Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath played their final concert together with an epic send-off at Birmingham’s Villa Park on Saturday (July 5).
The gig, billed as ‘Back to Beginning,’ was a homage to Ozzy and the metal titans who formed in Birmingham back in 1968. Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and long-time manager, organized the concert alongside Live Nation.
Ozzy has faced a number of health issues over the years, and Saturday’s gig acted as a retirement for the legendary performer and his Black Sabbath bandmates. The 76-year old has been diagnosed with advanced Parkinson’s disease that has left him with limited mobility, though he is able to sing and perform live. The concert benefited charitable causes, with profits split between Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.
The full lineup, which kicked off at 1 p.m. BST, featured an all-star cast of performers. Alongside Black Sabbath, the day also saw performances from Metallica, Slayer, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Pantera, Anthrax and more.
Throughout the day a number of artists performed covers of Sabbath material. British rocker Yungblud performed Sabbath’s “Changes” with an all-star band; Anthrax performed “Electric Funeral” from Black Sabbath’s 1970 album Paranoid, and Guns N’ Roses took on “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” in their set.
The huge production ran for 11 hours and was hosted by actor Jason Momoa. The event was also streamed live globally on pay-per-view to hundreds of thousands of fans; entry to the stream was priced at £25 ($34).
A number of big names paid tribute to Ozzy and Black Sabbath, praising their influence. Metallica’s James Hetfield said, “Without Sabbath there would be no Metallica. Thank you boys for giving us purpose in life.” Elton John sent a message in to Ozzy: “You are one of the most remarkable singers of our time… You are the king, you are the legend. You’ve been through so much crap in the last few years. I hope this is the best day of your life so far.”
The event concluded with a pair of sets from Ozzy in the final hour. The first included five songs from his lengthy solo career and with members of his touring band; Ozzy was perched on a throne during the performances.
Then Ozzy and fellow original Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi (guitar), Bill Ward (drums) and Geezer Butler (bass) reunited for the closing performance. This was the first time Ward had performed with the band since 2005.
See the full setlist from Ozzy’s performances below.
