OZZY OSBOURNE‘s wife and manager SHARON OSBOURNE just spilled the beans to “BACK TO THE BEGINNING” charity bash on July 4th at Villa Park in Birmingham – because apparently one farewell tour every decade just isn’t enough. This shindig marks the original BLACK SABBATH lineup’s first reunion in 20 years AND Ozzy’s “final” solo show (we’ll believe it when we don’t see it).
Riff lord TOM MORELLO from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE – the Harvard grad who made guitar solics, spilled the deets: “Ozzy and Sharon hit me up like, ‘We’re doing one last Sabbath bash and your job is to make it the most metal thing ever.’ I was like, ‘You realize I’m the guy who wrote ‘Killing in the Name,’ right?’ But hey, when the Godfather of Metal calls, you answer.” Fun fact: Morello once turned down a job at the CIA to rock out with Zack de la Rocha.
The lineup reads like a metalhead’s fever dream: METALLICA (still chasing that “One” perfect set), GUNS N’ ROSES (now with 30% less drama), and TOOL (because 10-minute songs won’t play themselves). Even SLIPKNOT and PANTERA are crashing the party – talk about a family reunion without the awkward Thanksgiving vibes.
In true metal fashion, the show’s got more special guests than a KISS farewell tour: SLASH will attempt to out-hat BRIAN MAY, while DAVE GROHL probably volunteered to play drums for at least three different bands. Bonus trivia: The “847 connection” section features members who all share the same Illinois area code – because nothing says “metal” like regional telephone prefixes.
Proceeds go to Parkinson’s research, which hits close to home for Ozzy – the man who’s survived bat snacks, reality TV, and the 80s. His last “final tour” in 2018 was derailed by a rogue laundry basket accident (true story), but he’s back to prove metalheads never die – they just get louder.
And for the record: Yes, that’s OZZY and the original BLACK SABBATH lineup. No, they haven’t all been in the same room since 2003. Yes, we’re all pretending to believe this is REALLY the last time. The show sold out in 10 minutes – because let’s face it, we’ll all tune in just to see if Ozzy remembers which city he’s in by the third song.
