Ozzy Osbourne admits he will only manage a few songs in final Black Sabbath gig
Ozzy Osbourne will play with Black Sabbath one final time and is training mode ahead of the July show
Ozzy Osbourne has vowed to "do the best I can" as he prepares to play his final ever live show with Black Sabbath. The frontman and singer, 76, has been diagnosed with a form of Parkinson's and has had other health issues for a number of years now which have prevented him going back out on tour. Instead Ozzy and Black Sabbath will headline their final gig on July 5th at Villa Park in Birmingham, as part of an event titled "Back To The Beginning".
This show will reunite the original band members – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward – for the first time in 20 years. Speaking about the prospect of making it back up on stage, Ozzy said: 'I'll be there, and I'll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.'
In terms of what fans can expect, he added: "We're only playing a couple of songs each. I don't want people thinking 'we're getting ripped off', because it's just going to be … what's the word? … a sample, you're going to get a few songs each by Ozzy and Sabbath.'
The concert will also feature sets from various heavy metal bands, including Metallica, Slayer, and Pantera.
But Ozzy's poor health means he won't be able to play a full set. As well as Parkinson's, he had a fall at home in 2019 which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003, stopping his No More Tours 2 shows from going ahead in Europe and the UK.
The tour had previously been rescheduled several times because of illness, the Covid pandemic and logistical issues.
Speaking to the Guardian, Ozzy said: 'You wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong. You begin to think this is never going to end.'
He went on to add that the reunion concert was conceived by his wife, Sharon, as 'something to give me a reason to get up in the morning'.
The band played its "last" gig in 2017 in Birmingham with Osborne, guitarist Iommi and bassist Butler but without Ward on drums.
But last year Ozzy was not well enough to perform at the band's Rock'N'Roll Hall Of Fame inauguration in America.
Black Sabbath's story began in Birmingham where Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward were looking to escape a life of factory work.
Their eponymous debut album in 1970 made the UK top 10 and paved the way for a string of hit records.
They went on to become one of the most influential and successful metal bands of all time, selling more than 75 million albums worldwide.
The group were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, and Osbourne was added for a second time last year.
He previously celebrated his home city in 2022 when he helped close the Commonwealth Games.
He rose to further fame alongside his wife Sharon - who he married in 1982 and with whom he has three children, Aimee, Jack and Kelly - through their reality TV series The Osbournes.
All profits from the July 5 show will go to charities including Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice, which is supported by Aston Villa.
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