Frail Ozzy Osbourne fans conflicted over 'sad' final Black Sabbath performance
Ozzy Osbourne fans have been left divided over the legendary rocker's final performance this evening. Ozzy, 76, took to the stage in Birmingham on a throne to perform five songs during Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning farewell gig in his hometown.
But some fans watching in the crowd and on the live stream were left feeling uneasy over seeing their idol perform amid his multiple health battles.
Ozzy's fans have declared it is an end of an era as he performs his final show. His health issues became clear to fans as they helped him get through the set.
It left Rakkan, from Saudi Arabia but travelled from London, saying: "I'm conflicted. He's obviously enjoying himself but it's sad to see him in this physical state. It feels like an end of an era."
Over on Twitter, one fan wrote: "Feel a bit sorry for Ozzy being wheeled out like that. He clearly isn't fit and well." "I feel bad for Ozzy. Yeah it's his last ever live show but it's kinda gross how a visibly unwell man is being wheeled out like this by Sharon," another mused.
A third wrote: "Very sad, Ozzy in a goth wheel chair." However, some loved it. "As much as I am against this final Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath show, the videos I've seen on Twitter and Youtube, Ozzy sounds a lot better than I expected," one declared online.
Ozzy had warned fans last month that he "may be sitting down" for his final performance at Villa Park because of health problems as Black Sabbath were awarded the freedom of Birmingham.
Founding members of the heavy metal band – formed in the city in 1968 – were presented with scrolls and medals at a ceremony at the weekend.
Terence 'Geezer' Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward were recognised for their significance to the cultural and musical identity of Birmingham and as pioneers of heavy metal in the city and beyond.
The band recorded eight albums selling more than 75 million copies worldwide, and are preparing for their Back To The Beginning farewell show on July 5.
Ozzy said as he collected the honour that the reunion concert was conceived by his wife Sharon. The band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, awarded a Lifetime Ivor Novello Songwriting Award in 2015 and presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Speaking at the freedom of the city ceremony, Osbourne said: "I first put an advert in a music store in town. If these guys hadn't come to my door, I wouldn't be sitting here now.
"It seems to have flown by so quickly. It's amazing. I think about my dad, who went into debt to buy me a microphone. If only he could be here now. I think he would be very proud. I'm a Brummie and I always will be a Brummie. Birmingham forever!"
Butler said: 'This is a great working class city, and we're all working class, from Aston. We weren't given a chance when we started out, but Birmingham has always been behind us. People used to make fun of our accents, but we're all proud Birmingham people and we love this city. It's one of the greatest cities ever, it's given the world so much and we're proud to be here.'
Iommi added: 'It's a great thing to receive. Birmingham is our home, and we love what Birmingham has done for us. We've got the bridge and the bench, things like that. We're very grateful.'
Ward said: 'It's completely overwhelming. I'm so proud to be an Astonian. That's where I got my attitude.
'I was blessed – and cursed! – to meet Tony when I was 15, and I'm so proud that I got to know Geezer and Ozzy. They're my brothers. I love them very much and we love our city very much.'
Each band member received the title of honorary freeman, and an engraving of their names on the Freedom of the City marble board was unveiled at the ceremony.
The scrolls were produced by local company Hilton Studios and the medals were produced by Jewellery Quarter-based business Fattorini.
The medal was designed by competition winner Toby Williams, a student at the School of Jewellery at Birmingham City University.
The rockers already have a bridge named after them in the city as a permanent tribute to their accomplishments.
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NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Dougie Wallace for NBC News Music Ozzy Osbourne's last stand With tears in his makeup-shadowed eyes, Osbourne, the ailing and retiring frontman for Black Sabbath, raged against the twilight of the metal gods.
