He is considered to be the godfather of heavy metal, but after more than five decades in the game, the “prince of darkness”, Ozzy Osbourne, brings his blistering performing career to an end with a highly anticipated final concert this weekend.
Thousands of metal fans will descend on Birmingham’s Villa Park on Saturday to see the original Black Sabbath lineup reunite for the first time in 20 years, in what has been billed as the “greatest heavy metal show ever”.
The stadium, home to Aston Villa FC, is a stone’s throw from Osbourne’s childhood terrace home in the suburb of Aston. It was there that the now 76-year-old launched his career, putting an advert for bandmates in a record shop and forming Black Sabbath with schoolfriend and guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward.
“It’s my final encore; it’s my chance to say thank you to my fans for always supporting me and being there for me,” Osbourne said this week. “I couldn’t have done my final show anywhere else. I had to go back to the beginning.”
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Black Sabbath transformed late-60s rock into something darker, heavier and more ominous. Their music was characterised by down-tuned, distorted guitar riffs and haunting vocals and lyrics about war, madness and the occult. The band’s self-titled debut album in 1970 is often cited as the moment heavy metal was born, and they have sold a reported 75m albums worldwide.
“Sabbath gave us the blueprint, Sabbath gave us the recipe. They gave us the cookbook, man,” Slipknot’s Corey Taylor said in BBC Radio WM’s Forging Metal documentary, which was released on Friday.
In both his time with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist (after leaving the group in 1979), Osbourne became a living embodiment of rock excess. Critics call him the first wild rock star – he was unpredictable and unfiltered, with a career defined by drug-fuelled mayhem, onstage theatrics and outrageous behaviour.
Osbourne performing during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images
The hell-raising frontman once bit the heads off two doves in a record label meeting, snorted a line of ants on tour, and mistook a real bat for a prop and bit its head off during a concert. In 1982 he was detained for public intoxication and urinating on a war monument in Texas while wearing his wife’s dress.
Then, in the early 2000s, Osbourne and his family – including wife Sharon and children Kelly and Jack – were catapulted to new levels of fame with MTV’s The Osbournes, a pioneering reality TV show that captured their chaotic household and became a cultural phenomenon. Osbourne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist last year.
But Black Sabbath fans have been desperate for the original band members to reunite since their last performance on the 2005 Ozzfest tour, after which Ward left the group.
Though Black Sabbath’s final album, 13, was released in 2013 and their final tour concluded in Birmingham in 2017, Ward did not take part due to a contract disagreement (which led to a public spat with Osbourne).
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But the moment has finally come to pass, and so great was the demand that tickets for Saturday’s 42,000-capacity concert sold out in just 16 minutes. Titled Back to the Beginning and curated by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, the event will open with a solo set by Osbourne and close with Black Sabbath’s iconic songs.
Black Sabbath in the 1970s. ‘Sabbath gave us the blueprint, Sabbath gave us the recipe. They gave us the cookbook, man,’ said Slipknot’s Corey Taylor. Photograph: Chris Walter/WireImage
In total, the concert will run at over 10 hours and feature performances from a multitude of great metal bands, including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, and members of Guns N’ Roses and Rage Against the Machine. Profits will be shared between three charities: Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham children’s hospital and the Birmingham-based Acorns children’s hospice.
It is fitting that the event takes place in Birmingham, a city that has long revered Black Sabbath. The group were awarded the freedom of Birmingham this year, and even Birmingham Royal Ballet created a Black Sabbath dance in 2023.
And while it is true that Osbourne has announced his retirement a number of times in the past, recent health challenges, including a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2020 and spinal surgeries following an accident, mean it is likely this performance will really be his swan song.
“I’d love to say ‘never say never’, but after the last six years or so … it is time,” he told the Guardian. “I don’t want to die in a hotel room somewhere. I want to spend the rest of my life with my family.”
Chic star Nile Rodgers has guest-curated a display for the new David Bowie Centre, including personal correspondence between the two singers.
London’s V&A Museum, which is behind the new David Bowie Centre, said Rodgers has also selected a bespoke Peter Hall suit worn by Bowie during the Serious Moonlight tour for the Let’s Dance album.
