all so proud of me. "And I said, 'Hey, girls, I'm carrying you with me. You're gonna be there in spirit. I'm gonna make you girls so proud.' "And so it's this beautiful event that everyone gets to look forward to. I'm so glad they're doing it." Rage Against The Machine rocker Tom Morello is the musical director of the spectacle, and he has told Lzzy it is "in the works" for her and Disturbed's David Draiman to perform Ozzy and Lita Ford song 'Close My Eyes Forever' at the event. Lzzy and David previously recorded the cover together as a duet. She said: "So, according to Tom Morello, that is in the works, but he said, 'You're gonna have to be patient with the confirmation for that.' "Because of Ozzy's health and everything, we're gonna have to see pretty much on the day how much Ozzy's going to be singing and willing to do. But Halestorm is doing a set. We're also doing a Black Sabbath cover. "And I've been asked to sing in the supergroup with Tom Morello and everybody there."
