Ozzy Osbourne News

Guitarist reveals he has early-stage lymphoma but intends to proceed with band’s long-awaited comeback

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has cancer. The 63-year-old musician is “upbeat and determined” after being diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma, and intends to proceed with his band’s comeback album and tour.

Black Sabbath announced Iommi’s illness on Facebook, explaining he is “working with his doctors to establish the best treatment plan”. “[Tony's] bandmates would like everyone to send positive vibes to the guitarist at this time,” they wrote. “[He is] determined to make a full and successful recovery.”

The lymphoma diagnosis comes about two months after Black Sabbath announced the reformation of their original lineup, featuring Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. The heavy-metal legends still plan to complete a new album – their first in 33 years – with producer Rick Rubin. But they will relocate recording sessions from Los Angeles to England, allowing Iommi to participate while he undergoes medical treatment.

There remains the question of Black Sabbath’s forthcoming tour, which begins in May. For now, the gigs are still on, although Iommi may not be well enough to perform. “Further information will be released as it becomes available,” the band said.

Many of Iommi’s fans and friends offered support over Twitter. “Best wishes for a full recovery,” wrote Slash. “FUCK YOU, cancer!” declared Sebastian Bach. Or as Anthrax put it: “This really does suck. GET WELL SOON TONY!”

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Y el otro es nada más y nada menos que el hijo predilecto de las tinieblas, el padre de familia más revoltoso de los últimos años. ¿Adivinaron? Mmm…otra pista: padre de Jack y Kelly y esposo de Shannon. Sí, el irrompible Ozzy será parte del nuevo trabajo del ex guitarrista de Guns n’ Roses.

Esto fue confirmado por la esposa de Slash (Perla Hudson), quien confirmó a la bomba de Fergie y a Osbourne para el nuevo trabajo de su marido. Ya hay muchos demos de las canciones, serían unos 15, que formarían parte del primer disco solista del hombre de la galera.

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Former Black Sabbath frontman will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the heavy-metal award show.

By James Montgomery

Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

Ozzy Osbourne will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award at Epiphone’s Revolver Golden Gods Awards, the country’s first-ever hard-rock and heavy-metal awards show.

The Golden Gods, presented by metal mag Revolver, will be handed out Tuesday, April 7 at the Club Nokia in Los Angeles. MTV2 and “Headbangers Ball” will offer exclusive coverage of the awards, both on air and online.

Hosted by stand-up comedian and avowed metalhead Brian Posehn, the awards will honor Osbourne’s contributions to hard rock (something the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame forgot to do until 2006, when he got in as a member of Black Sabbath), and will feature performances by Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Suicide Silence and a special guest to be announced shortly. Icons like Glenn Danzig and Tool’s Maynard James Keenan are also scheduled to appear, along with Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson of Testament, Protest The Hero, Marta Peterson from Bleeding Through, Isis, Brendon Small from Dethklok, WWE Wrestler CM Punk, plus many more.

Starting on the week of April 20, fans will be able to check out behind-the-scenes info on the awards at the Headbangers Ball blog and MTV2.com. On April 25, MTV2 will air a one-hour Revolver Golden Gods Awards nominee special and on Saturday, May 2, the channel will broadcast the ceremony.

For more information on the awards — including nominees and how you can score tickets to the show at Club Nokia — check out GoldenGodsAwards.com.

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Rob Halford, DevilDriver and Nonpoint fill out mainstage lineup.

By MTV News staff

Photo: Sergio Dionisio/ Getty Images

Ozzfest will return as a touring festival this summer, it was announced on Friday (April 30), with Ozzy Osbourne and Mötley Crüe headlining, according to a statement on the festival’s official site. The tour will mark the first time the two bands have toured together since 1984, during the Crüe’s breakthrough appearance as Ozzy’s opening act on a major U.S. tour.