July 6, 2025, 10:35 AM EDT By Alexander Smith BIRMINGHAM, England — Ozzy Osbourne rises from beneath the stage on a leather throne adorned with a bat and two diamond-eyed skulls. It's part rock 'n' roll theater, part medical necessity. At 76, the 'Prince of Darkness' has Parkinson's disease, his spine is held together with screws and plates, and his ailing voice sometimes struggles for pitch. But this was an emotional display of bloody-minded defiance. On Saturday night, in his hometown of Birmingham, Osbourne forced his battered body through the final concert of his band, Black Sabbath, the godfathers of heavy metal formed in 1968. It capped a 10-hour marathon featuring the biggest names in hard rock, from Metallica and Guns N'Roses to supergroups packed with A-listers from Aerosmith, Rage Against the Machine, the Smashing Pumpkins and even Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones. With some 45,000 coming from all over the world to fill Birmingham's Villa Park soccer stadium — and another 5.8 million watching online — it was a defining moment for an epoch now in its twilight. The superstars of 1960s and '70s counterculture are bowing out, often replaced by the fragmented niches, tribes and trends enabled by the internet. With tears in his makeup-shadowed eyes, the Sabbath frontman both honored this handover while raging against the dying of its light. 'You've got no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,' Osbourne told the rapt audience in a faltering voice. The snap reviews were replete with awe. 'I was a bit afraid when I first saw Ozzy in his chair; I didn't know how he was going to be,' said Markus Kocher, 57, who traveled here from Stuttgart, Germany, where he works in manufacturing. 'But it was fantastic. I was very, very emotional. I was born in 1968, so Black Sabbath has been around me my whole life.' Hints abound that many rockers here are no longer in their 1970s prime. A sign outside the stadium warns 'crowd-surfing and moshing are not advised,' and an MC tells the audience to 'make sure you're hydrated — not just with beer!' But there are also plenty in the masses born decades after Sabbath's heyday, including a notable number of families. 'I cried,' said Heyang Zhou, a 21-year-old student from Huangshan, China, who is studying in Liverpool, England. 'Ozzy is so ill but he still made a show for us.' The entertainment is male-dominated (of the dozens of musicians there is only one woman: Lzzy Hale of Pennsylvania rockers Halestorm) but the crowd is far from it. 'I paid about 400 British pounds (about $550) for the ticket, but I would have paid 1,000 pounds — honestly even more than that,' said Maddison Wilson, 28, from Cleveland, Ohio. 'This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was brought up by my parents with older music, whether it's Black Sabbath or Pink Floyd. Great music is great music.' It was fitting that a career of drug binges, reality-TV stardom — and wild behavior such as Osbourne biting the head off a bat — ended a stone's throw from where the band grew up in the deprived Birmingham neighborhood of Aston. Masterminded by Osbourne's promoter and wife, Sharon Osbourne, and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, acting as musical director, the event will see proceeds go to the British charity Cure Parkinson's and the local Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorns Children's Hospice. That homecoming ethos inspired the event's name 'Back to the Beginning,' the first time in more than 20 years that Sabbath has performed with its original 1968 lineup: guitarist Tony Iommi, 77, Geezer Butler, 75, on bass, drummer Bill Ward, who at age 77 finished his set shirtless. Yes, they only made it through four numbers — 'War Pigs,' 'NIB,' 'Iron Man' and 'Paranoid' — but those songs contained some of the most bludgeoning, earth-rending guitar riffs ever conceived. Though wavering at times, Osbourne's 'Brummie' vocals were unmistakable. And lacing it all were the doom-laden occult themes that caused such a moral panic at the time but influenced generations of metalheads thereafter. A measure of Sabbath's influence is how other artists have clamored to be at this whistle-stop extravaganza emceed by Hollywood actor Jason Momoa. At one point, sharing the stage were Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker — before Red Hot Chili Peppers' sticksman Chad Smith took his place. 'Without Black Sabbath, there would be no Metallica,' the latter's frontman, James Hetfield, a relative spring chicken at age 61, told the crowd during that band's thundering set. 'Thank you, boys, for giving us a purpose in life.' Every act — which on another night would be headliners in their own right — played at least one cover song from Black Sabbath's catalog or Osbourne's solo career. 'It felt great to be part of this tribute,' Wood told NBC News moments after stepping offstage. 'It's a great day. Good old Ozzy,' he added affectionately. For fans, many spent thousands of dollars, pounds, euros, pesos and dinars to make global pilgrimages. They seem almost offended at the suggestion they could miss it. There's Tim Mullholem, 64, a chiropractor from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who paid $20,000 — including VIP, stageside tickets at $5,000 a piece — because 'we needed to be here' to see his childhood heroes. Thiago Salay, 40, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, had his first IRL meeting with Sandra Perez, 43, from Los Angeles, two devotees from an online fan club who had known each other virtually for 20 years. 