Latest news with #TheEndTour
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
‘Founding father' enormous in establishment of heavy metal
Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath perform during their The End Tour, at Forsyth Barr Stadium, in 2016. Photos: supplied From urinating on a historic national monument while wearing a dress, to biting the head off a bat and snorting a line of live ants through a straw, Ozzy Osbourne was famous for his infamy. The Black Sabbath frontman died yesterday, aged 76, and fans around the globe paid tribute to the "Lovable Prince of Darkness". Major fan and University of Otago music production senior professional practice fellow Hugh Harlow described Osbourne as "one of the founding fathers" of heavy metal. Mr Harlow said he had spent the past 27 years working as a sound engineer in recording studios and live productions with heavy metal bands in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. He said Osbourne and Black Sabbath's influence on the heavy metal genre was "enormous". "Many people would claim that he and the other members of the band essentially established the genre of heavy metal. "There were other acts around the same time in the late 1960s, that you can also point to as being quite influential as the originators of heavy metal, but Black Sabbath really combined all of the elements that became central to the genre from that point on." When they released their second album, Paranoid, the band had started to "lean into their innovations", he said. "Guitarist Tony Iommi down-tuned his guitars, largely because of his plastic fingers. "He lost the tips of his fingers in an industrial accident in Birmingham when he was 17, and found it easier to play guitars when all the strings had been tuned down. "It made the strings slacker and easier to play. And that is now a staple of heavy metal. "It also led to a darker sound that people embraced. It matched the lyrics about magic and Satan and all that stuff." Mr Harlow said the band came from Birmingham, which at the time was very industrial, grim, and people had few aspirations. "They harnessed a lot of that industrial depression, doom and desperation. University of Otago music production senior professional practice fellow Hugh Harlow describes Osbourne as "one of the founding fathers" of heavy metal. "They were anti-establishment and quite transgressive against societal norms." He said Osbourne's on-stage and off-stage antics — like biting the head off a bat during a 1982 concert in Des Moines, Iowa — also threw him and the band into heavy metal folklore. "It's one of those things that really made him stand out as a performer. "It was the combination of all those things that they pulled together, that really led to this thing called heavy metal." Mr Harlow believed the world was lucky to have been able to farewell Osbourne at a recent Black Sabbath tribute concert, where he and the band performed with some of the largest rock and metal bands from around the globe. During his appearances on The Osbournes reality TV show, many people saw a man who was suffering the effects of "certain overindulgences" earlier in his career. "But the thing I found really fascinating was that even when he clearly was confronting certain issues, as soon as he stepped on stage, that all melted away. "The contrast between that image of what we saw on television, of a shuffling, slightly confused older man, was really contrasted with an energetic and focused performance. "Music was really a big part of him." The event culminated with Osbourne performing Mama, I'm Coming Home, which was from his solo career. "Arguably, it was one of the most emotional and touching performances I've ever seen come from Ozzy and from Black Sabbath. "I don't know whether he was necessarily aware that he was going to die, but certainly, that performance felt like a genuine farewell. "Ozzy and the band really paved the way for other heavy metal bands. "So we have lost one of the founding fathers of heavy metal."
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rock band backs out of legendary metal group's farewell concert
Wolfgang Van Halen said his rock band Mammoth was forced to back out Black Sabbath's historic farewell concert. Van Halen, the son of the late Eddie Van Halen, was originally scheduled to perform at Back to the Beginning — Ozzy Osbourne's final concert scheduled for July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. However, Mammoth (also known as Mammoth WVH) had to pull out because of a scheduling issue. 'I, unfortunately, had to back out because the Creed tour starts the day after, and I [wouldn't] be able to pull it off — unfortunately," Van Halen told Detroit radio station 101 WRIF. 'I'm very excited to watch it, but I unfortunately had to back out.' Read More: Band removed from legendary metal group's farewell concert Mammoth is traveling with Creed on the band's 'Return of the Summer of '99″ tour, which kicks off July 9. The tour includes a July 22 show at Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut. It's unclear what Van Halen meant by 'day after,' as Mammoth is not scheduled to perform July 6, but he may have been referring to tour rehearsals or time needed to get equipment in place for the U.S. tour with Creed. Back to the Beginning will mark Osbourne's final performance both on his own and with Black Sabbath. The 'Prince of Darkness' will be joined by his bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time in two decades. Black Sabbath's last show was during the band's 'The End Tour' in Birmingham, England in 2017. Tickets for Back to the Beginning sold out quickly, but fans can now purchase tickets to stream the concert online. Proceeds from the show will benefit the charities Cure Parkinson's, the Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. Read More: For rock legend who can't walk, farewell show may be true farewell Other performers include Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and Rival Sons. The event will also feature performances from Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), David Draiman (Disturbed), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Sleep Token II (Sleep Token), Papa V Perpetua (Ghost) Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and Zakk Wylde. Iconic '80s singer cancels show last minute as travel-weary band 'can barely see' Country music star 'doing much better' after having stroke on stage Country music star falls off stage with beer in hand, keeps on singing Legendary punk singer halts show, confronts fan, saying 'I'll beat your ass' 'Nothing sadder': Country singer asks fans to pray for his 4-year-old daughter Read the original article on MassLive.
