‘This is his full stop’

Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath are reuniting for one last time, to play a fund-raising concert in Birmingham on 5 July.

The heavy metal pioneers will headline a spectacular one-day festival at Villa Park, featuring dozens of bands they inspired, including Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Gojira and Anthrax.

The concert will mark the first time that Black Sabbath’s original line-up – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – have played together in 20 years.

Osbourne, who has largely been forced to stop touring due to a combination of Parkinson’s and spinal injuries, will play a short solo set before joining his bandmates.

His wife, Sharon, told BBC News he was determined to put on one final show.

“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.”

However, she said the concert would definitively be the 76-year-old’s final show.

“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.”

The concert, dubbed Back To The Beginning, was announced at Villa Park on Wednesday by Sharon, and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi.

Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who is serving as the event’s musical director, said it would be “the greatest heavy metal show ever”.

Proceeds from the show will support Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.

Other acts on the line-up include Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Lamb Of God and Mastodon.

In addition, the concert will feature a “supergroup”, with stars like Billy Corgan, Slash, Fred Durst, Wolfgang Van Halen and Tom Morello.

“It’s an endless amount of people,” said Sharon Osbourne. “They’re going to be doing some Sabbath songs, some Ozzy songs, and they’ll all mix together.

“Different little groups will be coming on, but they’re all icons.”

Black Sabbath formed in 1968, and held their first rehearsal at Newtown Community Centre, a stone’s throw from Villa Park.

They previously played a farewell show to a sold out audience of 16,000 people at the city’s NEC Arena in 2017.

The set consisted mainly of songs from their early days – including War Pigs, N.I.B and Black Sabbath – before finishing on their breakthrough hit and signature song, Paranoid.

The concert came at the end of an extensive, 81-date world tour, and Osbourne thanked the fans for their support over the band’s career.

“I’ve got to tell you something, what a journey we’ve all had,” he said.

“We started this in 1968 and now it’s 2017 – I don’t believe that, man. But you know what? We wouldn’t survive if it wasn’t for the fan base. So if you’re a veteran fan, great. If you’re new, welcome. But I can’t tell you enough how grateful we are for your support.”

Following that concert, Osbourne released two solo albums – Ordinary Man and Patient Number 9. However, he suffered a spinal injury in 2003 after a crash involving an ATV, exacerbated by a late-night fall in 2019, that required several rounds of extensive surgery.

He revealed his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2020 and largely stepped back from touring after playing the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

However, he recently told Rolling Stone UK of his desire to return to the stage.

“I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will,” he said. “But it’s been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life.”

He added: “I’m not going to get up there and do a half-hearted Ozzy looking for sympathy. What’s the [expletive] point in that? I’m not going up there in a [expletive] wheelchair.”