We visit bar on cobbled street in Newport once owned by Ozzy Osbourne to hear their memories of the Black Sabbath legend
On the day after the death of rock legend, Ozzy Osbourne, we visited his little-known former Shropshire wine bar - tucked away on a cobbled street in Newport.
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne died just over two weeks after the band were reunited in Birmingham, barely two miles from where they first played together more than 50 years ago.
The heavy metal singer was reunited on stage with fellow original Sabbath members Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward for a final performance on July 5.
Just over two weeks later, Osbourne’s family announced his death at the age of 76 on Tuesday, July 22.
While the father of heavy metal will be long remembered around the world, there's an unassuming bar tucked away on a quiet cobbled street in a Shropshire market town that is also carrying on his legacy.
The bar, on St Marys Street in Newport, was bought by the Black Sabbath star for his first wife, Thelma Riley, in the late 1970s. The pair lived in nearby Gnosall for a short time.
Then called Osbourne's Wine Bar, and later just Ozzy's, the pub was largely left to Thelma to run while he toured the world.
Alison Edwards worked for the couple for a year at Ozzy's in 1980 as an 18-year-old. On Wednesday, she'd returned to the bar 45 years later for a drink in memory of her former boss.
She said: "He was much younger then - he was a rock legend - but not the super legend he became. The younger Ozzy was wild, crazy, but he was a family man. They were really lovely, very normal.
"He was often tired because he'd come back from touring and hide away in the kitchen at the back because he couldn't talk - he'd lost his voice from the tour.
"I worked there for around a year, it was fun. It was a kind of fun that was a bit different than you had anywhere else."
In 2012, Ozzy's Wine Bar closed, but was soon taken over by James Aspray and rebranded as Ozzy's Sports Bar.
Speaking on Wednesday, James said several customers had already been by to pay their respects.
He said: "It was quite a sombre moment in the bar when we heard, everyone was shocked.
"A few people were coming down to have a drink last night once they heard the news."
While it's been more than 40 years since the rock legend owned the bar, James said many local still remember drinking with him.
"We'll make sure to play his music on the juke box this week," he added.
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