'I sat at the computer for, like, days and days and days trying to get tickets,' said Perez. Isaac Gindi, 50, was almost thwarted by the conflict between his homeland of Israel and Iran, wasting thousands on nonrefundable flights grounded by rocket fire. He doesn't care: 'Music is the best thing we have in life. I believe it will change the world.' And why not, when nights like these are an increasing rarity. Whereas audiences once consumed a relative monoculture fed by TV, radio and the press, the internet has fragmented us into a million musical silos. Add to that the collapse of record sales and the rise of streaming, and it's almost impossible for most acts to make any money. 'Audiences today are much more fragmented,' said Keith Kahn-Harris, a sociologist and music critic who teaches in the department of psycho-social studies at London's Birkbeck College. 'It's not an era in which you have that kind of mass audience' common among their midcentury forebears. There are exceptions — Taylor Swift and Beyoncé often seem ubiquitous — but these are 'more pop than rock,' Kahn-Harris pointed out. 'We are seeing a lot of quite aged bands touring at the moment, and the question is always raised: When does this end? And how does this end?' Kahn-Harris added. Sabbath's sound was also shaped by industrial forces that have since waned in the West. When he was 17, guitarist Tony Iommi severed the tips of two fingers in a sheet-metal factory accident. Defying doctors who told him he would never play again, he fashioned two thimble prostheses out of melted dish detergent bottles. Crucially, he detuned his guitar so the looser strings would be easier on his injured fingers — and inadvertently invented heavy metal. This was 'the best thing that ever happened to music,' said Deena Weinstein, a professor of sociology at DePaul University in Chicago. Birmingham now makes the most of its claim to being the 'home of heavy metal.' This weekend, the city was given over to the band, with murals and club-night after-parties, as well as its main train station rebranded in Osbourne's honor. But reaching this height of reverence wasn't easy. 'I took their master tape to 14 record labels in London, and they all turned me down,' the band's first manager, Jim Simpson, now 87, told NBC News in an interview. A pivot came when the band changed its name from the original, Earth. 'I insisted we change it,' he said, speaking outside a Sabbath tribute night in nearby Dudley on the eve of the main show. 'From that moment on, things changed,' he said. And so, as fireworks shot into the summer gloaming above Villa Park, that historical chapter came full circle. After the lights came on, some wandered around the plastic cup-littered arena as if in shock. 'That was just historical,' said Robert Cote, 59, who is here with his wife, Josee Lessard, 51, from Quebec, Canada. 'All I can say is, we will never see anything like this again.' Alexander Smith Alexander Smith is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital based in London.
Metro
2 hours ago
- Metro
Hollywood heavyweight crashes Black Sabbath mosh pit at last ever gig
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Black Sabbath said farewell to their 58-year career in style with a surprising cameo from a Hollywood star in the crowd. Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, 76, was overwhelmed with emotion as he took to the stage one last time at Villa Park in Birmingham. The Back to the Beginning show has been one of the hottest tickets this year, marking both the end and the first time the group had played together in 20 years. Ahead of Ozzy's entrance, metal icons like Metallica and Slayer took to the stage but it was another familiar face who captured fans attention. During Pantera's set, Jason Momoa burst from beside the stage and beelined straight for the growing mosh pit. The Game of Thrones star climbed over the barrier and got stuck in as he fist-bumped fans who wildly jumped around him. We're assuming Aquaman could hold his own but the camera didn't show him leaving the mosh pit at any point. Fan videos flooded social media, with Jason, 45, visible on the big screen before the camera panned back to the stage. Kornymoon on X posted: 'Jason Mamoa a real metalhead! Walked into the center of the pit to mosh with the crowd.' 'Imagine tearing it up in the pit to Tool, Metallica, and Black Sabbath…then you turn around and Aquaman is right there thrashing around and having the time of his life,' said goodbyefriend. Retin_Dim added: 'My apologies, Jason Momoa. I was not familiar with your game.' 'It was fun watching him crowd surf! 🤘,' shared buzzsawsmom as others branded it 'epic'. For the eighth year, 150,000 festival goers will descend on Glasgow Green from 11-13 July to see the liked of 50 Cent, Gracie Abrams and Biffy Clyro, and you could be there! Metro has teamed up with Rockstar Energy presents TRNSMT Festival to offer four VIP tickets to one lucky winner. For a chance to win this massive music prize, simply enter your details here. You have until midnight on Sunday 6 July 2025 to enter using the form below. Entrants must be 18+. Good luck! T&Cs apply*. Click here if form is not loading. * Open to legal residents of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) aged 18 or over. Promotion opens at 18:01 BST on 2 July 2025 and closes at 23:59 BST on 6 July 2025. The promotion is free to enter; however internet access is required. Entrant must visit and when prompted by the form, submit their name, email, telephone number, date of birth and postcode. Acceptance of the terms and conditions is necessary to enter the promotion. There will be one (1) winner. The winner will win four (4) VIP weekend tickets for TRNSMT Festival, running from 11th – 13th July 2025 at Glasgow Green, in Glasgow ('Prize'). Proof of age and photographic ID are required for entry for all guests (the guests of the winner must be at least 16 years old at the time of entry). The Prize, including entry and attendance at TRSNMT festival, is subject to and governed by the Promoter's full ticket terms and conditions. 