Ian Youngs
Culture reporter
Ross Halfin
Ozzy Osbourne performed while seated on an elaborate black throne
Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath have gone out with a bang at what they say will be their final gig, in front of 40,000 fans and supported by an all-star line-up of rock legends who have been influenced by the founding fathers of heavy metal.
Ozzy, 76, who has Parkinson’s disease, sang while seated on a black throne – clapping, waving his arms and pulling wild-eyed looks, just like old times.
He appeared overwhelmed at some moments. “You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he told the crowd at Villa Park in Birmingham.
He was joined by the full original Sabbath line-up for the first time in 20 years.
The show’s bill also included fellow rock gods Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
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Metallica were among the other bands who rocked Villa Park
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Anthrax
Wearing a leather overcoat and gold armband bearing his name, Ozzy rose from below the stage in his throne to a huge roar from the crowd.
“Are you ready? Let the madness begin,” he called.
“It’s so good to be on this stage. You have no idea,” he told the crowd, who responded by chanting his name.
After playing five songs from his solo career, Ozzy was joined by his Sabbath bandmates – guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward – for four more, finishing with 1970 classic Paranoid.
The Parkinson’s, other health problems and age have taken their toll, meaning he performed sitting down throughout. His voice wavered a bit but still packed a fair punch.
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The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood
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Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler
Fans came from all over the world – if they could get tickets – for the all-day Back to the Beginning gig at Aston Villa’s football stadium, a stone’s throw from Ozzy’s childhood home.
The star-studded show was dubbed the “heavy metal Live Aid”, and profits will go to charity.
The pitch was a sea of Black Sabbath T-shirts and rock hand signs, with some areas becoming a melee of moshing. One person waved an inflatable bat, a reference to the infamous 1982 incident when Ozzy bit the head off a live bat on stage – the most notorious moment of many in the rock star’s wild career.
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The day’s other performers paid homage to him and the other band members.
“Without Sabbath there would be no Metallica,” the US group’s frontman James Hetfield told the crowd during their set. “Thank you for giving us a purpose in life.”
Guns N’ Roses’ appearance included a cover of Sabbath’s 1978 song Never Say Die, with frontman Axl Rose ending with the cry: “Birmingham! Ozzy! Sabbath! Thank you!”
A series of star-studded supergroups saw Tyler, who has suffered serious vocal problems in recent years, sound back on form as part of a band including Ronnie Wood, Blink-182’s Travis Barker and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello.
Another version of the band included Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan and KK Downing from Judas Priest, another of the West Midlands’ original metal heroes.
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Ozzy Osbourne (centre) pictured before the show with some of the stars who were also on the bill
Battle of the drummers
Younger performers included Yungblud, who sang one of Sabbath’s more tender songs, Changes, originally released in 1972, and which Ozzy took to number one as a duet with daughter Kelly in 2003.
Yungblud was part of another supergroup whose revolving cast of musicians included members of Megadeth, Faith No More and Anthrax.
There was also a titanic battle of three drummers in a “drum-off” between Barker, Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Danny Carey of Tool.
Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo told the crowd the artists on the bill “would all be different people” without Black Sabbath. “That’s the truth. I wouldn’t be up here with this microphone in my hand without Black Sabbath. The greatest of all time.”
Momoa in the moshpit
Hollywood actor Jason Momoa was the show’s compere and while introducing Pantera, told fans he was joining the moshpit, saying: “Make some space for me, I’m coming in.”
At another point, he told the crowd: “The history of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne is to look back at the best who’ve ever done it. We have some of the greatest rock and metal musicians ever here today on this stage.”
Momoa’s Minecraft Movie co-star Jack Black sent a video message, as did other big names ranging from Billy Idol to Dolly Parton.
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Leeft-right: Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi performed together for the first time since 2005
“Black Sabbath really kind of started all this, the metal era,” former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar told BBC News backstage. “Everyone looks at them like the kings, and if the kings are going to go out then we’re going to go honour them.
“Everyone that was asked to do this, shoot, you drop everything and do this. This is going to go down in history as the greatest metal event of all of all time.”
Ozzy said beforehand that the show would be “a goodbye as far as my live performances go, and what a way to go out”.
The line-up of legends “means everything”, he said in an interview provided by organisers.
“I am forever in their debt for showing up for me and the fans. I can’t quite put it into words, but I feel very emotional and blessed.”
Ticket prices ranged from about £200 to £2,000, with profits being shared between Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
Back to the Beginning line-up:
- Black Sabbath
- Ozzy Osbourne solo
- Metallica
- Guns N’ Roses
- Slayer
- Tool
- Pantera
- Supergroup including Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Ronnie Wood (the Rolling Stones), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Adam Jones (Tool), KK Downing (Judas Priest), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Sammy Hagar (Van Halen), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Travis Barker (Blink-182) and Tobias Forge (Ghost)
- Drum-off – Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Travis Barker (Blink-182) and Danny Carey (Tool)
- Gojira
- Alice in Chains
- Anthrax
- Supergroup including Lizzy Hale (Halestorm), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), David Draiman (Disturbed), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Yungblud and Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme)
- Lamb of God
- Halestorm
- Rival Sons
- Mastodon