Ozzfest, which took a year off in 2009 and was a one-day event headlined by Ozzy and Metallica in 2008, will kick off August 14 in San Bernardino, California (the birthplace of the first Ozzfest in 1996), and then make stops in Chicago; Hartford, Connecticut; Camden, New Jersey; Pittsburgh; and Boston. Live Nation will promote the tour nationally.

The main stage will feature full sets from Ozzy, the Crüe and Rob Halford, the latter performing songs from his solo career along with material from Judas Priest and Fight. DevilDriver and Nonpoint will fill out the main stage lineup. Second-stage headliners and six-time Ozzfest veterans Black Label Society will be joined by Drowning Pool, Kingdom of Sorrow, Goatwhore, Skeletonwitch, Saviours and Kataklysm.

Each date on the tour will include 13 bands on two stages with music beginning at 1:00 p.m., according to the statement. There will also be a “Village of the Damned,” featuring interactive activities, shopping and entertainment throughout the venue concourses.

Ozzy will release a new album, Scream, on June 15.

Tickets for the shows will go on sale May 22 at OZZfest.com and LiveNation.com.

Ozzfest 2010 dates, according to the festival’s website:

8/14 – San Bernardino, California @ San Manuel Amphitheater
8/17 – Chicago @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
8/19 – Pittsburgh @ First Niagara Pavilion
8/21 – Hartford, Connecticut @ Comcast Theater
8/22 – Camden, New Jersey @ Susquehanna Bank Center
8/24 – Boston @ Comcast Center

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Ozzy mourns the passing of fellow Black Sabbath frontman, who died on Sunday.

By James Montgomery

Photo: Paul Natkin/WireImage

On Monday, Ozzy Osbourne released a statement praising the talents of the late Ronnie James Dio, who died on Sunday of stomach cancer at the age of 67.

“I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Ronnie James Dio,” Osbourne said in the statement. “Metal has truly lost one of its greatest voices. My heart goes out to his family and to his many fans. … Love and respect.”

Dio, who possessed one of the most formidable voices in hard rock, replaced Osbourne in Black Sabbath at the end of the 1970s (after rising to fame with acts like Elf and Rainbow) and led the band through a career resurgence, thanks to albums like Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. Dio would leave Sabbath to start his own band in late 1982, briefly rejoined in 1990, left again, then joined a final time in 2006, when he fronted the band under the moniker of Heaven and Hell.

Osbourne’s statement is just the latest in a series of tributes to Dio’s talent, generosity and kindness that have been pouring in since he died. Slayer’s Kerry King said he was lucky to have known him, and called Dio “one of the nicest guys in the business, without a doubt.” Anthrax’s Scott Ian echoed those sentiments, saying, “Every day on tour, he’d have a kind word, a smile and a clap on the back. I feel honored and privileged to even have shaken hands with Ronnie, let alone be able to say we were friends.”

A whole new generation of hard-rock acts also remembered Dio, with the likes of Killswitch Engage (who covered his classic “Holy Diver”) and Mastodon releasing statements about his death.

Share your own memories of Ronnie James Dio and his music in the comments.

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‘I cannot do it,’ he tells Inked magazine about watching the reality talent competition.

By MTV News staff

Photo: Getty Images

Ozzy Osbourne knows full well that his image as the deranged god of metal on a crazy train ride to oblivion has changed drastically over the past decade. While he was once known for (allegedly) biting the heads off of bats and (allegedly) snorting a line of ants, in these post-”The Osbournes” days he’s more likely to go off on young metal acts who have forgotten about melody as he looks for the legal drugs that help him overcome a nagging tremor.

The Blizzard of Ozz talks about all of that and more in a new interview with Inked magazine, where the 61-year-old hard-rock icon holds court on everything from “American Idol” to his first tattoos and what life is like sober.

“I wouldn’t have been speaking to Ozzy from 35 years ago because he would’ve been f—ed up and not having this conversation,” he said when asked what he might discuss with his younger self. “I never wanted to take the character of Ozzy off the stage, but it happened.” Now, with drugs and alcohol finally out of his life after decades of struggles, Ozzy, whose 10th studio album Scream will be released on June 22, said he only takes the medications he needs and that his life is not nearly as creepy and kooky as fans might imagine.