Metro
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Ozzy Osbourne back with Black Sabbath in rehearsals for epic farewell show
Nearly two decades after last performing together, the members of Black Sabbath have reunited ahead of their final ever show. Formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler, the heavy metal band has sold over 70 million records, won two Grammys and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Although the line-up has faced many changes over the years, in 2005 the original members came back together. There was also a farewell tour in their home city in 2017, but Bill was absent. However next month they will perform together for one last time. Back to the Beginning will be held at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5, the final concert for both the band's original line-up and Ozzy, 76, who has been battling ill health in recent years. A week out from the anticipated event, overnight the band's official social media pages shared a photo of Ozzy with Bill and Geezer. 'Rehearsals are underway for Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow,' the post was captioned. Sitting on a couch, the trio smile for the camera, with Ozzy also seen holding a walking stick. Although Tony wasn't seen, some fans speculated he might have been the one taking the snap. Many others were also excited to see Bill, who didn't take part in the 2017 The End Tour. 'Omg Bill!!! This photo makes me happy,' user planet27 records shared. 'Wow…killing photo…hitting my soul now!' Juan shared. 'This is the most Rock N Roll thing I've ever seen! Sabbath for life,' cardinaleyezofapsycho added. The anticipated show will mark the first time in almost 20 years the original band have performed all together. Meanwhile, Ozzy hasn't played a full gig since 2018, and has faced numerous health problems since then, including being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. A few weeks ago, Tony admitted he was unsure about how the show would play out. 'This would be a big, monumental thing if it all comes good. The worrying thing for me is the unknown,' he told Music Week. 'We don't know what's going to happen. Normally, when we'd tour, we'd rehearse and run through the thing for a while, and it's just us. But with this event there are so many other moving parts. 'You're used to Ozzy running around, but he certainly won't be doing that for this show. I don't know if he's going to be standing or sitting on a throne or what.' Ozzy had also been due to play a European tour in 2019, but it was rescheduled three times before officially being cancelled in February 2023. However, he has performed a handful of times in recent years, including at the Commonwealth Games in August 2022 and the NFL halftime show the following month. Although he revealed earlier this year he now 'can't walk', his wife Sharon said his illness 'doesn't affect his voice'. He also previously reassured fans he was in 'heavy training' for the show but also wouldn't be pushing his body too much. 'I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable,' he told NME. Meanwhile, Sharon said the show would give him a chance to 'say thank you to everybody' who had supported him, and that the musician was 'very emotional' in the lead-up to the final Black Sabbath show. More Trending The Back to the Beginning concert, which is already sold out, will also feature performances from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tool and Slayer. It will be raising funds for Cure Parkinsons, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorns Children's Hospice. For those fans who can't attend, it will be made available online through a livestream. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: X Factor legend breaks down in tears after being forced to cancel string of shows MORE: 90s pop icons missed out on Glastonbury legends slot for devastating reason MORE: Heartbreaking reason Glastonbury nearly ended in the late 90s
Irish Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘I don't want to die in a hotel room somewhere': Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath on reconciling for their final gig
On a video call from his home in Los Angeles, Ozzy Osbourne is struggling to recall the exact details of recent years, ones he calls 'the worst of my life'. 'How many surgeries have I had?' he wonders aloud. 'I've got more f**king metal in me than a scrap merchants.' The trouble began in earnest in early 2019, when he was midway through what his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne had firmly told him was his farewell tour. For one thing, both of them had been working constantly since their teens; for another, Ozzy had been diagnosed with a form of Parkinson's disease , after years of insisting an intermittent numbness in one of his legs was the result of a drinking binge (or rather its aftermath, during which he says he didn't move for two days). The tour was going well, but then he caught pneumonia, twice. 'And then I had an infection. I'm still on antibiotics to be honest with you, I had a thing put in the vein in my arm to feed in IV shots of them.' Six years later, 'I've still got it on – it comes out this week, with a bit of luck. Antibiotics knock the hell out of you.' The European dates of the tour were postponed to give him time to recover. Then, in February 2019, 'I went to the bathroom in the night, I didn't put the light on. I thought I knew where the bed was. I was stupid, I dived and there weren't a bed there. I landed straight on my face. I felt my neck go crunch. I went: 'Sharon! Call an ambulance!' She said, 'Where the hell are you? Get into bed!' I said: 'Sharon, don't ask questions.' I thought I was going to be paralysed.' The fall had 'pushed out of whack' existing damage to his neck vertebrae from a 2003 quad bike crash . In intensive care, he was told that if he didn't have an operation, he would be left paraplegic, but the operation itself was, Ozzy says, 'the worst f**king surgery you can imagine. I should have got a second opinion, but you think surgeons know what the f**k they're doing.' READ MORE Two metal plates were put in either side of his spine, but the screws became loose, creating bone fragments and lesions. 