RIP Ozzy It always amazed me how a musician could play the same music for nearly 60 years without any variation or development in any direction and actually become an icon in doing so, also without playing any instruments and getting the others to write the songs !! But he achieved it. I confess to having seen Sabbath live - only because they were on the same bill as Humble Pie. This was in the early 70s before Ozzy had got into too much theatricals on stage. In later years he reminded me of a quote by David Gilmour who said that if the highlights of your show are all visual ones rather than musical then maybe you are in the wrong profession (he was actually referring to the band Kiss with this biting comment and not directly to Ozzy). Nonetheless he was a great singer,and, according to Elton had a great sense of humour and a larger than life character.
Generally agree but I always preferred his solo stuff to his Sabbath days... just personal taste more in the guitar department I suppose, Randy Rhodes, Jake E Lee, and Zakk Wilde being more technically proficient than Tony Iommi... at least it sounds that way to me. No doubt about it though: No Iommi, those other three would probably not "exist". I saw Sabbath fronted by Dio twice and later with Ian Gillan of Deep purple fame but not Ozzy, even solo. David Gilmour was not wrong about Kiss, though: a resounding victory of style over substance.
Brian Owen (aged 80) has just died. He joined Watford at the age of 17 as an apprentice in 1961 and played on the wing. He was sometimes in and out of the team, but he played in the 1968-69 season when Watford won the Third Division Championship. He scored an extraordinary goal against Tranmere Rovers during that season when the ball went high in the air and seemed to go out of play, but then somehow dropped back into the goal. Owen also played against Chelsea in the F.A. Cup semi-final in 1970, but he was released on a free transfer at the end of that season. Later he went into coaching and became a physiotherapist for various league clubs and the England national team. RIP, Brian Owen.
Sad news indeed - he was a fine player who always gave 100%. Was there in The Rookery for that goal against Tranmere - why the ref never gave a goal kick was beyond me - hilarious attempts to get back into the goalmouth by their keeper when he realised what was about to happen. RIP
And George Kooymans. Not in Ozzy's class, but quite the influence on the European scene... and this choon is a bonafide classic:
