
Ozzy Osbourne starts Black Sabbath rehearsals for farewell gig
Black Sabbath have started rehearsing for their farewell gig.
The Paranoid rockers' original lineup - made up of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - are reuniting for the last time at the Back To The Beginning show at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5.
The group took to X on Tuesday (24.06.25) to share a photo of Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, and revealed: "Rehearsals are underway for Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow."
The three men are smiling in the snap, while Ozzy - who has been open about his health struggles in recent years - is holding a cane as they sit backstage.
Tony wasn't in the photo, but he's still set to be part of the historic show.
The gig will mark the first time that Black Sabbath's original line-up will have played together for 20 years but Ozzy insists that it will be the definitive end for the Paranoid rockers.
The heavy metal icon, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, told Mojo magazine: "After this show, I'm going home, closing the door and will look back upon the great career I've had.
"But I'm done, done, done! You gotta know when to call it quits."
The War Pigs singer confessed that he would be feeling anxious even if was just a "regular gig".
He added: "Even if it was a regular gig, I would be a nervous wreck. I was born nervous.
"Right now, I'm feeling grateful and proud and I'm sure I'll be feeling dozens more emotions on the day of the show."
The lineup will alsoi feature the likes of Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, and Lamb of God.
Guitarist Tony admitted there are "so many other moving parts" to the upcoming spectacle.
He told Music Week: "This would be a big, monumental thing if it all comes good. The worrying thing for me is the unknown.
"We don't know what's going to happen. Normally, when we'd tour, we'd rehearse and run through the thing for a while, and it's just us. But with this event there are so many other moving parts."
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Perth Now
4 days ago
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Wolfgang Van Halen forced to back out of Black Sabbath's final gig
Wolfgang Van Halen was forced to "back out" of Black Sabbath's final concert. The son of late guitar-slayer Eddie Van Halen has explained that he will no longer be performing at the Back To The Beginning concert at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5, due to his band Mammoth's support tour with Creed. Speaking on WRIF Detroit recently, Wolfgang Van Halen explained of the situation: 'I, unfortunately, had to back out because the Creed tour starts the day after, and I wouldn't be able to pull it off — unfortunately. I'm very excited to watch it, but I unfortunately had to back out.' He's not the only one to leave the lineup, as frontman Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon recently revealed she dropped a band from the concert after having a "huge to-do" with their manager. It remains a mystery which band are no longer playing the charity concert as a result of the fallout with music mogul Sharon. She told Metal Hammer: 'I had a huge, huge to-do with a manager over this celebration for Ozzy and Sabbath. 'And it was probably the worst way I've felt in years. 'I don't care what this person says about me, thinks about it, because he doesn't know me. 'And he's now going around making up bull**** lies because I threw his band off the bill.' There was speculation that Tool were the band in question after their name was removed from the lineup online, however, it has since returned. Sharon continued: "Because do you know what? I don't love them. I care about people who love me, what they say about me. You can't care what an industry says, because you don't love them, so how can it hurt you? It doesn't.' The loaded bill also includes Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, Duff McKagan and Slash of Guns 'N Roses, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, Korn star Jonathan Davis, and Anthrax. The concert is set to be Ozzy's final show after he was struck by a series of health issues, and he recently admitted the impact of preparing for the gig. He told the Ozzy Speaks podcast on SiriusXM: 'All I can say is I'm giving 120 percent. If my God wants me to do the show, I'll do it.' The performance at Villa Park marks Ozzy's first live appearance since 2018 and follows a series of health setbacks, including his 2020 public disclosure of a Parkinson's disease diagnosis. He added on his podcast about the mental toll of preparing to return to the stage: 'My head's crazy. ADHD – I have that badly. I will have done the show and died a death before I even started my exercises. 'So I try and put it on the back burner. I'm not going up there saying, 'It's going to be great. I'm really confident.'' Ozzy also admitted he is still uncertain whether he will perform standing up or seated, following multiple spinal surgeries related to a 2003 quad bike accident at his Buckinghamshire home. A fall in 2019 displaced metal rods inserted into his back from the crash, which he said has caused more complications than Parkinson's itself. Ozzy was diagnosed with a mild form of Parkinson's in 2003 and delayed going public with his news until 2020.


The Advertiser
4 days ago
- The Advertiser
Ozzy starts rehearsals for Black Sabbath's farewell gig
Ozzy Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates have started rehearsing for their final show next month. The British rockers' original line-up of Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - are reuniting for the last time at the Back To The Beginning show at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5. The group took to X to share a photo of Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, and revealed: "Rehearsals are underway for Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow." The gig will mark the first time that Black Sabbath's original line-up will have played together for 20 years but Osbourne insists that it will be the definitive end for the Paranoid rockers. The singer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, told Mojo magazine: "After this show, I'm going home, closing the door and will look back upon the great career I've had. "But I'm done, done, done! You gotta know when to call it quits." Osbourne confessed that he would be feeling anxious even if was just a "regular gig". "I was born nervous. Right now, I'm feeling grateful and proud and I'm sure I'll be feeling dozens more emotions on the day of the show." Osbourne will play his own short set before joining the band, and other guests include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Anthrax and Alice In Chains. All profits will be split equally between Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. Ozzy Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates have started rehearsing for their final show next month. The British rockers' original line-up of Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - are reuniting for the last time at the Back To The Beginning show at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5. The group took to X to share a photo of Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, and revealed: "Rehearsals are underway for Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow." The gig will mark the first time that Black Sabbath's original line-up will have played together for 20 years but Osbourne insists that it will be the definitive end for the Paranoid rockers. The singer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, told Mojo magazine: "After this show, I'm going home, closing the door and will look back upon the great career I've had. "But I'm done, done, done! You gotta know when to call it quits." Osbourne confessed that he would be feeling anxious even if was just a "regular gig". "I was born nervous. Right now, I'm feeling grateful and proud and I'm sure I'll be feeling dozens more emotions on the day of the show." Osbourne will play his own short set before joining the band, and other guests include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Anthrax and Alice In Chains. All profits will be split equally between Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. Ozzy Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates have started rehearsing for their final show next month. The British rockers' original line-up of Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - are reuniting for the last time at the Back To The Beginning show at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5. The group took to X to share a photo of Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, and revealed: "Rehearsals are underway for Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow." The gig will mark the first time that Black Sabbath's original line-up will have played together for 20 years but Osbourne insists that it will be the definitive end for the Paranoid rockers. The singer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, told Mojo magazine: "After this show, I'm going home, closing the door and will look back upon the great career I've had. "But I'm done, done, done! You gotta know when to call it quits." Osbourne confessed that he would be feeling anxious even if was just a "regular gig". "I was born nervous. Right now, I'm feeling grateful and proud and I'm sure I'll be feeling dozens more emotions on the day of the show." Osbourne will play his own short set before joining the band, and other guests include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Anthrax and Alice In Chains. All profits will be split equally between Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. Ozzy Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates have started rehearsing for their final show next month. The British rockers' original line-up of Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - are reuniting for the last time at the Back To The Beginning show at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5. The group took to X to share a photo of Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, and revealed: "Rehearsals are underway for Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow." The gig will mark the first time that Black Sabbath's original line-up will have played together for 20 years but Osbourne insists that it will be the definitive end for the Paranoid rockers. The singer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, told Mojo magazine: "After this show, I'm going home, closing the door and will look back upon the great career I've had. "But I'm done, done, done! You gotta know when to call it quits." Osbourne confessed that he would be feeling anxious even if was just a "regular gig". "I was born nervous. Right now, I'm feeling grateful and proud and I'm sure I'll be feeling dozens more emotions on the day of the show." Osbourne will play his own short set before joining the band, and other guests include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Anthrax and Alice In Chains. All profits will be split equally between Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.


Perth Now
4 days ago
- Perth Now
Sharon Osbourne thinks Ozzy Osbourne's fans will 'carry him' through Black Sabbath farewell show
Sharon Osbourne believes that Ozzy Osbourne's fans will "carry him" through Black Sabbath's farewell gig. The 76-year-old rocker will bring the curtain down on his legendary career with the Paranoid band at the long-awaited Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park in Birmingham next month and his wife is convinced that the support of the crowd will enable the Prince of Darkness to deliver a grandstand finale despite his battle with Parkinson's disease and spinal injuries. Sharon told BBC Radio West Midlands at the opening of a new exhibition in Ozzy's honour in the city on Wednesday (25.06.25): "I just think that the crowd are going to carry him, they're going to sing with him, and it's just going to be a great celebration." The 72-year-old star cut a black ribbon to open The Working Class Hero exhibition and felt it was important that it launched in Birmingham, the city in which Black Sabbath were formed in 1968. Sharon said: "I can't begin to tell you how much I love it. Everything has come from this city. "It just wouldn't be right if (it launched) in New York or Los Angeles... because it all began here and this is where it belongs." Sharon revealed that her husband has been "overwhelmed" by the love for him in Birmingham ahead of the epic concert on July 5 - where he will perform alongside his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time in 20 years. She said: "He's overwhelmed... he can't believe it. "(He is) excited to be with the guys from Sabbath (again) and they're all having a great time together, but it's hard to say goodbye." The exhibition includes Ozzy's Grammy awards and platinum discs, as well as showcasing photos from his rise to global stardom, and Sharon hopes that it inspires youngsters living in the city. The former X Factor judge said: "Everybody said he'll end up in a factory and die in a factory. And no, he wanted more from his life. He wanted to travel, he wanted to entertain, and look at what he did." Ozzy is adamant that the gig - which will also feature performances from the likes of Metallica and Guns N' Roses - will be the definitive end to his career in music. He told Mojo magazine: "After this show, I'm going home, closing the door and will look back upon the great career I've had. But I'm done, done, done! You gotta know when to call it quits."