black sabbath
Fans hoping for a full-scale Black Sabbath reunion at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show may need to temper their expectations, with the heavy metal pioneer revealing he won’t be playing a full set with the band.
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Osbourne made the announcement on his Ozzy Speaks program on SiriusXM channel Ozzy’s Boneyard, where he provided an update as to his plans for the recently-announced “Back to the Beginning” concert.
Described as “the final show” on the poster artwork, the lineup features both Black Sabbath and Osbourne alongside other big names such as Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Other high-profile artists, such as Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm and recent Grammy Award-winners Gojira are also included.
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“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them,” Osbourne explained. “I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable.”
Osbourne hasn’t performed a full set since Dec. 31, 2018 on the final date of his No More Tours tour. Just two months later, the metal pioneer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and any plans for further large-scale performances have been affected by numerous cancellations and health issues
“I am trying to get back on my feet,” Osbourne added. “When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
These comments track with a previous update from Osbourne earlier this month, where he told listeners that he’s still soldiering on despite his myriad health issues.
“I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I’m still alive,” he said. “I may be moaning that I can’t walk, but I look down the road, and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”
Speaking to the BBC following the announcement of the July concert, Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon explained that the show was a chance for Osbourne to end a career which has been affected in recent years by numerous cancellations and health issues.
“He’s doing great. He’s doing really great,” she said. “He’s so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It’s exciting for everyone.”
“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.”
Heavy metal pioneer Ozzy Osbourne has revealed he can no longer walk as he heads towards his final live performance.
The 76-year-old made the admission on his SiriusXM program Ozzy’s Boneyard, where he discussed what fans might be able to expect from his recently-announced farewell show.
“I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I’m still alive,” he said. “I may be moaning that I can’t walk, but I look down the road, and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”
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On Wednesday (Feb. 5), Osbourne announced his final live performance, which will take place at his hometown of Birmingham, England on July 5. The biggest headline is the inclusion of Black Sabbath, who will play their first show since Feb. 2017, and their first with the band’s original lineup since 2005.
Dubbed ‘Back to the Beginning’, the high-profile event will also include performances from Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, as well as the likes of Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm and recent Grammy Award-winners Gojira.
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Songwriter and former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, meanwhile, will serve as music director for “Back to the Beginning.” In a press release, he described the upcoming gig as set to be “the greatest heavy metal show ever.”
The event is also described as a charitable affair, with profits going towards the likes of Cure Parkinson’s, a U.K. charity working to end the disease which Osbourne was diagnosed with in 2019.
Speaking to the BBC, Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon explained that the show was a chance for Osbourne to end a career which has been affected in recent years by numerous cancellations and health issues.
“He’s doing great. He’s doing really great,” she said. “He’s so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It’s exciting for everyone.”
“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.”
In another interview with The Sun, Sharon added that Ozzy would be match-fit for the highly-anticipated event despite his ill health.
“He’s very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this,” she said. “Parkinson’s is a progressive disease. It’s not something you can stabilize. It affects different parts of the body and it’s affected his legs. But his voice is as good as it’s ever been.”
Pioneering British heavy metal icons Black Sabbath are on track to be given prestigious honors by their hometown of Birmingham, England.
On Tuesday (Jan. 28), Birmingham City Council will receive recommendations that the four founding members of the band – vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward – each be given the honorary title of City Freeman. The title recognizes the contributions that the recipient has made to the city.
“Birmingham has a fantastic musical culture and Black Sabbath are a major part of that history, a pioneering band that still influences today’s musicians,” said city council Deputy Leader Cllr Sharon Thompson. “They have become synonymous with the city and have been true ambassadors throughout their phenomenal careers.
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“Conferring these honors on these Birmingham legends would be the perfect way of saying thank you for all that they have done for the city.”
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Black Sabbath, who first formed in the inner-Birmingham area of Aston in 1968 are long considered to be pioneers of heavy metal, with their influence being felt by bands such as other iconic groups such as Metallica, who inducted Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. “Black Sabbath is and always will be synonymous with heavy metal,” said drummer Lars Ulrich.
“I’m honored and, at the same time, shocked that I would have ever been considered for this very special commendation,” Osbourne said of the honor. “I’m a proud Brummie from Aston through and through. I’m still amazed to this day that no one outside of Birmingham can understand a word I say, but that’s always made me laugh.
“I started with nothing but a dream, which I shared with Tony, Geezer and Bill,” he added. “We never gave up on that dream. My only regret is that my Mom and Dad are not here to see what I became. Birmingham Forever!”
“I’m over the moon! What a great honor to be a City Freeman,” added Iommi. “I’m aware that very few are given out. It ties us to the rich history of our hometown Birmingham, and that’s fantastic. I’m deeply grateful for the recognition.”
This is far from the first time that Birmingham has recognized the continuing impact of Black Sabbath. In 2019, Birmingham named both a bench and a bridge after the band. In 2024, Osbourne stated his desire to visit the bench, claiming he would do so “if I have to crawl there”.
Alongside Black Sabbath’s upcoming honors, the Birmingham City Council will also discuss awarding late musician, poet and actor Benjamin Zephaniah a City of Birmingham Medal. Zephaniah passed away in 2023 at the age of 65, having risen to greater fame in his final decade for his role of Jeremiah Jesus on Peaky Blinders.
In 2003, Zephaniah had turned down an offer to be appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), stating, “I get angry when I hear that word ’empire’; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised.”
Black Sabbath may rock together once more if Ozzy Osbourne has his way.
Officially, the pioneering heavy metal outfit have been inactive since 2017, when they completed their aptly-titled The End Tour. However, the band’s lineup at the time – which featured vocalist Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and session drummer Tommy Clufetos – did not include co-founding drummer Bill Ward.
Ward had initially declined to participate in Black Sabbath’s 2012 reunion tour, ultimately threatening to quit the band unless he was presented with a “signable contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band.” The band’s decision to continue without him was a source of regret for Osbourne, who said earlier this year that the “arc of the legend of Black Sabbath” was “unfinished” as a result.
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“If I wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I’d jump at the chance,” Osbourne said on The Madhouse Chronicles podcast in May. “You know what would be cool? If we just went to a club somewhere unannounced and just got up and did it out,” he added. “We started up in a club.”
Now, Butler has joined in the conversation, noting how Osbourne’s desire for a final Black Sabbath show is still as a prominent as ever.
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“Ozzy was talking to me about, when he does his farewell concert – which he still wants to do,” Butler told Lifeminute. “He’s dying to still get out there and play, and he suggested, at his very final concert, for the four of us to get up onstage and maybe do three or four songs together. And that would be it, finished.”
Butler insisted, however, the show would be a one-off, and that the there would be “definitely no more tours” from Black Sabbath.
Though it would be unclear if Ward would take place in such a potential reunion, it likewise remains to be seen when Osbourne’s final performances would take place.
Currently, Osbourne hasn’t performed live since 2022, having cancelled performances due to his ailing health, though wife Sharon confirmed to The Mirror this year he was “planning on doing two more shows to say goodbye”. No further details have been announced as yet.
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