Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath brought the curtain down on their legendary music career with what they claim was their last live performance, delighting 40,000 devotees at Aston Villa’s football ground in Birmingham on Saturday night (July 5).
The rockers, famed for anthems like Paranoid and Iron Man, were joined on stage at the ‘Back to The Beginning’ gig by a constellation of rock royalty inspired by these heavy metal titans.
At 76-years-old and battling Parkinson’s disease, Ozzy Osbourne remained on a black throne as he performed, his vocals accompanied by clapping, arm-waving, and his trademark wild-eyed expressions. Visibly moved, Ozzy addressed the fans: “You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
For the first time in two decades, the full original Black Sabbath ensemble assembled onstage. Sharing the spotlight were illustrious peers Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.
Donning a leather overcoat and sporting a golden armband bearing his name, Ozzy made a dramatic entrance from beneath the stage into his seat of honour, eliciting thunderous applause from the audience. “Are you ready? Let the madness begin,” he declared at the Aston Villa stadium, mere moments from where he spent his childhood.
“It’s so good to be on this stage. You have no idea,” he professed to an adoring crowd chanting his name in unison.
Ozzy kicked off the performance with a solo set of five songs, followed by a reunion with his Black Sabbath bandmates, including guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward, for four additional tracks, concluding with their 1970 hit Paranoid.
The reaction from fans has been overwhelmingly positive, with many hailing Ozzy’s performance as “glorious”. One fan raved: “That’s it! The last time we’ll ever see Black Sabbath perform together and what a glorious last set it was! Ozzy Osbourne is the GOAT.”
Another fan echoed: “I’m glad I wasn’t the only one watching. Hell of a show and a great way to bow out. Long live @BlackSabbath.”
A third fan praised Ozzy’s vocal training efforts, saying: “His voice sounds great…you know Ozzy has been doing vocal training for months, all for this show. You don’t sound that good without putting the work in.”
While a fourth marveled at Ozzy’s stage presence: “A 76-year-old man with severe Parkinson’s who can’t stand anymore and can still command the stage and captivate every single person in the audience… Ozzy Osbourne your legacy will be forever untouched.”
A fifth fan agreed: “God bless you @OzzyOsbourne, you still have the vocals.”
However, some fans did express sadness at seeing Ozzy seated during the performance due to his health issues.
One fan said: “It was a fantastic day and Black Sabbath still got it! Ozzy broke my heart though, it looked like he wanted to get up so many times. What a great show!” One fan emotionally remarked: “At least he got this one last show. I had tickets to his final show at the Hollywood Bowl June 2020… he was too sick to do that tour and it was all cancelled.”
A second lamented Ozzy’s physical limitations: “Poor old Ozzy… you could tell he was dying to jump up and fly around the stage like old [times].”
The gig was filled with heartfelt tributes from other artists, including Metallica’s James Hetfield who acknowledged during their set: “Without Sabbath there would be no Metallica. Thank you for giving us a purpose in life.”
Guns N’ Roses paid homage by playing Sabbath’s 1978 classic ‘Never Say Die,’ and Axl Rose finished their set with a shout-out: “Birmingham! Ozzy! Sabbath! Thank you!”.
An array of stellar supergroups graced the stage too, featuring rock legends Steven Tyler, Ronnie Wood, Travis Barker of Blink-182, and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello.
Another version of these superbands included Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and Judas Priest’s KK Downing, yet another icon from West Midlands’ fundamental metal pantheon.
The evening also saw fresh talent such as Yungblud performing the Sabbath number ‘Changes’, belonging to another all-star line-up which encompassed members from Megadeth, Faith No More, and Anthrax.
Hollywood icon Jason Momoa took on hosting duties and even dived into the moshpit, rallying the crowd with: “Make some space for me, I’m coming in.”