“I suppose there are people who imagine me going to my Bavarian castle and hanging upside down from the f—ing rafters every night,” he joked. “I’m just a guy, man — I’m just a crazy guy who started a merry-go-round ride many years ago, and I’m still here.” Ozzy has seen a lot changes over the years, but one of the biggest shifts in the music business — the emergence of reality singing shows like “American Idol” — is not something he cares to think about. “I cannot watch that sh–,” said Osbourne, whose wife, Sharon, is a judge on reality performance competition “America’s Got Talent.” “I cannot do it for the simple fact that for a person to come out of the working-class thing, pass the audition, go on the show and then have a panel of people tell them how f—ed up they are … I’m a 42-year veteran and I could not f—ing do it. My hat goes off to all of those kids on those shows.”

Because it’s a tat mag, Ozzy also runs down some of his most famous ink, beginning with his first piece — a dagger he got on his left arm when he was 15, complete with his name. “I don’t understand why, when I got tattoos all those years ago, everybody had daggers,” he said. “I don’t see what the f—ing point was now, but back then you would go for a dagger on the arm. But now it’s an art form.” He also confirms that the crude “OZZY” across his knuckles was a home job he did when he was stone-cold sober at age 16, one of the few he’s gotten while not in an altered state.

And even though he’s hitting the road this summer for a shortened version of the Ozzfest with his old pals in Mötley Crüe, Ozzy said he has no interest in revisiting the good/bad old days. “Now I just go and do my show,” he said, reminiscing about his fellow rockers who died as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. “In the old days, when we came offstage, I went to the bus to get more drugs and alcohol inside me. I don’t even know whether they still do that — if they want to do that, fine. I don’t have a problem with that. I’m not one of these holier-than-thou guys. Believe me, if I knew I could have a good time with it, I’d do it again. I’m not turning nerdy. I just never gave sobriety a chance before, really.”

There isn’t much he hasn’t done, but the one thing Osbourne does crave is a #1 album in America — but even if Scream doesn’t do it for him, don’t look for Ozzy to retire anytime soon.

“How can I retire from what I do? I’m the luckiest man in the f—ing world,” he said. “I have voice problems when I’m on the road from screaming every night. I’m not Pavarotti by any means, but if I was, he used to do one show every six months or so.”

Will you help Ozzy fulfill his dream of a #1 album? Let us know in the comments!

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Weezer, MGMT, Deadmau5 also among the performers at Halloween music fest in New Orleans.

By Josh Wigler

Photo: Getty Images

It’s not just ghosts, ghouls and goblins haunting New Orleans on Halloween weekend this year. The Big Easy’s music lovers can also look forward to seeing many of their favorite rappers, rock stars and more at the Voodoo Experience Festival 2010, set to take place at City Park in New Orleans from October 29-31 this year.

On Thursday (June 17) the festival announced that its lineup will include musicians such as Drake, Muse and Ozzy Osbourne among the high-profile performers. When the announcement was made at midnight, the fest’s official website crashed for several hours, according to Hit Fix, possibly indicating an unprecedented interest in this year’s show.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Halloween than with a performance in New Orleans,” Osbourne said in a press release. This year marks the Prince of Darkness’ first appearance at the Voodoo Experience Festival, now coming up on its 12th year.

Other Voodoo performers include Weezer, MGMT, Metric, Hot Chip, Interpol, Florence and the Machine, Paul Van Dyk and deadmau5. Several local New Orleans acts will also be on hand, including Leo Jackson and the Melody Clouds, the Rebirth Brass Band, Big Sam’s Funky Nation and Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

Tickets are already on sale, with weekend passes available for $150 and VIP packages for $500.

Which music festival are you most looking forward to this year? Share your excitement in the comments below.

Don’t miss the “Drake: Better Than Good Enough” documentary, airing Wednesday, June 23, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV!

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The O’Jays also hit the stage at Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s ‘Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.’

