Original Black Sabbath Members to Reunite for Ozzy Osbourne’s for Final Show
The Prince of Darkness will take the stage one final time this July, when Ozzy Osbourne, 76, will play a concert in his hometown of Birmingham, UK, reuniting all original members of Black Sabbath, the pioneering metal band he co-founded in 1968 and fronted throughout the ’70s.
Osbourne, who has been struggling with health issues related to Parkinson’s and a spinal injury in recent years, has retired from touring, with his last live performance at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. His wife, TV personality Sharon Osbourne, told the BBC in a joint statement with Tony Iommi that this will be Ozzy’s final show, and represents an opportunity for the mega-star to give his music career a proper send-off: “Ozzy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there’s no been no full stop. This is his full stop.” She continued, “It’s an endless amount of people, they’re going to be doing some Sabbath songs, some Ozzy songs, and they’ll all mix together.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Live Nation UK
Titled “Back to the Beginning,” the concert will take place on July 5, 2025, at the home of Aston Villa Football Club. It will also feature performances by Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Gojira, Anthrax, and many other bands inspired by Osbourne, as well as an appearance by a supergroup including Slash, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Van Halen’s Wolfgang Van Halen, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, and more. Ozzy will then take the stage for a brief solo set, before reuniting with the original Black Sabbath lineup of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time in 20 years. The concert’s musical director Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine said “This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever.”
The event will be a fundraiser for a number of charities, including Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice. Tickets to this epic send-off go on sale on February 14.
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