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Osbourne's music mogul father dies

Sharon Osbourne's music mogul father, Don Arden, has died at the age of 81.
1 of 1 Osbourne was estranged from her father
Osbourne was estranged from her father

The infamous rock manager oversaw the careers of acts like the Small Faces, the Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath, fronted by Ozzy Osbourne.

He was renowned for his violent temper and estranged from his daughter for 20 years.

Osbourne, 54, fought her father to manage her rock star husband.
Arden was one of the most prominent figures in the pop business of the 1960s and 1970s.

He was dubbed The Al Capone of Pop and The English Godfather for his threatening business techniques.

His methods were alleged to include beatings and knee-cappings, and he once got his "heavies" to dangle an entrepreneur out of a third-storey window by his ankles for attempting to lure away the Small Faces.

X Factor judge Osbourne was reconciled with her father in 2002, after he developed Alzheimer's Disease.

The star's spokesman Gary Farrow said Arden died in a nursing home in Los Angeles.

Osbourne recently revealed in a TV interview that the psychological scars from her father's behaviour remained with her.
She said: "I was surrounded by violent people, violent talk, violent behaviour, so there was nothing unusual seeing my dad threatening someone, or brandishing a firearm.

"My father really had a temper. He had a voice which would echo through the entire house. A couple of times he would whack me and he used to yank my hair. I wouldn't say I was abused and beaten. In those days it was a normal thing."

She added: "As punishment, my dad used to lock me in the unlit coal cupboard in the basement. I still panic in confined spaces to this day. I wont go on the underground. I hate packed trains."
Osbourne's mother Hope died in 1998.

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