The David Bowie Centre will open within the museum’s new East Storehouse in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in Stratford, east London, on 13 September.
Photographs of Bowie, Rodgers and guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan recording Let’s Dance in New York will also feature.
Costumes worn during Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust period, and those worn by other musicians including Sir Elton John and PJ Harvey, will also be on display.
Rodgers said: “My creative life with David Bowie provided the greatest success of his incredible career, but our friendship was just as rewarding.
“Our bond was built on a love of the music that had both made and saved our lives.”
Rodgers produced Bowie’s single Let’s Dance and the 1983 album of the same name, as well as his 1993 album Black Tie White Noise, with the personal correspondence in the exhibition relating to the latter.
Brit Award-winning indie rock band The Last Dinner Party have also curated part of the exhibition, describing Bowie as a “constant source of inspiration to us”.
Their items include Bowie’s elaborate handwritten lyrics for his song Win, and notes and set lists for his 1976 Isolar tour.
The band said: “David Bowie continues to inspire generations of artists like us to stand up for ourselves.”
Access to the David Bowie Centre will be free, with tickets released nearer its opening.
Australian actor Julian McMahon, famed for roles in popular series like Nip/Tuck and Charmed, has died aged 56.
His wife said the actor passed away in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday. He had been diagnosed with cancer.
“Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible,” Kelly Paniagua said in a statement carried by Deadline.
McMahon’s career took off with the hit supernatural television series Charmed before he gained wider recognition with Nip/Tuck, the medical drama in which he played the role of plastic surgeon Dr Christian Troy.
Running for six seasons from 2003 to 2010, the show earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
Co-star Dylan Walsh told Dealine he was “stunned”.
“We rode this wave together and I loved him.
“Jules! I know you’d want me to say something to make you smile — all the inside jokes. All those years you had my back, and my god, we laughed. My heart is with you. Rest in peace.”
McMahon also played Doctor Doom in two Fantastic Four films in 2005 and 2007 and later appeared in three seasons of FBI: Most Wanted.
Dick Wolf, the producer of FBI: Most Wanted, said McMahon’s death was “shocking news”.
McMahon was the son of a former Australian prime minister and went on to play an Australian prime minister’s role in Netflix’s The Residence – one of his recent appearances.
McMahon married three times – the first to Australian singer-actress Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie Minogue.
Kate Middleton makes heartfelt appeal as life takes unexpected turn
Kate Middleton sent a clear message to her well-wishers after her life took an unexpected turn ahead of taking over the reign with Prince William.
The Prince of Wales made a surprise appearance at the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital after she was pulled out of the Royal Ascot event.
During her headline-making visit, the future Queen highlighted the importance of healing through nature and, notably, for the first time, she opened up about her “rollercoaster” cancer journey like never before.
In HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, experts discussed that Princess Catherine made a strong stance that there will be changes in her royal appearances after undergoing cancer treatment.
Rhiannon Mills, a royal commentator, who was present at RHS’s Wellbeing Garden, said, “It was fascinating being in the room with her, she very loudly and clearly wanted to get across this message that, yes, she is now effectively back to royal work, but it’s really difficult, and I certainly haven’t heard her publicly talk in the way that she did yesterday. Her words were really strong.”
The expert mentioned Princess Kate’s comment about the hardships of the recovery journey. She believes that the mother-of-three is focusing on finding a new normal in life.
“For me, it was the first time that she really clearly said, ‘I’m sorry, yes, I’m back at work. But now there are some times that I just can’t do what I used to be able to do,” Rhiannon shared.
The royal correspondent also noted that Princess Kate was making a “plea” to people not to expect too much from her, as recovery from such a painful disease is not smooth.
Rhiannon added, “It felt like, again, her reinforcing this message of, ‘I’m here. I’m here to do the public work. You are going to see me, but look, give me and my family a bit of understanding, but also be a bit more understanding towards other people who are also going through that difficult time.”
It only takes a moment with Kun – the 26-year-old singer-songwriter who rose to fame on China’s Idol Producer – to feel like long-lost friends.