By Mawuse Ziegbe

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Thousands of fans crowded the National Mall in Washington DC Saturday (October 30) for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,” and the two politician-skewering funnymen trotted out a slew of legends to entertain the crowd.

About midway through the show, which already featured a nearly 40-minute set from John Legend and The Roots, Stewart announced the next performer, Yusuf Islam. The folk icon formerly known as Cat Stevens, hit the stage with an acoustic rendition of “Peace Train.” However, instead of letting Yusuf placidly strum along, Colbert stormed the stage, ranting about the song’s message of harmony. The satirical pundit then proclaimed, “My train is arriving at the stage now and the conductor has an important announcement to make!”

Colbert did a fine job of busting up the performance, and cleared the way for a surprise appearance from one of rock and roll’s greatest show-stoppers: Ozzy Osbourne. Decked out in a black ensemble with his signature colored glasses, the Prince of Darkness screamed as he took the stage and led the band through the metal classic “Crazy Train.”

However, before Osbourne could finish, Stewart snatched the mic and reprised the whole interrupting-the-rock-legend-thing, spewing protests like, “I will not get on that train! I am not comfortable on that train!” Stewart commanded Yusuf to start up again with “Peace Train,” until Colbert jumped in, saying, “I’m gonna pull the emergency brake on this rainbow, moonbeam choo-choo!” Osbourne and Yusuf went back and forth, volleying metal and folk classics about trains, until both gave up the fight, embraced each other and left the stage.

But the audience wasn’t left without a stellar performance from some music legends. Colbert and Stewart paced about, lamenting the lack of singers to belt train-related hits, until a line from the smooth chorus of the O’Jays “Love Train” wafted through the air.

“Is that the sound of Philadelphia?” Stewart wondered.

Colbert queried, “Was that the sweet Philly soul?”

It sure was. The legendary soul group then took the stage in slick white suits, busting easy throwback moves to their 1973 single to the delight of the crowd.

What did you think of the “Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear”? Let us know in the comments!

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The Roots, Sam Waterston, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and more attend ‘Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.’

By Mawuse Ziegbe

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

In between performances from music titans such as Ozzy Osbourne and the O’ Jays during Saturday’s (October 30) “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,” “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, conservative caricature Stephen Colbert and a cast of funnypeople quipped about everything from Chilean miners to the “Real Housewives of New Jersey.” Despite the deluge of laughs, the event’s overall message could possibly be summed up by the groovy mantra of the O’ Jays feel-good classic “Love Train”: People all over the world, join hands.

Philadelphia collective the Roots kicked off the three-hour live event with a 40-minute set packed with a bunch of the band’s notable jams. Bundled up in a camel coat, Black Thought led the outfit through their jocular Phrenology joint “Thought at Work” and the How I Got Over album’s eponymous cut, in the shadow of The Capitol Building. John Legend joined the Roots crew for “Dear God 2.0″ and the musicians’ covers of soul classics “Hard Times” and “Little Ghetto Boy” from the collaborative album Wake Up! Legend recounted the story behind Bill Withers’ “I Can’t Write Left Handed” before launching into a bluesy, soulful rendition powered by a fiery solo from guitarist Kirk Douglas, who also doubled up on vocal duties when the band played “The Seed 2.0.” The stars closed the set with Curtis Mayfield’s uplifting hit “Move On Up.”

“MythBusters” hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman engaged the thousands of rally attendees in a few geeky pastimes, including a large-scale version of the Wave and an attempt to create a literal “groundswell” by commanding everyone to jump simultaneously.

But the crowd really went nuts when the event’s figurehead, Jon Stewart, strolled onstage in khakis and a dark blazer, greeted by a sea of waving hands nearly an hour after the event began. Stewart introduced a patriotic rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by four U.S. troops, before screaming to the audience, “Are you ready to restore sanity?” After bantering about the racial makeup of rallies — quipping that an event with too many white people is “racist” while an occasion marked by too many people of color means they’re “asking for something” such as equal rights —
Stewart, with the help of some “Daily Show” correspondents jokingly asked the crowd to count off to ensure the racial composition of the rally matched that of the country.