1 prize available. 1 entry per person. Full T&Cs apply, see here. Jason wasn't the only celeb catching the final Black Sabbath show, with music legends like Queen's Sir Brian May, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, and Rolling Stones icon Ronnie Wood also at the venue. Black Sabbath's reunion gig was billed as the final ever show, after the deterioration of Ozzy's health over the past few years. The legend sat in a leather bat throne and delivered a short solo set before being joined by bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. Before leaving the stage, having sung hits like Crazy Train, Suicide Solution, and War Pigs, an emotional Ozzy closed the show with Paranoid and said: 'It's the last song ever. 'Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle…thank you from the bottom of our hearts.' Afterwards, wife and manager of 40 years, Sharon Osbourne, confirmed she's finally 'done' after a lifetime in the music business. More Trending The music mogul has spent much of the past few decade looking after her husband who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease back in 2003, after suffering a near-fatal quad bike accident the same year. In 2019, Ozzy had a major fall in his LA home, which aggravated his quad bike injuries, dislodging metal rods in his back, neck and shoulders. She told Billboard: 'I've been doing this since I was 15, and I'm done. We just want to live our life and do what we want to do and not have to follow an itinerary anymore.' Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow – s treaming on demand now – Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Rock star admits he purchased Ozzy Osbourne's DNA for $450 MORE: Iconic singer pulls out of final Black Sabbath show after scheduling conflict MORE: You can now consume Ozzy Osbourne's DNA for $450
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Black Sabbath review - Ozzy Osbourne's touching comment moved fans to tears
It was labelled Back to the Beginning, but it was most certainly the end of an era for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. As the curtain came down on an industry defining career, a full day of metal with the biggest names in the genre a stone's throw from Ozzy's childhood home was a fitting way to call it quits. I can't confess to being one of the staunchest of followers of the Prince of Darkness - fans arrived from all over the world, including Brazil, Estonia and USA to name a few. But, it was clear I was a part of history at Villa Park as Ozzy and co took to it for one last time. Sitting trying to take it all in after the show had finished, I joined fans in questioning what we had just witnessed. Will this ever be repeated? Will there ever be another? I highly doubt it. It really felt like the perfect celebration - and one both the fans and Ozzy himself clearly needed. He might not have been the rocker of old, his frail body confined to his bat-adorned chair, but he was still able to keep the adoring crowd in the palm of his hand at ease. He brought many fans to tears as they tried their best to soak it up in their dream-like state for the final time. While it was an emotional day for those watching on, some conflicted on the appearance due to his physical wellbeing, it was obvious that Ozzy was feeling it too. He regularly thanked fans, with the sincerity touching. But he still threw it back with his expletive urges for the crowd to get louder, of course. While his struggles were obvious, he left it all out on stage. Ozzy's glares and demonic stares were also on hand to roll back the years with his iconic appearance. His health issues have been well documented, with the 76-year-old's Parkinson's disease taking its toll. But while some fans were left torn when it came to his wheeled out performance, I personally hold nothing but respect for the icon and the efforts made to entertain his crowd one last time despite his ailments. Let's face it, who else in this genre could have such a pull? Over 40,000 packed into the football stadium of his beloved Aston Villa for a once-in-a-lifetime concert. Where else would you see so many legendary bands take to the same stage? I happily avoided the many mosh pits throughout the day but enjoyed watching on as the jubilant fans on the pitch went hell for leather. Rather them than me! Although, I hope you weren't one of those hit by a flying trainer from the Lamb of God lead singer as he launched his footwear after his set. For me, it was the drum-off and Super Band B's entrance that really got the party started. Three of the world's best - Travis Barker of Blink 182, Tool's Danny Carey, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Chad Smith - mesmerized with their skills. And calling what followed a Super Band was an understatement. I started to lose track of all the iconic names that were being welcomed to the stage. Billy Corgan, Tom Morello, Nuno Bettencourt, KK Downing, Rudy Sarzo and Sammy Hagar to name just a few. Throw in Ronnie Wood and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler for good measure and I was in awe, if not not fully believing what was going on. And how could we forget Hollywood royalty Jason Momoa? The metal fan was the announcer for the day. Surreal, right? He told the crowd this music is in our DNA as he explained how it has helped in every movie role he has been in before surprisingly joining the moshers near the stage for Pantera's set. It was a day for the ages, that's for sure. It'll long live in my memory and just goes to show the true impact Ozzy has had on the world throughout his 57-year career. As bow outs go, you'll be pushed to see any better.