The boy group member turned singer-songwriter is quick to jump into conversation about his seemingly favorite topic – making music. There’s plenty to talk about. His latest single, “Deadman,” was released a month ago. The soulful track’s release was accompanied by a cinematic music video, which the 26-year-old was deeply involved in creating.
Fresh off a somewhat-surprise performance of the song song at 88Rising’s Head in the Clouds festival last month, Kun sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about making deadman, his love for music and what’s next in his “new journey.”
Can you tell me more about your latest single “Deadman?”
Well, I’m very, very happy because this track was made last year, so it was a year [until the time] when people could actually hear it. I heard it a thousand times already, so now people actually are hearing it and a lot of them are surprised. I think they’d [say], “Oh, I didn’t know Kun’s voice was like this now.” But I was just doing my thing over the past year. I would just keep cooking music in the studio. That’s what I love. I like to focus on it, and I made a lot of demos. But “Deadman” is definitely the one I loved, so I’m very happy. Finally, I put out this track. Something about this track has the vintage sound that I’ve never made before, and [there’s] the contrast between the vintage and the modern thing. I think it’s very interesting, so I really wanted people to hear it.
It does have an nostalgic feeling to it. It feels like you’ve heard it before, in a good way, not a reptetitve way. Tell me about the process making songs?
There’s no reference, to be honest. We have the guitar player [and the] piano players. I just tell them, “Hey, let’s do this groove.” I would just start giving a groove, a tempo, we set up a vibe. I start [to] freestyle, just easy. No reference. I’ll tell them, “Hey, I want to do something like old school, but not too old.” Does that make sense?
I like soulful stuff. I listen to a lot of classic jazz, soul and R&B. They know what I like. I like Prince. I like Elvis. They all know that. My friends, we make music together, so when I start free-styling, they just know. They’ll tell me, “This is the line.” We’re just chilling. We’re just playing.
Do you have a favorite part of releasing this single?
Definitely the music video. There’s a lot of crazy stories behind the music video. Look at his face, look his face. It is like, we shot it in Montenegro. It’s a very beautiful place. I was there for a week, a whole week. I learned the choreography there, and I learned fighting. I learned dance. We set up the rig. It was kind of crazy, and the schedule was very tight. We had to move to different locations, and I couldn’t even sleep at night, so I was posting [to my Instagram] story that I was just sitting on the sofa like, “I hope this will be good, I hope everything will be fine.” My friends were always asking me, “What’s going on? Why are you not sleeping? It’s supposed to be very late right now, right?” It wasn’t an easy one. Definitely. But I’m very thankful for all the people that worked on this project. It’s not an easy one. It’s kind of like a movie shoot.
That is impressive, especially given the scale.
I wanted to make this character. He’s dying over and over again because of the things he loves, so he’s bleeding all the time, very painful. Always rocking with the guitar like today is the last day, today’s the end. This is going to be the last song I sing to the world. That’s the direction we went for, and that’s the first line I said to everybody. “Hey, I want to write a song. It sounds stupid, but what if I die tomorrow? Today is the last track I’m going to play.” That’s how we got “Deadman.”
It sounds like you’re very, very creatively involved in everything you do. What is that so important to you as an artist?
I’m just a creative guy. I like to learn new things. I like to create new stuff, like cool shit, but in my own way, I don’t want to be anybody [else]. I just want to be myself, right? I just want to sound like myself. I just want to do my own thing. I’m the guy that’s always [improving] myself. I always hate the old me. It is like, “Why did I [do] this shit?” [There’s] nothing bad about it. I just want to be better all the time. You get what I mean? That’s just my personality, so I just like to beat myself.
Essentially, for you, your only competition is yourself?
Exactly.
Can you tell me a bit about Head in the Clouds and what it was like performing there?
This time I really just came here to support. [I wasn’t] playing a set. I only have one new track out. I want to play the new songs. I don’t want to play the old songs. We can probably play [them] next time, like a new set, maybe in New York. But this time I was mostly just here to show people the new music, what it sounds like. I wanted to show the audience in America, let them hear the new track. And also connect with my fans. I love the crowds.
What is it like performing in the U.S. for you? Do you enjoy it? Do you find it a little different?
