Latest news with #OzzyOsborne
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The tragic plane crash that changed Ozzy Osbourne's life: How Black Sabbath singer 'never got over' the death of guitarist pal Randy Rhoads in fireball tragedy that claimed three lives
In the early 1980s Ozzy Osborne's tour of the United States became associated with one of the most shocking incidents in the history of rock and roll. During the era of arena tours bands were associated with outlandish stunts, throwing televisions out of hotel windows and driving cars into atriums and swimming pools. However this incident involved a fatal air crash and nearly killed claimed the lives of Ozzy, his then partner Sharon and the rest of the band. The fireball cut short the life of 25–year–old Randy Rhoads, said to have been a genius in the mould of Eddie Van Halen and Keith Richards. Rhoads, a precocious talent, was hired by Ozzy to join his new band following the Birmingham man's departure from Black Sabbath. But as they set out on the tour bus driven by Andrew Aycock, little did they know the horror that lay ahead. Everything seemed fine until a routine fault developed with the bus's air conditioning system, prompting Andrew to stop at the Flying Baron estates near Orlando in Florida, where he hoped to get the fault fixed. Andrew, who had a pilot's licence, asked band's manager, Jake Duncan and keyboardist Don Airey to join him on a flight in a stolen plane when he decided to buzz the tour bus as a prank to wait anyone who was sleeping. The driver then landed the stolen plane, but decided on a second flight. On this journey he was joined by Rhoads, who boarded the Beech F35 despite a fear of flying. Rachel Youngblood, a makeup artist and hairdresser, also boarded the plane. Airey, the sole witness to the incident, said that he saw the Beachcraft approaching the tour bus at a very low altitude. At this point Don became concerned that the plane might hit him, so he threw himself to the ground. One of the craft's wings then clipped the bus, at which point it flipped over and collided with a colonial era mansion. The pilot and two passengers all died in the ensuing fireball, and had to be identified through dental records and jewellery they were wearing. A report in the New York Times read:'The lead guitarist of the rock group headed by Ozzy Osbourne was killed today, along with two other persons, when a plane in which they were buzzing a mansion struck a van and crashed into the house, the authorities said. 'Randall Rhodes, 25 years old, the guitarist; Andrew Aycock, 36, identified as the pilot, and Rachel Youngblood, 58, were killed in the crash, Deputy Sheriff Mike Smalt of Lake County said. 'Mr. Osbourne, known for such outrageous stage antics as biting off the head of a live bat, was in the van when one of the plane's wings clipped it but escaped injury, the deputy sheriff said. 'Several other members of the group were in the two–story colonial house, but fled before it was destroyed by flaming gasoline. 'The group was staying at the mansion before a concert appearance that was to be held today in Leesburg but fled before it was destroyed by flaming gasoline. 'The group was staying at the mansion before a concert appearance that was to be held today in Leesburg.' Speaking to Rolling Stone about the crash which claimed three lives, Ozzy said: 'To this day, as I'm talking to you now, I'm back in that field looking at this f***** plane wreck and a house on fire.' 'You never get over something like that. You're in shock.' Ozzy wanted to abandon the tour, but Sharon is said to have reminded of him of the age old dictum that the 'show must go on' The tour did continue, only for a second incident which nearly claimed Sharon's life at New York's Madison Square Garden. A fan threw a firework on stage, which bounded around and then hit Sharon on the neck and then exploded, leaving her on the floor in a pool of blood. At this point the lights went on and Ozzy had to perform. Bernie Tormé, who was drafted in to replace Rhoads, recounted the incident to Rolling Stone. Mr Tormé, who once played with Deep Purple, said: 'Someone in the audience chucks a firework or something, which does the impossible and bounces under the [scrim] and hits Sharon in the neck, where it explodes — boom — right in front of me. She goes down like a rag doll — blood everywhere — two crew guys run out and pick her up and she's gone. 'There was just a pool of blood left. I seriously thought she was dead. But the thing was, I was the only one in the band who could see any of this happening. 'No one in the band knows about what happened, and there's no chance to tell Ozzy. It's not like a Rolling Stones gig where Keith can stroll up to Mick and say, "Hey, man, I think your old lady's taken incoming." 'I was more than a bit distracted for the first half of the show until one of the crew signaled to me that she was OK.' A subsequent report by the National Transportation Safety Board later found that the aircrash which claimed three lives was due to 'pilot error'. The board deemed the plane to have been 'stolen' by Aycock in that he did not have permission to fly it. The report read: 'The pilot, who was a rock group driver, took an aircraft from the hangar without permission to joy ride members of the group. 'During the second flight the aircraft wing hit the bus during one of several low passes over the area. The aircraft then hit a tree and a residence. A post crash fire occurred. The pilot's last medical certificate was dated 11/16/79.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
