Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne playing at the Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival in 1973. Photo / David Stone, AudioCulture
By Bill Hickman of RNZ
The music promoter who brought Black Sabbath to New Zealand in 1973, Barry Coburn, said that despite Ozzy Osbourne’s wild reputation, the British singer was “calm and jovial”. But he had one unusual request.
Coburn said he was called to the group’s caravan shortly before they took to the stage at the Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival.
“He said, ‘Listen, when we go onstage at midnight, we want to have a huge burning cross up on the hillside. When we come on stage, suddenly this big cross burns up on the hillside behind [us].’”
Coburn said a cross made of wood and wire, wrapped in petrol-soaked rags, was hastily erected and set alight as the band began to play, as requested by Osbourne.
The Black Sabbath frontman and solo artist has died aged 76, just weeks after a massive farewell concert in his hometown of Birmingham.
Coburn said Osbourne and Black Sabbath laid the foundations for heavy metal and – 50 years after the band first played New Zealand – he still saw and heard the singer’s influence in hard rock music all over the world.
“To think that two weeks after the final shows he’s gone – it seemed like – did he want to hang on and do these final shows? But he’s just this iconic figure that’s so singularly unique. There’ll never be another Ozzy Osbourne," Coburn said.
Speaking to RNZ from his home in Nashville, Coburn said that despite the band’s ominous image and Osbourne’s wild, drug-fuelled reputation, the band were affable and “jovial” on their first New Zealand visit.
“They were decent, they were just young English guys. They didn’t cause any of the grief that John Bonham and Led Zeppelin caused. Televisions thrown in the swimming pool at the White Heron Hotel and the like,” the promoter said.
“I don’t have any memories of Ozzy and the guys being anything other than jovial and amused by everything. They just seemed to be in good humour and I’ve got great memories of that.”
Coburn said he still went to heavy metal shows – his son performs in American sludge metal band Thou – and said Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s influence was still as strong as ever.
“They were such a primary foundation of what became heavy metal. I’ve been to so many shows, and there are still always people wearing Black Sabbath T-shirts.
“They really were the beginning of it all – of the whole metal scene. When I go to see bands, it’s [still] not unusual to hear Paranoid or something,” Coburn said.
Marty Duda, founder of New Zealand music publication 13th Floor, said Osbourne’s impact was “immense” and would continue after his death.
Duda remembered first hearing the band on a cassette recording of Paranoid while at a Boy Scouts camp and “it changed everything – blew my mind”.
Osbourne’s voice was exactly what a teenager wanted to hear: “He nailed it.”
The musician went on to create a strong persona for himself, later making the transition to a solo career.
He said Osbourne’s wife, Sharon, needed to be given credit for the role she played in his career because he had many problems, including drug addiction, but she saw his potential as a solo artist.
Duda recalled being present when Osbourne was preparing for a concert, wanted to gargle and then consumed a whole bottle of mouthwash.
“He drank the whole thing, almost choked to death, puked all over the place and then went on stage – he didn’t even know how to gargle. He needed to be watched.”
Duda said that on his TV hit reality show, The Osbournes, Osbourne was “lovable”.
“You wanted him to be your dad ... and knowing that he had this background as the guy who helped start heavy metal didn’t hurt at all. Those Black Sabbath albums hold up very well today.”
The president of the NZ Promoters Association, Layton Lillas, was shocked to hear of Osbourne’s death.
He told RNZ’s Morning Report it was “horrible news” to wake up to, coming so soon after Osbourne’s farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham just two weeks ago.
Lillas recalled becoming a fan of Osbourne when he launched a solo career.
He had “amazing guitar players” and “a unique voice”.
“The guy was the godfather of hard rock and heavy metal – just an amazing life from a guy who started in the poor suburbs of Birmingham after the war, and to do what he did and achieved, amazing.”
Lillas said the singer had a unique voice with “an incredibly high range”.
“No one sounds like Ozzy Osbourne ... the range was something to behold and for a guy that abused his body like he did for so many years ...”
He last saw Osbourne perform in Wellington in 2008, and “he was certainly on fire that night”.
In the late 90s, Lillas had a habit of popping out to Auckland Airport to try to get the autographs of famous rock stars.
All he wanted was a photo of Osbourne, but he ended up with a photograph of his late wife with the musician, and it takes pride of place in his music room.
The Black Sabbath frontman was apologetic but said he couldn’t do any more as he needed to board his flight.
– RNZ