Over the last month, tributes have been pouring in for Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne after the band’s farewell concert, Back to the Beginning, and Ozzy’s recent passing. But one of the coolest—and most unexpected—tributes came from the Band of the Coldstream Guards in the UK. Yep, the same military band that plays during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace broke out a full instrumental version of “Paranoid.”
Videos posted by fans captured the moment on Wednesday, July 30, when the Band of the Coldstream Guards—featuring musicians from the Royal Corps of Army Music—performed the full version of “Paranoid.” Instead of just a quick nod, they went all in. Horns carried the melody in place of Ozzy’s vocals, while the rest of the group nailed the iconic rhythm and energy. The performance turned out to be a bold and surprisingly touching salute to the Prince of Darkness.
As random as it might seem, Ozzy actually had a bit of history with the Royal Family. Back in 2002, he performed “Paranoid” at Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee celebration in front of the Queen herself, plus then-Prince Charles, William, and Harry. So this wasn’t totally out of nowhere—just a really cool full-circle moment for one of rock’s biggest legends.
SOURCE: BlabberMouth