This Handwriting Change May Be An Early Sign Of Parkinson's
Parkinson's disease, the condition Ozzy Osborne was diagnosed with roughly five years before his death, affects about 153,000 people in the UK at the moment. It is a progressive neurological disease. While there is no single, outright cure for it yet, the NHS says therapies like medication and physiotherapy can minimise its symptoms for many. But sadly, the condition is often misdiagnosed, even though early diagnosis can be very beneficial. That's why organisations like Parkinson's UK champion better, earlier diagnoses, and hope one day for a single test that can accurately spot the disease as soon as possible. In the meantime, however, they've shared early signs of the condition; one of which involves changes to your handwriting. How is handwriting linked to Parkinson's? Parkinson's UK says that noticing smaller handwriting over time is one potential early sign. This is called micrographia, and could affect as many as 50-60% of people living with Parkinson's, though the numbers are not settled. 'You may notice the way you write words on a page has changed, such as letter sizes are smaller and the words are crowded together,' the charity shared. A 2022 paper suggested that the handwriting change may precede other motor symptoms of Parkinson's, like tremors. Parkinson's is not the only cause of handwriting changes – it's been linked to other neurological changes, while Parkinson's UK says 'writing can change as you get older, if you have stiff hands or fingers or poor vision' – but it may be worth seeing your doctor about it, especially if it comes with other symptoms. What are the other early symptoms of Parkinson's? According to Parkinson's UK, having a single early symptom doesn't mean you've got the disorder. But 'if you have more than one sign, you should consider making an appointment to talk to your doctor,' they wrote. Aside from micographia, the other possible symptoms they listed were: Tremors. Shaking in your finger, thumb, hand, or chin while at rest is a common early symptom. Loss of smell, especially for strongly-scented foods like bananas, liquorice, and gherkins. Moving a lot in your sleep, especially if you start acting out your dreams or thrashing around a lot. Trouble with movement or walking. You might find your arms don't swing as much as they used to when you walk, that your limbs or stiff, that your shoulders of hips feel tight, or that your feet feel 'stuck to the floor.' Constipation. This can be normal, but it can persist with Parkinson's. Developing a soft, low voice that others might describe as hoarse or breathy and which might sound quieter than usual. 'Facial masking,′ or a sad or angry expression on your face that happens regardless of your mood. Dizziness or fainting, for instance, when getting up out of a chair – this can be linked to low blood pressure, which is associated with Parkinson's. Stooping or hunching over, especially if this is new for you. Related... 'Super Smeller' Inspires Test To Spot Parkinson's 7 Years Before Diagnosis Gut Health Discovery Could Help Future Parkinson's Diagnoses Parkinson's Cases Are Set To Double By 2050. Here Are 5 Early Signs To Watch For
Irish Examiner
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Volvo EX40 Black Edition review: bold design but falls short on the open road
THEY were never really my cup of tea, the Sabs — all trouser-shredding riffs, which was great, but the idiot savant vibe from Ozzy Osborne was never a schtick I could swallow, and the suggestions that axe-meister Tony Iommi's genius was up there with Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven always rang a little hollow. Of course, Birmingham's favourite sons went out in a blaze of glory a couple of weeks back, headlining a heavy metal fest at Villa Park, just around the corner from where they all grew up in the Aston suburb. It was their last ever gig and the crowds turned out in their multitudes to send them off; they came from every corner of the globe to pay homage, even if Ozzy had to sing from a throne-like chair for most of it due to ongoing health issues. Fair play to them, I thought, as I read the reviews of the Brummie extravaganza, but still of the opinion that they were never really my type of band. Rock 'n' roll has had its low points, for sure, but I always felt that anyone who can get arrested for piddling up against the wall of the Alamo, left a bit of a (sic) low water mark even for the heavy metal brigade. Oddly, all this came to mind when I was in possession of Volvo's new EX40 Black Edition and while the only real comparison between Black Sabbath and the Swedish outfit was the density of the metal they utilise, it seemed like a strangely fitting appraisal. Unlike bassist Geezer Butler posing in earlier publicity shots in ill-fitting leather pants, this 'Black' actually looks like a ticket into a groupie's affections. It looks meaner than Sharon's old man, a Midlands impresario who once (allegedly) dangled fellow manager Robert Stigwood out of a fourth-floor window for territorial infringement. Drop dead (no pun intended) good looks don't necessarily make for a good end product and sadly that's one of the two stools which this car falls between. This car is a central element of Volvo's thus far unimpressive EV push, but it's not really at the races by comparison with the opposition. Nailed on drop-dead appearances hide a few dynamic flaws. Around town it is almost angelic — smooth as an Iommi solo — but get it onto the highways and byways and the tune falls away quicker than the solo album sales figures. Volvo's spacious interior If the exterior is Scandi-goth, the inside is much more laid back, a bit like a backstage green room with a pleasant guy running the bar. It's familiar, homely, and you can work the stereo and have a Birmingham Back Forty on tap. As a Deep Purple fan back in the day, the Sabs always seemed uncouth and, well, from Birmingham, though in fairness, the city did also produce the mighty Jeff Lynne and his Electric Light Orchestra. No, back then, Purple were always my band, with the twin driving forces of Jon Lord's Hammond B-3 keys and Richie Blackmore's searing fretwork on his mighty Fender Strat. Highway Star — from the essential Machine Head album — was (and is) a driving song sans pareil with both Lord and Blackmore excelling on duelling solos, but sadly for the EX40, it would probably never fit the template for the 'wild hurricane' of the tune. Certainly, it does have a menacing effect on other motorists who, upon seeing it in their rearview mirror, quickly skedaddle out of its way and then wonder why it's not belching flame in their direction or chopping their Micra into bite-size pieces like something out of Mad Max. The malevolence of the look is a bit out of place in terms of what it's actually capable of. There is 249bhp on tap from the rear-wheel drive, single motor extended range version we tried, and this produces a brisk 7.3 second 0-100 km/h time and a top speed of 180 km/h. But this is not a beast of the B-road. It's a Volvo and therefore it is safe, predictable, and honest. Around town it is a sweetheart — lovely to whizz around in and comfortable to a fault. Point it at a corner out on the open road though, and it deserts any dynamic pretences quicker than Ozzy might bite the head off a dove. The Volvo EX40 Sadly — and unlike both the EX30 and the EX90 — the EX40 is largely bereft of open road composure and while the ride is solid, the handling is far from being nailed on. Given that Volvo's other two pure electrics are so good in this regard, it is something of a mystery as to why this one isn't. It felt to me that maybe they got the weight distribution askew because the car did not feel balanced when pressed on — a bit like the Oz these days, bless 'im. The official range of the car is 520-575km and you might get close to that tootling around town, but it's more like 450 when you get on its case. In comparison with the latest electrics, that's only OK and when you see what coming down the tracks (the new BMW iX3), technologically it looks olde worlde. It is the case that the Black Edition is only a specification level, albeit a rather chic one and while it looks great (even if it too is a tad old school in terms of the interior decor and tech), the sum of its parts is a bit like a two-chord Status Quo number — good tune, but nothing musically challenging or new. On looks alone, many people will fall instantly in love with the car and provided they're not expecting that look to provide any great excitement while driving it, they will be well pleased with themselves — and rightly so. Like rock 'n' roll, image can take you a long way in the motoring game, but that one factor alone is very unlikely to sustain a lengthy career. To do that, you gotta come up with the tunes, man. And like 'em or not, that's exactly what the Sabs did. Paranoid, The Age of Reason, Snowblind — you name it, they pretty much nailed it. With the EX40, however, Volvo has a touch of Wheels of Confusion rather than anything else. Read More Cupra Terramar VZ review: A sleek hybrid SUV ready to rival the Tiguan and RAV4
Buzz Feed
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
73 Dumb Things People's Partners Said
We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the dumbest things that their partner said. Here are their hysterical (and concerning) responses: "My boyfriend asked me if they speak British in Britain." "He thought an egg came out when someone finished their period. Like…a chicken egg." "They thought turtles took off their shells to 'make love.' Five years strong 💪." "She ran the dishwasher without putting in any soap." "We were talking about dinosaurs and he was shocked to hear they were real. Then he proceeded to ask me if they really breathed fire. He thought dinosaurs and dragons were the same thing." "When he missed his daily medication, he threw it out instead of just saving it for the next day." "She preheated the microwave." "They called it the 'Specific Ocean.'" "When he said he'd make pancakes and then put the dry powder directly in the hot pan." "She refused to pay taxes, have a bank account, or pay for public transit. She told me, 'I change my name every few years so they can't find me.' Like, she'd go to the government and change her name. Legally. So the government couldn't find her.'" "My wife would bring stuff home that said 'refrigerate after opening,' open it, and put it in the refrigerator." "She didn't know that yogurt and pudding were not the same thing. She thought it was like how the British call fries 'chips'. She had been eating pudding and granola for breakfast for months and congratulating herself for being so healthy." "She didn't understand that you actually have to pay what you spent on credit cards. Like the credit amount she had was supposed to be her monthly limit that just resets each month." "My ex asked me, 'Where does the sun go at night?' I was dumbfounded. She was in her early 20s at the time." "We live in central Alabama. She told me that she and her best friend were going to Birmingham for the weekend. I didn't think anything of it; there's lots of shopping and things to do in Birmingham. She came over that Sunday night to tell me how disappointed she was with the trip. They had driven through all of the wealthier neighborhoods in Birmingham, Alabama, for two days trying to find a house that matched the gates to Ozzy Osborne's house and never found it. He lives in Birmingham, England." "I had a partner who stacked putting them in the dishwasher." "She walked into a computer lab on campus and simply picked up a computer and walked home with it. She was living with me at the time, so I get home to find a very familiar-looking computer sitting on the kitchen table. She literally thought the computers were free for students. It took a bit of explaining to convince her that she stole the computer. I made her return the computer to the lab that night; she left it at the doorstep." "He thought you absorb a gallon of water when you shower. So he didn't need to drink water." "The doctor said my now ex-wife's test returned positive she asked, 'Does that mean I'm not pregnant?' I knew at that moment I was in for a long ride." "We were doing a 'fun fact about me' icebreaker in a group and his was 'I've never read a book.'" "When my ex asked me where they grew spaghetti." "I knew after her third 'business opportunity' turned out to be another pyramid scheme." "When she told me she was a flat earther person." "She didn't want to watch the first Avatar movie until her uncle told her that it was based on a true story. I asked her if she meant that it was a futuristic version of Pocahontas…but no, she thought that it was somehow based on a true story." "She asked me if I could name all 52 US states." "An ex once asked, in all sincerity, 'Do people who speak other languages think in English? All my thoughts are in English and I assume we all think the same way.' We were 22 years old." "I once asked my ex to start boiling the potatoes for dinner about 20 minutes before I got home so that they would be close to ready for me to mash up as the side for dinner. I got home right as he put them in the water. He had to call his dad to ask how to boil potatoes." "My now husband, when we were first dating, told me that he believed that all plants could be classified as either a fruit or a vegetable. After we were married he told me he thought platypuses were the size of golden retrievers." "I introduced him to my stepsister. He said, 'Weird. You guys look nothing alike.'' "She said playing basketball makes you taller. Her proof was all the tall people playing basketball." "After homecoming in high school, we went for pizza. She wanted to try a vegetarian diet and as we were selecting toppings she asked me, 'Is there meat in mushrooms?'" "My ex would only drink whole milk because when he saw 2% milk he thought, What's the other 98%? He thought he was a genius." "When I found out my ex didn't know what order the months go in. When I asked him to learn he got mad, said no, and that it wasn't something he was interested in." "She thought people dug potholes during the night to force you to buy new tires." "They were curious about the amount of fat in water." "I once briefly dated a guy who thought sweetened coffee had zero calories because 'the sugar has dissolved, so it's not there.'" "I have an ex who was a Marine and absolutely studied military history. He thought that Lincoln was our second president after Washington. It absolutely hurt my brain." "I live near the border of Wisconsin and Illinois, and there's a town nearby called Woodstock. My boyfriend was absolutely convinced that it was the famous Woodstock and wondered where they held the big-ass festival in the town. When I pointed out that Woodstock the festival was not affiliated with Woodstock the Illinois town, he didn't believe me." "My ex thought that the Underground Railroad had to do with trains and he used to live in the same area that Harriet Tubman was from." "My ex-husband didn't know you had to have a checking account, with money in it, and a credit or debit card to withdraw money from an ATM. He also pronounced ATM like 'Adam.'" "I went to the opera with a guy. After it ended and the house lights turned on, he said, loud enough for others to hear, 'I like how they did that with so little dialogue!' He was not trying to be funny." "When I asked my ex if he had a vaporizer to smoke weed with, he said yes, and this man proceeded to pull out a HUMIDIFIER! He thought you could just put the weed in the basin where the water would go." "My first serious boyfriend was 26 when he found out his blinds weren't 'fox' wood... they were faux wood blinds. I had to explain to him that it was French." "I once told a guy I was dating he needed more humility, and he literally responded with 'Why would I want to be humiliated?'" "I once knew a person who, one day, told me that she had learned something new: the president of the United States is not the president of everything. Other places, like England, Australia, and China, have their own president. She was kind of excited about learning this." "I once dated someone who would not accept that people are animals. She kept saying, 'We're people! Not animals! How can we be both?!' She couldn't understand how we could possibly fall into more than one category." "He told me that Adam and Eve were historical figures and dinosaurs were a myth." "I once dated someone who pronounced the 'T' in buffet when referring to the type of restaurant." "An ex of mine was having body odor issues, so one day I brought it up in the nicest way possible by asking him what his favorite deodorant brand was. His reply? 