'They haven't figured out the damage, it's so intricate,' Sharon says. Another surgeon was found, who slowly removed all the metal. 'Five operations later, it just f**ked his body. It was torturous for him: Parkinson's and damage to his spine. It's just been horrendous.' Ozzy Osbourne onstage during Black Sabbath's 'The End Tour' in August 2016. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images Incredibly, Ozzy continued to work. He released two acclaimed albums, 2020's Ordinary Man and 2022's Patient Number 9; guested alongside Travis Scott on Post Malone's multi-platinum single Take What You Want; and managed to make an appearance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Birmingham, performing Paranoid alongside his Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi , with a bracket supporting his back. More incredible still, he says he did it all without the aid of pain medication. 'Not anything,' Ozzy says. 'And I could have gone ballistic on the medical cabinet. I've been on that road before – I used to take painkillers recreationally, they're very addictive. I'd whack my arm with a f**king lump of wood to get a bottle of them. I mean, there's so many bent doctors over here [in LA], and I was their best friend.' Nevertheless, he says, he was horribly depressed after his surgery: at his lowest, he was in so much discomfort that he prayed to die in his sleep. 'You wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong. You begin to think this is never going to end. Sharon could see that I was in Doom Town, and she says to me, 'I've got an idea.' It was something to give me a reason to get up in the morning.' He laughs. 'I thought: oh, f**king hell, she's got an idea. Here we go.' Sharon's idea was to stage a farewell show, for charity, in Ozzy's hometown of Birmingham, featuring not just a reformation of the original line-up of Black Sabbath, but a litany of artists they influenced. It says something about the respect the band are held in, about the sheer length of the shadow Sabbath cast over hard rock that, as Ozzy characteristically puts it, 'everyone and their f**king mate started jumping on board'. Ozzy Osbourne performing during the closing ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images The line-up for the gig is genuinely extraordinary: Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Mastodon, Tool; members of Judas Priest, Limp Bizkit, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeth, Van Halen, Ghost and Faith No More. Moreover, the bill appears to be growing all the time: when I speak to Sharon, she informs me that Soundgarden and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler are the latest additions. The show's musical director, Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello, says, 'There's some pretty great surprises that are not posted anywhere.' It's hard to argue with Morello's assessment that the gig, called Back to the Beginning, might represent 'the greatest day in the history of heavy metal'. Equally, it seems fraught with potential issues. [ Ozzy Osbourne to reunite with original Black Sabbath for final performance in Birmingham Opens in new window ] [ Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi: 'I've been on the road 50 years - I have to live what life I've got' Opens in new window ] First of all, it involved reconvening the four original members of Black Sabbath. The quartet formed in 1968. It's almost impossible to overstate the impact of the music they made between then and Ozzy Osbourne's initial departure from the band in 1979: there's a chance metal, grunge and the rest might have come into existence without their cocktail of sludgy downtuned riffs, overpowering volume and bleak lyrics delivered in Osbourne's despairing wail – the sound, as Morello puts it, of 'the no-hope working class driving a stake through the heart of the flower power generation' – but it's very difficult to picture what it might have sounded like. 'The Beatles were my thing, they were everything to me,' Ozzy says when the subject of Sabbath's influence comes up. 'When I met Paul McCartney it was like seeing God. I was telling a guy about it one day. His kid was with him, and he said to me, 'You know what you said to that guy about meeting Paul McCartney? That's what I felt like when I met you.' I was like, 'You what?' You never think about it.' He describes the frequently turbulent relationship between the band's four original members as 'like a marriage: you have a row with the wife, but then you make up again'. Certainly, said marriage appears to have been going through a particularly rocky patch since the four last played together, 20 years ago. Ozzy says part of the appeal of a final reunion was the involvement of drummer Bill Ward, who had declined to take part in Black Sabbath's last album, 2013's 13, or the ensuing farewell tour. Depending on whose story you believe, Ward was either unfit to perform live, or unable to secure a proper contract: either way, a public slanging match ensued. Meanwhile, bassist Geezer Butler – who had been openly critical of what he calls 'the politics behind the making' of 13 – says he 'hadn't spoken to Ozzy since the last Sabbath show in 2017, mainly because his wife and my wife had fallen out over God knows what'. Sabbath's enmities were apparently remedied with a series of phone calls and texts. Ward and Ozzy were already back in touch – the pair reconnected when Ozzy fell ill – while Ozzy thinks 'religious' Aston Villa fan Butler might have been swayed by the fact the gig is taking place at Villa Park – 'My first thought was: that'll make Geezer f**king happier.' Iommi says he was the member who took the most convincing. 