Ozzy Osbourne kicks off emotional swansong at Black Sabbath hometown reunion gig

Ozzy Osbourne kicks off emotional swansong at Black Sabbath hometown reunion gig Newspoint | 06/07/2025 07:39:14

Birmingham, UK - Thousands flocked to the Birmingham hometown of Ozzy Osborne Saturday for the wild man rocker's final gigas Black Sabbath's frontman, with doors opening for the celebration of the heavy metal music genre he helped to create.

Musician Ozzy Osbourne performs during half-time of the NFL game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on September 08, 2022 in Inglewood, California. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) © KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Many thousands more are also expected to follow online after fans snapped up tickets for the show, starring the original line-up, in just 16 minutes.

Osbourne (76) – who revealed in 2020 that he has Parkinson's disease – will join Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward for the Back To The Beginning show in Birmingham, central England, where the heavy metal giants formed in 1968.

The gig at Aston Villa Football Club's Villa Park stadium also features sets by US rockers Anthrax, Metallica, Guns N'Roses, Tool, and Slayer, among others, as well as a short solo set by Osbourne.

Anthrax was one of the first acts on stage, with early arrivers giving the US rockers a rapturous welcome and getting the mosh pit into full swing.

Around 40,000 fans are expected to watch Black Sabbath's original line-up's first show together in 20 years and Osbourne's swansong.

The show comes as 1990s Britpop band Oasis play in Cardiff in the second of two concerts as part of another highly anticipated reunion.

"Birmingham is a city which means so much to Ozzy. When it comes to heavy metal music, Black Sabbath forming and his love of Aston Villa – it all started here," his wife Sharon said in comments released by West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC), the region's investment and promotion body.

Black Sabbath have sold over 75 million albums worldwide and are widely recognised as one of the pioneers of heavy metal.

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All profits from the show will go to charities, including Cure Parkinson's and Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Osbourne's diagnosis led to him pausing touring. But Sharon told the BBC the Villa Park gig would be his last. "This is his full stop," she was quoted as saying.