years that you can never make up.
Jessica has three children and Louis has two, so Ozzy has five grandchildren living in the UK. But again, you have to have regular contact with little people to build up a closeness. You can’t walk into their lives on birthdays and at Christmas and expect them to open their arms for a hug and say, ‘Hello, Granddad.’ Unfortunately for every grandparent in the same position, it’s just what happens when your grandchildren grow up on the other side of the world. It’s not anyone’s fault, it’s just how it is.
It’s a long-distance relationship both physically and emotionally, and Ozzy knows that. That’s why he wants to try and do things differently with Pearl.
The celebrations were spread over three nights. The first was family night. After the initial surprise of finding his entire family in Las Vegas, Ozzy began to enjoy himself. A further surprise awaited him when we took everyone to see the Beatles tribute show, Love . Ozzy is a lifelong fan, and he was in his element. Afterwards we went backstage where the entire cast sang ‘Happy Birthday’.
The next night’s treat was at Caesar’s Palace, in the Colosseum, where Bette Midler was performing her spectacular The Showgirl Must Go On .
When Ozzy and I were first working together, back in 1979, I would take him to see iconic artistes’ shows. I wanted him to watch how they performed, how they dealt with an audience. I was educating him on performance and production. And one of these performers was Bette Midler. She was playing at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, so I took Ozzy along, together with the guitar player Gary Moore, who I managed at the time. So it’s a beautiful midsummer night in an open-air theatre and we have front-row seats. Unsurprisingly, we’re late. We’re walking down the central aisle and Bette Midler is on stage singing, sees us and stops mid-number.
‘Well, there always has to be one shmuck who gets in late and walks in while I’m singing, and here’s the shmuck,’ she says, pointing at Ozzy. In fact, Ozzy didn’t even know who Bette Midler was. He was a working-class kid from Birmingham and his taste in music didn’t extend to musical theatre. She peers at him with his long hair and eccentric style of dress – obviously rather different to the sartorial tastes of the rest of the audience – and goes, ‘Are you sure you’re at the right show?’ And Ozzy dies of embarrassment. He doesn’t know what to do. I, on the other hand, am dying of laughter, along with everyone else. Ozzy is OK, but on the way back to the apartment he never stops saying, ‘Where are we, Sharon? I want to go home…’
Fast-forward thirty-plus years. Again, we’re in the front row and Bette says nothing, but comes down among the audience in the middle of a song, takes Ozzy’s hand and sings to him. He certainly knows who she is this time, and he absolutely loves it. After the show, we go backstage and sit in a little anteroom. There is a knock at the door, and in comes an enormous birthday cake, wheeled by the diva in person, still wearing her showgirl costume and full make-up, singing ‘Happy Birthday, dear Ozzy’ as it has never been sung before.
The next day was his actual birthday, and it was back to Caesar’s Palace, this time to Il Mulino, where I had booked the whole restaurant. Because it wasn’t just family any more. The numbers were swollen by friends who had flown in from all over the world. It was a lot to take in, but he was bowled over.
As my special birthday present, I had a ring made out of a diamond solitaire Ozzy had once bought me when the children were small but which I had never worn because it had been a guilty gift following some really bad behaviour on his part, when he actually thumped me. The diamond was beautiful, however, so I decided on a reincarnation and had it reset on a thick gold band with big diamond crosses at either side. Ozzy will tell anyone who’ll
Jessica has three children and Louis has two, so Ozzy has five grandchildren living in the UK. But again, you have to have regular contact with little people to build up a closeness. You can’t walk into their lives on birthdays and at Christmas and expect them to open their arms for a hug and say, ‘Hello, Granddad.’ Unfortunately for every grandparent in the same position, it’s just what happens when your grandchildren grow up on the other side of the world. It’s not anyone’s fault, it’s just how it is.
It’s a long-distance relationship both physically and emotionally, and Ozzy knows that. That’s why he wants to try and do things differently with Pearl.
The celebrations were spread over three nights. The first was family night. After the initial surprise of finding his entire family in Las Vegas, Ozzy began to enjoy himself. A further surprise awaited him when we took everyone to see the Beatles tribute show, Love . Ozzy is a lifelong fan, and he was in his element. Afterwards we went backstage where the entire cast sang ‘Happy Birthday’.
The next night’s treat was at Caesar’s Palace, in the Colosseum, where Bette Midler was performing her spectacular The Showgirl Must Go On .
When Ozzy and I were first working together, back in 1979, I would take him to see iconic artistes’ shows. I wanted him to watch how they performed, how they dealt with an audience. I was educating him on performance and production. And one of these performers was Bette Midler. She was playing at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, so I took Ozzy along, together with the guitar player Gary Moore, who I managed at the time. So it’s a beautiful midsummer night in an open-air theatre and we have front-row seats. Unsurprisingly, we’re late. We’re walking down the central aisle and Bette Midler is on stage singing, sees us and stops mid-number.
‘Well, there always has to be one shmuck who gets in late and walks in while I’m singing, and here’s the shmuck,’ she says, pointing at Ozzy. In fact, Ozzy didn’t even know who Bette Midler was. He was a working-class kid from Birmingham and his taste in music didn’t extend to musical theatre. She peers at him with his long hair and eccentric style of dress – obviously rather different to the sartorial tastes of the rest of the audience – and goes, ‘Are you sure you’re at the right show?’ And Ozzy dies of embarrassment. He doesn’t know what to do. I, on the other hand, am dying of laughter, along with everyone else. Ozzy is OK, but on the way back to the apartment he never stops saying, ‘Where are we, Sharon? I want to go home…’
Fast-forward thirty-plus years. Again, we’re in the front row and Bette says nothing, but comes down among the audience in the middle of a song, takes Ozzy’s hand and sings to him. He certainly knows who she is this time, and he absolutely loves it. After the show, we go backstage and sit in a little anteroom. There is a knock at the door, and in comes an enormous birthday cake, wheeled by the diva in person, still wearing her showgirl costume and full make-up, singing ‘Happy Birthday, dear Ozzy’ as it has never been sung before.
The next day was his actual birthday, and it was back to Caesar’s Palace, this time to Il Mulino, where I had booked the whole restaurant. Because it wasn’t just family any more. The numbers were swollen by friends who had flown in from all over the world. It was a lot to take in, but he was bowled over.
As my special birthday present, I had a ring made out of a diamond solitaire Ozzy had once bought me when the children were small but which I had never worn because it had been a guilty gift following some really bad behaviour on his part, when he actually thumped me. The diamond was beautiful, however, so I decided on a reincarnation and had it reset on a thick gold band with big diamond crosses at either side. Ozzy will tell anyone who’ll
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