I think it’s different. It’s very cool. It’s my first time [doing a festival]. In China, we have a lot of festivals too, but [I] never really go to [them]. I was only doing [my own] concerts, so this is the first time. I just really did something I haven’t done before. I’m just very happy. I’m really enjoyed it.
We didn’t even have a lot of time to prepare [with] rehearsals. I just went on the stage and tried it. I didn’t even know what mic I was going to use. I didn’t even know who was going to give me my in-ears and everything. It’s a funny story. I was actually fixing the mic stand when I was singing the high notes. Somebody didn’t tighten it, so it was just going up and down. I’m trying to fix it, but I’m also singing the high notes. It’s kind of crazy, but there’s a lot of stories people don’t know.
Do you want to perform more in the U.S.?
We will. We will. I feel like we’re just starting. Starting from “Deadman,” everything is just new. [I’m] starting a new journey, so It’s really just the beginning. Head in the Clouds, it’s fun. It’s a good start. It’s helping a lot of Asian artists. That’s something I respect. There’s not a lot of labels [or] festivals that’s helping Asian artists. That’s amazing. That’s something very cool.
What is like to be able to perform at a festival like that?
It’s a very good experience for me. When I’m singing, everything just kind of tunes out. I just focus on the track. I just want to put out the message I want. I just want to show people, “Hey, this is the new sound.” In the past, we just spent too much time in the studio. I spent too much time in studio. And I know that my fans [have been] waiting for too long. I feel a little sorry. I always say that. I feel sorry sometimes they don’t see me that much. I don’t even post a lot… That’s just me. I’m not an internet guy. I’m not a social [media] guy. That’s just not me. I just like to focus on my thing. Sometimes I feel sorry to my fans, so this time when they asked me to play [the] festival, they said, “Can you play a set?” I said maybe next time, but I can show up. I can come to support. I’d like to because I love Head in the Clouds. I love the vibe.
Jurassic World Rebirth Out now Forget Chris Pratt and the friendly velociraptors: this reboot of the dinofranchise returns to the premise that the beasties with the big sharp teeth are not to be trusted – and this time around we’ve got some mutant dinosaurs in the mix. Human stars include Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey.
The Shrouds Out now The master of body horror is back – and a new David Cronenberg film is always cause for celebration. Now in his 80s, the Canadian auteur can always be relied upon to probe the deeper and darker parts of the human psyche, and his latest exploration of grief and dystopian technology, starring Vincent Cassel, is no exception.
Jane Austen 250 The Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford; 6 July to 20 August It is 250 years since the birth of one of the greatest comic novelists of all time. This season celebrates Austen’s big-screen outings and includes Love & Friendship, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Sense & Sensibility (1995) and – yes! – the spectacular Emma riff Clueless (1995).
Hot Milk Out now The Booker-shortlisted novel is adapted for the big screen by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, with Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey playing a mother and daughter who travel to a Spanish clinic hoping for a cure for the mother’s paralysis. Vicky Krieps also stars. Catherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Hats entertainment … Confidence Man. Photograph: Julian Buchan
TRNSMT Glasgow Green, 11 to 13 July It makes sense that this Glasgow three-day party is sponsored by an energy drink; you’ll need something to see you through the whiplash of its lineup. Rapper 50 Cent headlines on Friday, not long after Confidence Man, then Biffy Clyro helm the following day and Jade features on Sunday. Michael Cragg
Sounds of the City Castleford Bowl, Manchester, 9 July to 12 July This annual city festival continues with grizzled US rock duo the Black Keys (9 Julynesday), followed by enduring British indie party-starters Bloc Party (10 Julysday) and returning hip-hop pair Rizzle Kicks on 11 July. Bingo Bango hitmakers Basement Jaxx close the party on 12 July. MC
Berlioz: Te Deum Gloucester Cathedral, today The first major event of the Cheltenham music festival, 80 years old this year, takes place not in the spa town, but nine miles away. Gloucester Cathedral will be a suitably majestic venue for Berlioz’s great setting of the Latin hymn of praise, in which Adrian Partington will be conducting the British Sinfonietta. Andrew Clements
Love Supreme festival Glynde Place, East Sussex, today4 & 5 July Now in its 12th year, the outdoor jazz festival continues to span many variations on contemporary jazz, funk, soul and electronica. Highlights include Jacob Collier’s only UK performance this year, and jazz stars Branford Marsalis, Lakecia Benjamin, Chucho Valdés, Avishai Cohen and many more. John Fordham
Going out: Art
Emily Kam Kngwarray’s Ntang Dreaming. Photograph: Emily Kam Kngwarray/Copyright Agency/DACS 2025
Emily Kam Kngwarray Tate Modern, 10 July to 11 January This bold painter brought ancient traditions and memories to the forefront of modern art. Look at Kngwarray’s paintings – their fierce colours, pulsing with dots and trackways – through a lens of modernism and they resemble abstract art, especially Jackson Pollock. But each mark relates to the ancestral history of the Dreamtime.
Lindsey Mendick Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, 9 July to 31 October Queen Elizabeth I visited Kenilworth Castle 450 years ago for a lavish series of entertainments. Mendick recreates these in its great hall with her mischievous mixture of ceramics and installation art, featuring women from classical mythology alongside Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I. They warn the great Tudor queen of coming dangers.
Watteau British Museum, to 14 September The sensual yet ethereal art of Antoine Watteau creates a unique, imaginative world where sad clowns gaze at you wistfully and lovers picnic in softly depicted woodlands. It is a poetic fiction based on observation of reality. This exhibition of Watteau’s drawings takes you to the heart of his genius.
Resistance National Galleries of Scotland: Modern Two, Edinburgh, to 4 January Steve McQueen’s intense and sharp eye shapes this survey of a century of protest. Photographs of rallies, marches and other collective acts from the era of the suffragettes to the Iraq war reveal nuance and pathos, with many powerful photographers including John Deakin, Fay Godwin and Humphrey Spender bearing witness. Jonathan Jones
Bebe Cave Soho theatre, London, 10sday to 12 July The out-of-work actor to character comedian pipeline can be a busy one, but Cave turns Plan B into brilliance with her pastiches of onscreen heroines: her exceptional Instagram satire of period drama protagonists, and her latest full-length show, The Screen Test, in which she plays Betsy Bitterly, an aspiring starlet in Hollywood’s golden age. Rachel Aroesti
Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus The Mount Without, Bristol, 9 & 10 July A brilliant solo by Belfast choreographer Oona Doherty. She used to perform it herself; now she trains up other dancers in the work’s particular, transformational physicality, embodying the oft-maligned character of the working-class male, veering between overconfident swagger and tightly wound tension. A truly original piece of dance. Lyndsey Winship
Till the Stars Come Down Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, to 27 September Beth Steel’s meticulously observed and brilliantly funny new play is set in the East Midlands on the eve of a family wedding. What does the future hold for three sisters – and one exceptionally funny aunt – still so tightly bound to their home town’s history? Miriam Gillinson
Big Big Sky New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme, to 24 July Tom Wells’s plays are always ones to savour; full of heart and sumptuous characters. His latest is set on the North Sea coastline, where the locals are shutting up shop for the winter – before one final visitor changes everything. MG
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Staying in: Streaming
All killer, no filler … Dexter: Resurrection. Photograph: Zach Dilgard/Paramount+/Showtime
Dexter: Resurrection Paramount+, 11 July Last time we saw Michael C Hall’s vigilante murderer, he seemed like a goner – but this sequel reveals he actually survived the gunshot delivered by his son. Now recovered, Dexter’s hunt for his child is interrupted when he is recruited by a strange billionaire (Peter Dinklage) who is attempting to arrange a serial killer symposium.
Too Much Netflix, 10 July Once upon a time, Lena Dunham met a musician in London – now the Girls creator has refashioned her real-life love story into a very promising romcom. The wildly funny Megan Stalter (Hacks) plays Jessica, a New Yorker who falls for singer-songwriter Felix (The White Lotus’s Will Sharpe). Richard E Grant and Emily Ratajkowski co-star.
Poisoned Channel 4, 9 July, 9pm In 2021, 22-year-old Tom Parfett died after consuming poison he’d bought online. Tipped off by Tom’s bereaved father, Times journalist James Beal traced the substance to a Canadian chef – and discovered many more victims around the globe. This documentary recounts his investigation while grappling with the disturbing online suicide industry.
The Trouble With Mr Doodle Channel 4, 9 July, 10pm Co-directed by Jaimie D’Cruz (Exit Through the Gift Shop), this film traces Sam Cox’s staggering rise from childhood drawing obsessive to one of Britain’s most lucrative artists – including the delusions and psychotic break he experienced while trying to doodle over the entirety of his Kent mansion. RA
Staying in: Games
Board silly … Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. Photograph: Iron Galaxy
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Out 11 July; PC, PS4/5, Xbox; Switch 1/2 Head back to the skatepark (above) with Activision’s second collection of classic Tony Hawk titles from the early 2000s. All the gnarly tricks and thrash metal music you remember, plus a smattering of new skaters and arenas to make it extra radical.
Missile Command Delta Out July 8; PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Atari’s revered airspace defence game returns, but this time as an intriguing turn-based strategy title, where you have to carefully manage your anti-missile arsenal while exploring the bunker you’re mysteriously trapped in. An unexpectedly timely cold war thriller. Keith Stuart
Staying in: Albums
Let’s dance … Nilufer Yanya. Photograph: Molly Daniel
Nilüfer Yanya – Dancing Shoes EP Out now Less than a year after her third album, the excellent My Method Actor, Nilüfer Yanya teases her next chapter via this four-track EP. Over a lo-fi drum machine and eerie guitar figures Cold Heart floats about like In Rainbows-era Radiohead, while Where to Look’s atmospherics are eventually punctured by sonic implosion.
Kesha – Period Out now After a protracted departure from her former label, Kesha unleashes her first album as an independent artist. Ricocheting between jacked-up pop, country EDM and, on the bonkers lead single Joyride, a hyperpop version of polka, Period feels like both a return to early Kesha and a brand new start.
Double Virgo – Shakedown Out now Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton, AKA two-thirds of London art-pop curios Bar Italia, return to their side-project for Shakedown, the duo’s third album. While not a million miles away from the mothership in terms of sound (both share a beguiling brittleness), songs such as Bemused have a stranger melodic sensibility.
Kae Tempest – Self Titled Out now South London’s literary polymath – recording artist slots alongside spoken-word performer, poet, novelist and playwright – returns with the Fraser T Smith-produced Self Titled, which also features Neil Tennant, Young Fathers and Tawiah. Featuring Tempest’s poetic flow, the powerful Know Yourself is a dialogue with the past. MC
Staying in:Brain food
The Killing Call Podcast In 2022, promising Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala was murdered. Gangster Goldy Brar claimed responsibility but three years on, no one has been convicted and Brar is still on the run. This incisive five-part series (above) investigates.
Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature Online The University of Florida’s Baldwin Library holds an extensive archive of charming children’s books from the 18th century onwards. Browse scans of everything from a collection of mysterious “Elfin Rhymes” to an illustrated 1871 Bible.
Jaws @ 50 Disney+, 11 July Celebrating a remarkable half-century since the release of the blockbuster that has led to shark phobias around the world, this film charts the chaos of its production, as well as a surprising legacy of shark conservation. Ammar Kalia
Alex Horne said he knew he had to be involved after a few minutes into his first visit
Comedian and author Alex Horne has become a patron of a much-loved adventure playground used by people with special needs and their families.
The Thames Valley Adventure Playground (TVAP), near Maidenhead, Berkshire, opened in 1982 and high profile supporters have included Sir Terry Wogan, who was also a patron, and Tim Brooke Taylor, a former president.
Horne was approached by Lola, the daughter of the charity’s community outreach coordinator, Lucie Grange, who sent a letter that she had written on a typewriter.
He said he knew within a few minutes into his first visit to the playground that he wanted to get involved.
“It’s not often I receive a letter direct from an actual typewriter so that was a good start,” Horne said.
“Then when I was shown around the playground by Lucie, I knew within a few minutes that I would have to get involved in some way.”
TVAP/Google
TVAP was first set up in 1982 and has gradually expanded
“The commitment the whole team so clearly has to provide adventure and play for people who need those things the most was both powerful and persuasive.
“So I’m as excited as anyone to have now joined that team and will hopefully be able to join in and make more fun happen before too long. Thanks again to Lola for the letter.”
TVAP’s chairman Jim Wilks added: “Alex’s ethos aligns with our vision, and we look forward to working with him to raise both our profile and our funds, ensuring that we continue to provide an inspiring, inclusive environment for all our visitors and their families.”
In January, TVAP said its visitors come from as far as Swindon and west London to use its specialist facilities.
Mr Wilks said running it had been “tough” because of rising costs and that it had been forced to increase its prices for the first time since the Covid pandemic.
Former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley and folk group The Unthanks are among headline acts at this year’s Lichfield Festival, organisers have announced.
The festival, which runs from 8 to 20 July, takes place across venues such as Lichfield Cathedral, St Michael’s Church, the Guildhall and Beacon Park.
Organisers said the event, which it dubbed one of the country’s “most eclectic multi-arts festivals” would feature world-class artists and local voices from music, theatre, dance and comedy.
The festival also included a world premiere of Gingerland, a new dance show created by Strictly Come Dancing dancer Neil Jones, a spokesperson added.
On for two nights, the family-friendly comedy features a “dazzling cast of top professional dancers, with glamorous costumes and original music,” organisers added.
Other artists headlining this year’s event include brass ensemble Black Dyke Band, Sam Every (Little) Big Band, choir Tenebrae and jazz artist Jacqui Dankworth.
The 11-day festival will close with a candlelit concert by Jeneba Kanneh-Mason in Lichfield Cathedral.
A new discounted ticket initiative was also launched this year, offering discounted prices for under 30s, carers, children and eligible community groups,
Tickets and the full event programme have been listed on the festival’s website.
Tom Baker’s appearance in East Hagbourne brought out a crowd of young autograph hunters
“I suspect my childhood love of Doctor Who has had a huge bearing on where I’ve ended up living.”
Life-long Whovian Tim Masters lives just down the road from the picturesque Oxfordshire village of East Hagbourne, where Tom Baker’s Time Lord once battled villainous aliens.
Musician Tim is now organising a special live gig to commemorate 50 years since the filming of the four-part story The Android Invasion.
He tells the BBC: “I thought, well, I’m in a space rock band, I live in the area, and it would be almost rude not to mark it in some way.”
His band Lunar Kites, whose influences include Hawkwind, Muse, and Pink Floyd, will play Hagbourne Village Hall on Sunday.
Tim, 60, formed the band in 2023, with other members hailing from Lewknor, Witney, Didcot, and Oxford.
“After I finished working I thought what am I going to do with my life now?” Tim explains.
“I thought I’m going to go back to what I loved doing as a teenager and form a rock band, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Lunar Kites
Lunar Kites consists of (l-r) guitarist Tim Masters, drummer Andrew Findlay, guitarist Jason Foster, singer Antonio Serrano, and bassist Roger Bowley
Tim’s love of Doctor Who goes much further back. His “first proper memory” of the programme is of evil mannequins gunning down innocent shoppers in Jon Pertwee’s Doctor Who debut.
“I was a very imaginative child and I think it absolutely clicked with me,” he says.
“I just love the endless invention of the show, the way it can refresh itself and it can literally do anything, go anywhere, at any time.
“That is a format which is just gold, and there’s no other show that can do that.”
The monstrous Kraals touched down in the Oxfordshire village
In July 1975 the human race was targeted again, as the monstrous Kraals touched down in East Hagbourne – named Devesham in the show – with a devious plan to replace all the villagers with robots.
Filming took place around the distinctive Upper Cross monument, the Fleur de Lys pub, and outside the Post Office.
The story featured a particular scene that terrified youngsters, as the Doctor’s companion Sarah Jane took a tumble, revealing her true android face.
Filming took place around the distinctive Upper Cross monument
Tim, who lives in neighbouring village West Hagbourne, calls the filming location “beautiful”.
He adds: “I’m always struck by how gorgeous it is… it’s almost unchanged from when it appeared in the episode, it’s almost identical.
“I think that’s part of the beauty of it, it’s a very timeless, archetypical English village.”
The site has since become a place of pilgrimage for dedicated Doctor Who fans.
“You will often see people walking around in long scarves, posing on the village monument, and hanging out in the local pub,” Tim explains.
“If you go into the Fleur de Lys today they’ve got photos up on the wall of Tom Baker meeting all the local kids.”
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The picturesque village has barely changed since The Android Invasion
Despite his fond memories of The Android Invasion, which averaged 11.6 million viewers half a century ago, Tim concedes quietly: “It’s actually not that good.”
“The stories are all absolute bangers in that season so The Android Invasion does actually look a bit weak.
“But its first episode is amazing. I’d happily show that to any non-fan as an example of a really good Doctor Who story because it’s full of mystery.”
Listen on BBC Sounds: Minis were filmed in a sewer pipe underneath Coventry for the iconic chase scene in the 1969 movie
A stretch of sewage pipe underneath Coventry cemented its place in British film history, thanks to a legendary car chase, a French stuntman and a much-loved motoring icon, the Mini.
In the late 1960s, while producing what would become the classic crime caper, The Italian Job, the filmmakers were stumped.
They could not find a suitable location in Turin, Italy, to film part of the famous escape through the streets of the city and its sewers.
Then, as Oscar-winning producer Michael Deeley recalled, luck intervened: “It was completely by chance we discovered a stretch of pipe in Stoke Aldermoor.”
That find led to the classic scene and, decades later, the exact location, now buried underground, is being tracked down and the story retold by the BBC’s Secret Coventry series.
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Michael Caine starred in the 1969 film about a crime caper and the theft of gold bullion
In the heist movie, after stealing a shipment of gold destined for a Turin car factory, the robbers make their escape with the gold in three Minis.
They drive down steps, leap across gaps between buildings and go through the sewers.
But for the latter part, they needed a wide enough section of sewer pipe which, as Mr Deeley said, they found in Coventry.
The 240m (262yd) long pipe was being installed at the time and snaked under part of Stoke Aldermoor, between The Barley Lea and Allard Way.
Photographs from the time show the Minis being lowered down to the pipes which were already being buried underground.
Coventry Telegraph Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
The Minis were winched down to the sewer pipe so they could be filmed
Neville Goode was the operator of the crane and still remembers the day clearly – though at the time, he had no idea his work was part of film history.
“It was just putting the cars down the tunnel, no idea why. Nobody told us why it was being done,” he said.
Only later, after seeing the film, did the reality sink in: “We thought, ‘Hang on, I remember working on that film’.”
Kevin Conway, a Mini enthusiast, was the driving force behind the installation of a commemorative plaque at the scene in 2019.
“They arranged for some local cameramen to be able to lower the Minis into the ground and it turned out to be one of the greatest British films ever made,” he said.
Remy Julienne was among the stunt drivers who undertook the filming
Star Michael Caine was not needed for the Coventry filming, but the daredevil behind the wheel in the tunnel was French stunt star Remy Julienne, who orchestrated much of the film’s action.
They attempted to achieve a full 360-degree roll of the car inside the sewer, but Mr Conway said it ended up that Julienne “crashed a few times”.
“[Neville] had to take a smashed Mini out of the tunnel, on its side, drag it out and lift it out,” he added.
Kevin Conway led efforts to get a plaque installed at the scene of the filming in Coventry
But the retired crane operator did come to the stuntman’s aid through a pair of gloves lent to the Frenchman.
Mr Goode said: “Julienne came out and said there was too much water, it was making the steering wheel slippy so I said, ‘I’ve got a pair of gloves in my cab if you’d like to borrow them, maybe they would help?’
“So he took those and he kept them.”
The area above the sewer pipe and the plaque at the spot, installed six years ago, has become a surprising landmark among fans of the film, Mr Conway said.
“The amount of people that I meet…it’s popping up on Facebook: ‘Here’s me standing beside it’,” he added.
“Ten feet underneath where that plaque is, was where Remy Julienne sat in the front seat of a Mini and gunned his engine.”
