So, The Guardian says the Prince of Darkness himself, OZZY OSBOURNE, wrapped up his live career this past Saturday (July 5) at Birmingham’s Villa Park. Dubbed “BACK TO THE BEGINNING”, the whole shindig was streamed to a whopping 5 million folks worldwide. Not bad for a guy who once bit heads off bats, eh?
Ozzy kicked things off with his solo crew — ZAKK WYLDE shredding guitar, MIKE INEZ on bass, ADAM WAKEMAN tickling keys, and TOMMY CLUFETOS smashing drums — before the OG BLACK SABBATH squad (TONY IOMMI, GEEZER BUTLER, and surprise guest BILL WARD) crashed the party. Together, they blasted through the holy quartet: “WAR PIGS”, “IRON MAN”, “N.I.B.”, and the inevitable “PARANOID”. Fun fact: Tony Iommi’s missing fingertips (thanks to a factory accident) forced him to invent doom-metal tuning. Silver linings!
Ozzy’s solo set? A nostalgia trip straight to 1980’s “BLIZZARD OF OZZ”, with “I DON’T KNOW”, “MR. CROWLEY”, “SUICIDE SOLUTION”, and of course, the riff that launched a million air guitars: “CRAZY TRAIN”. He even tossed in “MAMA, I’M COMING HOME” for the lighter-wavers. Not bad for a 76-year-old rocking from a throne like a metal Gandalf. Dude got emotional too: “You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Aw, Ozzy. We’d cry if we hadn’t sold our souls to rock.
When the SABBATH set wrapped, Ozzy dropped the mic: “It’s the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” Cue fireworks, a giant cake, and a screen flashing: “Thank you for everything, you guys are f–ing amazing. Birmingham Forever.” Drama? In metal? Never.
The gig drew 40,000 fans and featured the loudest daycare lineup ever: METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, LAMB OF GOD, and ANTHRAX. Proceeds went to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice. Even the auction was wild: signed guitars, a GUNS N’ ROSES pinball machine, golden discs from BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, and METALLICA, plus travel packages for the truly dedicated. Who needs kidney money anyway?
The livestream? Priced at $29.99 (or $64.98 with a T-shirt). Oh, and it was “delayed two hours” because rock stars run on vampire time. Streamed by MERCURY STUDIOS (because BTS’s tech wizards at KISWE know how to make pixels scream) and hosted by JASON MOMOA, who probably demanded a shark-riding entrance.
TOM MORELLO curated the chaos, including “supergroups” that’d make a fanfic writer blush: NUNO BETTENCOURT jamming covers, ex-Ozzy guitarist JAKE E. LEE popping up like a ninja, and K.K. DOWNING teaming with BILLY CORGAN, TOM MORELLO, and ADAM JONES for a JUDAS PRIEST cover. LIVING COLOUR’s VERNON REID even joined GHOST’s pope-impersonator frontman for “BARK AT THE MOON”. Cool fact: BLACK SABBATH started as a blues band called Earth. Then they met Satan at a crossroads, presumably.