'I'm the one that said, 'I don't know if we should do it', because we did a farewell tour and I didn't want to get into that thing like all the other bands are doing, saying it's the last tour and then reappearing again. But I've been convinced, because we're doing it for a reason.' The gig will raise money for Parkinson's and children's charities: 'No one's getting paid or anything.' But even with the other members of Sabbath on board, questions loomed – and still loom – over the state of Ozzy's health. Certainly, none of the members of Black Sabbath seem to know what form their performance is going to take ('I think Ozzy might be on some kind of throne,' offers Iommi, 'but I'm in the dark as much as anybody else'), and it's hard to miss a certain trepidation on their part. 'I'm already having palpitations,' says Butler. 'In fact, I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed everything went wrong on stage and we all turned to dust. It's important that we leave a great impression, since it's the final time that people will experience us live. So it has to be great on the night.' When I speak to Morello, he's bullish: 'Sharon and Ozzy were like, 'You're gonna have Black Sabbath'. And that felt good.' Others are less certain. The day I interview Ozzy, one artist on the bill, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, seems to cast doubt on the whole enterprise: 'I'm cautious about saying, 'Yeah, all in, he's gonna do it.' Because man, I don't know what kind of modern miracles we'll come up with to get him on stage to do the songs ... I'm kinda preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.' Ozzy is at pains to point out that he isn't going to be performing a full set. 'We're only playing a couple of songs each. I don't want people thinking, 'We're getting ripped off', because it's just going to be ... what's the word? ... a sample, you're going to get a few songs each by Ozzy and Sabbath.' He says he's in training. 'I do weights, bike riding, I've got a guy living at my house who's working with me. It's tough – I've been laid up for such a long time. I've been lying on my back doing nothing and the first thing to go is your strength. It's like starting all over again. I've got a vocal coach coming round four days a week to keep my voice going. I have problems walking. I also get blood pressure issues, from blood clots on my legs. I'm used to doing two hours on stage, jumping and running around. I don't think I'll be doing much jumping or running around this time. I may be sitting down, but the point is I'll be there, and I'll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.' Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne in 2018. Photograph: PA If it works, it will be a remarkable victory against the odds, and as every member of Black Sabbath points out, that would be entirely in keeping with their career. No one thought they were going to make it, not even Ward, who legendarily had the eureka moment that shaped the band: why not try to come up with a musical equivalent to the horror films that were packing them in at his local cinema? When Iommi followed through, debuting the song that gave the band their name at a rehearsal, Ward says his first reaction was that, 'It scared the hell out of me, I absolutely loved it. Then I thought: oh well, we've completely f**ked our career now.' Even when their career took off, Ozzy points out, 'I don't think we ever had a good review. Maybe that was a catalyst in a way: every critic didn't like us, so more of the people liked us. We were a people's band: four guys from Aston, one of the poorest parts of Birmingham.' Growing up, 'I used to have an old tyre and a stick, rolling it around the streets of Birmingham. We never had a car, never went on holiday, never saw the ocean until I was in my late teens. Couldn't hold a job down – I'd get four weeks into a factory job and go, 'F**k it.' But we just had a crack and it worked out.' Whatever happens on July 5th, Sharon says it's definitely the end. The rest of Black Sabbath seem to be immersed in projects – Ward says he has seven unreleased solo albums to put out, Butler is working on a novel, Iommi has recently helmed, of all things, a Black Sabbath-themed ballet and his own perfume – but, she insists that, for her and Ozzy, 'it's time to say 'enough'. When you've given it your all, you can sit back and say: I did it.' Hang on: are the Osbournes really going to repair to their home in Buckinghamshire and live a life of genteel retirement? 'Yeah. Get some ponies and chickens, and a million dogs. I want to open a dog rescue centre and a horse rescue centre. Scream at the neighbours a couple of times. There you go.' Ozzy concedes that he's done, too. 'I'd love to say 'never say never', but after the last six years or so ... it is time. I lived on the road for 50-odd years, and I've kind of got used to not picking up my bags and getting on the bus again. I don't smoke dope or do any of the rock star lifestyle any more. I'm kind of like a homebody. I never go out. I never hang out in bars – I don't drink. So what the f**k is out there for me? I hate going shopping with my wife. I feel like stabbing myself in the neck after half an hour. But it's time for me to spend some time with my grandkids, I don't want to die in a hotel room somewhere. I want to spend the rest of my life with my family.' – Guardian Back to the Beginning is at Villa Park, Birmingham, on Saturday, July 5th