Stephen Colbert, pulled off a dramatic entrance that referenced the odyssey of the trapped Chilean miners, initially speaking to the crowd via camera from his “fear bunker” and ascending from below the stage in a capsule-like contraption.

Other highlights of the day included a speech from Father Guido Sarducci, who attempted to pin down the “right” religion, and a poem recited by actor Sam Waterston. Former Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater and “Real Housewives of New Jersey” starlet Teresa Giudice sent video apologies for their famed freak-outs. Comedian Tim Meadows appeared as PK Winsome during a taped skit, urging attendees to splurge on souvenirs, and basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made an appearance.

Ozzy Osbourne and Yusuf Islam — formerly known as Cat Stevens — surprised fans with performances of their respective hits “Crazy Train” and “Peace Train,” with Colbert supporting the former and Stewart championing the latter. R&B legends the O’ Jays followed-up with their well-worn jam “Love Train.”

Soul great Mavis Staples teamed up with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy for a tender, acoustic version of their collaboration “You Are Not Alone” from the R&B legend’s latest album.
Rocker Sheryl Crow was accompanied by Kid Rock on the piano for a song that implores listeners to help out, crooning, “I can’t stop the war, shelter homeless, feed the poor … The least that I can do is care.” The performance featured a video-taped verse from embattled MC T.I., who wasn’t able to attend.

Stewart and Colbert also dished out awards, such as the Medal of Reasonableness to citizen Velma Hart for her levelheaded questioning of President Obama and a Medal of Fear to the news organizations who barred their employees for attending the rally.

However, when Stewart signed off at the close of the three-hour event, he maintained that the rally wasn’t just about poking fun. Instead, he urged the thousands of attendees to remember that the hyperbolic images of political extremists and religious nut jobs that clutter the media are not true representations of the American people. The speech was followed by a brief performance from legendary crooner Tony Bennett, who dished out an a cappella version of “America the Beautiful.” The crowd’s chants of “USA” rang in the air before all of the show’s performers hit the stage one final time to join Mavis for the Staples Singers’ 1972 single “I’ll Take You There.

Did you attend Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Peace”? Let us know in the comments!

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Space-age Best Buy ad also features Ozzy’s wife, Sharon.

By Gil Kaufman

Photo: Christopher Polk / Getty Images

What happens when the Blizzard of Oz meets the Bieber? You’ll find out on Super Bowl Sunday when Best Buy unveils a commercial co-starring Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and Justin Bieber.

Best Buy confirmed on Wednesday that Grammy-nominated pop superstar Bieber will take his place alongside the metal legend and his equally famous chat hostess wife for the retail chain’s first-ever ad during the big game, according to Business Wire.

Details on the concept of the commercial were not announced at press time, but BB confirmed that the ad is slated to air during the third quarter of the February 6 showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to a press release, it will “showcase creativity and humor to millions of football and advertising fans throughout the country.”

“We’re delighted to have Justin and Ozzy help us tell the Best Buy story,” said Drew Panayiotou, senior vice president of U.S. marketing at Best Buy. “We know people have high expectations for these ads, and Justin and Ozzy add a whole new dimension of fun.”

Britain’s Sun tabloid ran a photo on Thursday (January 27) that was purportedly shot on the set of the ad, in which the unlikely trio are dressed in black-and-silver futuristic space suits.

It won’t be the only time you see Bieber on Super Bowl Sunday, as an ad for his upcoming 3-D concert movie, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” will also pop up at some point after the most-watched telecast of the year, during an episode of “Glee.”

The film opens one week later, on Valentine’s Day weekend. This is not the first time Bieber has teamed up with a major sporting event to support a release. During Game 3 of last year’s World Series, the teen pop star debuted a mini-music video for the unplugged version of his song “Never Say Never” to promote his acoustic album, My Worlds Acoustic.

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