'Men don't wear deodorant, only women do.'" "My ex, when I told him I had a meeting with the Dean of Liberal Arts, said, 'Why isn't there a Dean of Conservative things, too? This is why Republicans say they hate colleges! Y'all could fix politics so fast.'" "Doctor asked him, 'How did you get food poisoning twice from the same dish?' He said, 'Hey doc, whatever doesn't off ya only makes you stronger.' The doctor replied, 'No, it actually makes you incredibly sick.'" "I was in a fight with my now ex-boyfriend, and at one point in the argument, I said, 'Do you need me to reiterate!?' to which he replied, 'NO! I want you to repeat yourself!!!' I then yelled back, 'What do you think REITERATE MEANS?!' I've never heard such a humiliating silence in my life. It was glorious." "She thought that rust was one of the chemical elements. You know like: oxygen, neon, silver, uranium, rust." "I sometimes wonder what my grandfather thought the first time his wife told him that dogs attract lightning." "I dated a girl in high school, and she was generally very bright. We were at the mall one day, looking at one of those big maps of the mall directory. She asked me how the map knew where we were standing. Dumbfounded, I asked her to clarify. She pointed at the point at the star on the map that said 'You are here,' and asked how the map knew. I explained that the map was where we were standing, and we are reading it. After 10 minutes of trying to explain, she still didn't get it." "My best friend had a boyfriend one time that refused to drink water because it said it was unhealthy and caused cancer. His solution was that he only drank soda or diet soda. All day every day." "My ex broke several coffee cups trying to reheat her coffee on the electric stovetop. We had a microwave. Why she tried to use the stove, I don't know. Why she continued to try it after the first one broke, I don't know. She had a master's degree. I finally bought her a plug-in coffee cup warmer, and she loved it." "He thought cutting the umbilical cord determined penis length. He legit thought it was the doctor's fault for cutting it 'too short' if a man had a smaller penis and didn't realize the cord was what caused people to have belly buttons. He didn't think girls had an umbilical cord to cut at all when they were born." "I dumped a guy because he didn't know what color red and yellow make when mixed together. It was a question on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? When I asked him to just take a wild guess, he goes 'I don't know, purple?' That's when I knew we were done." "I had to teach my ex how to locate a book in a library. We were both college graduates." "My ex asked me, 'What kind of animal is Mickey Mouse?' I just kept saying back, 'Say that again…slower.'" "After homecoming in high school, we went for pizza. She wanted to try a vegetarian diet, and as we were selecting toppings, she asked me, 'Is there meat in mushrooms?'" "She said playing basketball makes you taller. Her proof was all the tall people playing basketball." "When we were first married, my ex wanted to cook dinner by himself so I gave him an easy recipe to follow and made sure he had all of the ingredients. He had me come look at it because he said it looked too dry. For one of the ingredients, he'd read 'two and a half cups' as 'two half cups.'" "When my ex asked me where they grew spaghetti." "She asked me if I could name all 52 US states." "My husband's ex once said that Cinco de Mayo was on the 5th this year." "When I was newly engaged, I introduced my then-fiancé to my mother. Well, of course, the subject of his family came up, and he revealed he was Puerto Rican. With a straight face, my mom asked him, 'What part of Mexico is that?'" "I dated a guy who thought if he jumped from an airplane without a parachute, he would survive. He said he knew how to land on his feet. He was dead serious." "My husband and I rented a convertible while on vacation in Hawaii. He was in a hurry, but I told him we had to wait a little while because I had to put sunscreen on the kids. He said not to bother because once in the car, we would be moving." "My husband pronounces the S in Illinois." "My 49-year-old husband has complained multiple times about pain he was having in his 'rotary cup.' He's essentially a borderline bodybuilder, he should know it's actually a 'rotator cuff.'" And finally, "My husband had a student once who told him she couldn't come to class because she had given blood, and it just wasn't working out for her, so she was going to go and get it back." What's the dumbest thing you've ever heard your partner say? Tell us in the comments or use the anonymous form below.
