Heavy metallic rocker Ozzy Osbourne introduced down the curtain on his stellar profession with Black Sabbath on Saturday, rattling via the band’s most iconic songs in entrance of an adoring hometown crowd.
The “Prince of Darkness” held court docket from a large leather-based throne, topped with a bat, at Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, firstly in a five-song solo set after which along with his unique bandmates for the primary time in 20 years, and final time.
“It’s the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle..thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” the 76-year-old singer instructed the gang after ending the set with “Paranoid” — the band’s most well-known music.
The stadium in Birmingham, central England, is a stone’s throw from the place the band shaped 57 years in the past, pioneering the hard-rock fashion that gave rise to heavy metallic.
And the style’s large hitters had been on the town to pay tribute to the band that began all of it.
Anthrax had been one of many first acts on stage, with early arrivers giving the US rockers a rapturous welcome and getting the mosh pit into full swing.
They had been later adopted by a rock royalty collaboration, as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood carried out Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”.
Guns N’Roses despatched the 40,000 followers wild with the primary chords to “Welcome to the Jungle”, and there have been different units from Pantera, Tool, Slayer and Metallica.
“Without Sabbath there would be no Metallica. Thank you for giving us a purpose in life,” Metallica’s singer James Hetfield stated.
But it was the prodigal son and his bandmates that the gang had been determined to see, greeting them on stage with a sea of arms earlier than moshing to “War Pigs”.
“Everything was just phenomenal, you were just caught up in it. We were singing as loud as we could for Ozzy,” Dave Chapman, 57, instructed AFP.
“He could see the support,” added his 29-year-old daughter Lilly. “That’s what kept making me cry…, he can see that we love him.”
Many hundreds world wide adopted the live performance on-line after tickets for the present bought out in simply 16 minutes.
Osbourne, who revealed in 2020 that he has Parkinson’s illness, joined Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the “Back To The Beginning” present in Birmingham, the place the heavy metallic giants shaped in 1968.
They have since bought over 75 million albums worldwide.
The stadium, which hosted Champions League soccer final season, was reworked into one thing resembling a pagan cathedral on Saturday, with followers decked in darkish metallic T-shirts, many sporting lengthy hair, thick beards and enormous tattoos.
“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,” stated his spouse, Sharon.
All earnings from the present will go to charities together with Cure Parkinson’s and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Osbourne’s analysis led to him pausing touring. But Sharon instructed the BBC the Villa Park gig could be his final. “This is his full stop,” she was quoted as saying.
Rich Newlove, 34, referred to as it a “bittersweet” expertise “because it’s his last show. It’s a good send-off… he seems fitter and healthier than I thought he would be.”
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was one of many early performers, saying earlier than the gig that “this might be the greatest one-day lineup in the history of rock ‘n’ roll”.
The present is anticipated to ship the world a multi-million-pound increase, with resort occupancy in Birmingham metropolis centre anticipated to have reached near 90 %.
Osbourne’s reside performances on the peak of his hedonism have gone down in rock folklore, notably a 1982 gig in Des Moines, Iowa, when he bit the top off a bat on stage.
Osbourne says he thought a fan had thrown a faux rubber bat onstage, and it wasn’t till he took a chew that he realized it was actual.
“I can assure you the rabies shots I went through afterwards aren’t fun,” he instructed U.S. TV host David Letterman in 1982.
But there was no repeat efficiency on Saturday.
Eager to soak within the historic event, many got here with out tickets, together with Derya, who travelled from Cologne together with her companion.
“We are here, hearing the concert even if we cannot see the bands,” she instructed AFP.
© 2025 AFP