Ozzy Osbourne joined Black Sabbath on stage for poignant final show weeks before death aged 76

The Sun

22-07-2025

OZZY Osbourne joined Black Sabbath on stage for a poignant final show just weeks before his death aged 76.
The rock legend arrived on stage at Villa Park in Birmingham, dressed in his trademark black in what was his last ever performance earlier this month.
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The crowd were heard roaring with excitement as the rock legend sat entered for the historic gig on July 5.
Ozzy sang with his fellow founding fathers of heavy metal while seated on a black bat throne.
His performance at the show, Called Back To The Beginning, was sadly the rock veteran's last time performing on stage.
It comes after Ozzy's sad death was announced today, following the star's brave battle against Parkinson's disease.
The crowd was delighted to see the iconic rocker back on stage this month and kept chanting his name.
Ozzy was equally thrilled to be performing, and repeatedly broke out into a massive grin.
The gig was already being touted as "the greatest heavy metal show ever" ahead of Saturday and Ozzy played a short five-song set reuniting with his bandmates Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward.
It was the first time in 20 years that the original Black Sabbath line-up have performed together.
Ozzy had heartbreakingly vowed it would be his final performance due to his deteriorating health.
He went public with his Parkinson's diagnosis in 2020.
Back To The Beginning also featured a mega line-up of fellow rock stars, performing their own sets and as a super-group, and all the profits made will be going to charity.
Ozzy Osbourne top five greatest moments
The money will be shared equally between Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.
Metallica and Slayer were on the line-up for main sets as they celebrated Ozzy's remarkable legacy at his final show.
Pantera, Gojira, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, and Mastodon also played at the show.
Ozzy previously talked on the Sirius XM radio show in the US about his condition.
He said: 'I have made it to 2025. I can't walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays?
"For all my complaining, I'm still alive.
'I may be moaning that I can't walk but I look down the road and there's people that didn't do half as much as me and didn't make it.'
Black Sabbath have sold more than 75million records since forming in 1968, while Ozzy has also released 13 solo albums.
In 1970, the group gained a cult following in both the US and UK after releasing their eponymous first album.
The group later became known as Black Sabbath and went onto shatter the music world with their whining guitar solos, Occult-based lyrics and Ozzy's screeching vocals.
Ozzy Osbourne's iconic career
The singer then pursued his love of music after hearing The Beatles hit She Loves You in 1963, aged 15.
After appearing in a handful of school plays, Ozzy joined Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler in their first group Rare Breed in 1967.
When that band split, the pair reunited in Polka Tulk Blues alongside Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward.
The group later became known as Black Sabbath and went onto shatter the music world with their whining guitar solos, Occult-based lyrics and Ozzy's screeching vocals.
In 1970, the group gained a cult following in both the US and UK after releasing their eponymous first album.
Black Sabbath saw incredible success with hit tracks such as Paranoid but discord in the group saw most of the original line-up leave.
Ozzy himself quit the band in 1978, with a spiral into drug abuse leading to a divorce from first wife Thelma Mayfair, who he had two children with.
It was then he first met a young Sharon Arden, who Ozzy at first wrote off as he believed she would think he was a "lunatic".
But the singer could not be more wrong and the pair married in Hawaii in July 1982 before going on to have three children together, Aimee, Kelly and Jack.
With Sharon's encouragement and help from her music manager dad Don, he began to carve out a successful solo career.
His seminal first album Blizzard of Ozz in 1980 became a multi-platinum success thanks to Ozzy's howling vocals and macabre laugh on hit Crazy Train.
Coupled with the Prince of Darkness' insane tour that saw him bite the head off a live bat, a string of successful tracks followed - cementing Ozzy as a rock legend around the world.
In 1992, the singer announced his retirement but four years later created the beloved annual music festival Ozzfest with Sharon, which featured heavy metal acts touring the US and some of Europe.
Ozzy returned to Black Sabbath in 1999, with the band winning a Grammy for best metal performance for the song Iron Man.
They later earned the same award in 2013 after releasing single God Is Dead? from album 13.
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