Honouring Oasis, Ozzy Osbourne and an Aussie icon

This week we look back but not in anger as Oasis and Black Sabbath steal the stage and an Australian TV legend passes away. Resident guru David Kowalski has the latest.

Oasis and Sabbath

The big news this week in music is that two musical behemoths have shaken the ground, one for the first time in nearly two decades, and one for the final time ever.

Oasis kicked off their reformation dates in Cardiff, Wales, on 4 July to an all-around ecstatic response both online and off. Their setlist draws very heavily on the early part of their career, specifically the years from 1994–1997, when they had their most successful phase. They played large slabs of material from their first two albums, with only a couple of songs from 1997’s Be Here Now and only one song from after that period ('Little By Little', from 2002’s Heathen Chemistry).

The band seemed to know what the punters wanted to hear, and they delivered in spades. All the anthems that feel like football chants (and in some cases became such) and songs that work well when 70,000 people sing them in unison together. It would appear that fans will get more of the same when they hit Heaton Park in Manchester on Friday, 11 July for a five-night run.

I’m sure the second night of the run in Cardiff on the 5th was great too. It was hard to tell when all the coverage I saw was from Villa Park in Birmingham, where the Back to the Beginning spectacular was unfolding. This was the final ever performance by native Brummy John ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne and the band he formed with a few local friends of his, the genre-defining heavy metal band Black Sabbath. This gig was the final performance of the band, and for Ozzy, who is rapidly declining in health due to Parkinson’s Disease.

Supported by a who’s who of heavy metal on stage, including Steve Tyler from Aerosmith, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Guns n Roses, Slayer, Mastodon and guest appearances from Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones) among many others, the fans got what they wanted later in the evening when Ozzy was foisted onstage through the floor on a huge throne.

He remained seated for the entire performance, owing to issues with his balance due to his illness. He ran through a modest 5-song set of his solo classics ably backed by long time sidemen Mike Inez on bass, Zakk Wylde on guitar, Adam Wakeman on keyboards and drummer Tommy Clufetos, before they made way for the originals — Terrence ‘Geezer’ Butler with his Aston Villa decaled bass, guitarist Tony Iommi and a shirtless Bill Ward on drums, for four Sabbath classics, all from their two 1970 albums: 'War Pigs', 'N.I.B', 'Iron Man' and finishing off with 'Paranoid'. Ozzy clearly struggled with his voice, however the sheer joy on his face and being sent back to him by the crowd made up for any shortcomings.

The entire show had some relatively fast changeovers, with video tributes from Dolly Parton, Jonathan Davis of Korn, comedian Ricky Gervais and Elton John shown between performances. The event was watched in the stadium by 72,000 attendees, including Brian May of Queen and Bev Bevan, drummer of fellow Brummy bands The Move and Electric Light Orchestra, as well as up to 5 million people on a pay-per-view live video stream.

Some reports say that £140 million (AU$287 million) was raised from the event, and those proceeds will be donated to Acorns Children's Hospice, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Cure Parkinson's.

After this performance, Sabbath guitarist Iommi says he will also be hanging up the guitar and retiring from the stage. There are rumours of a Netflix presentation of the show, but nothing has eventuated as of yet. Stay tuned on that front. Still, it was a fitting send off for one of the great bands of the 20th century.

Peter Russell-Clarke

I can’t let this week go without passing remarks in memory of Australia’s most memorable television chef Peter Russell-Clarke, who has passed away at age 89 following complications from a stroke.

Russell-Clarke wasn’t Australia’s first TV chef (I’m not sure who that award goes to but Bernard King would have to be in contention). However, he had such a way with the camera, and his laid-back delivery, so as to make cooking engaging and interesting. His 5-minute program Come and Get It was usually shown in the hour or so before the 7pm news, sandwiched somewhere in and around shows like Degrassi Junior High and re-runs of The Goodies and Doctor Who.

They were definitely at a time when I watched it regularly. As a young kid watching TV before dinner, Russell-Clarke had this way of making food and the artistry of cooking enthralling, and I can recall being captivated by what he presented every time he was on screen.

What we have learned in the years since was that he was quite the polymath, as a painter, cartoonist, author and public speaker. We also learned that our lovable rogue also had a vicious potty mouth, from a blooper reel that was leaked to YouTube in 2008.

As an educator, when it came time to give demonstration lessons in Food Technology, I recalled those demonstrations that Peter Russell-Clarke gave on camera as my inspiration and he made it look so easy. To a bunch of modern-day disinterested teenagers, it felt almost impossible trying to be engaging to these people and not add too much water and sugar to the muffin mixture!

Thanks for your contribution to Australian life, Peter. Vale.

New music — Aaron James

It’s been a while since I have heard anything from Central Coast-based singer-songwriter Aaron James. His flare for modern indie pop always seemed effortless to my ears. He just seemed to be able to drop a pop gem seemingly without trying. Of course, he puts lots of effort into his craft and he deserved wider attention. I feel all the more guilty for my ignorance when I realise he has released three singles this year already; the latest of which is a lovelorn acoustic track entitled “Void”.

The artwork looks like it is somewhat inspired by the famous Nirvana album cover, however it is Aaron himself who has plunged into the pool in dramatic fashion. He has an ability to craft a lyric that puts the listener in a front row seat to witness all the action in all its glory. The production puts his breathy vocal delivery and the crisp, clean acoustic guitar picking to the forefront, with some sombre cello accompaniment to ensure the tears will come along shortly.

Can’t wait for the next drop of tunes, Aaron.

Until next time…

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David Kowalski is a writer, musician, educator, sound engineer and podcaster. His podcasts 'The Sound and the Fury Podcast' and 'Audio Cumulus' can be heard exclusively HERE. You can follow David on Twitter/X @sound_fury_pod.