OZZY Osbourne’s final show has been described as “the greatest heavy metal show ever” and promises to be a who’s who of rock giants.
The original members of Black Sabbath will say a final farewell to rock’s greatest hell-raiser this summer in their native Birmingham.
Black Sabbath’s final gig is being held at Villa Park[/caption]
Bringing one of the great performing careers to a close with a final gig, Ozzy – infamous the world over for relieving various bats and doves of their heads – will be joined by guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward for the charity show at Villa Park on July 5.
Ozzy, 76, has vowed it will be his final performance due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease, which he went public with in 2020.
Here’s everything we know so far.
How to get tickets
Tickets for the gig – which has been dubbed Back to the Beginning – go on pre-sale at 10am on Tuesday, February 11. General ticket sales start at 10am on Friday, February 14 and are available from:
This is the first time the full band has reunited in 20 years. Many fans feared the reunion show would never happen, not only because of their combined age of 303, but also due to fractious inter-band relations.
A line-up of metal greats
The supporting line-up is a who’s who of metal greats, including Metallica, Below, Slayer, Pantera and many more. The concert’s musical director, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, promises it will be “the greatest heavy metal show ever”.
Other stars who will perform include Duff McKagan and Frank Bello from Anthrax, Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit and The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan.
Disturbed’s David Draiman, Jake E Lee and Jonathan Davis from Korn are lined up to play, while Mike Bordin from Faith No More will be there too.
But according to Ozzy’s wife, Sharon, there is one celebrity who will be left off the guest list – Kanye West.
The rapper sampled Black Sabbath’s song Iron Man on his album Vultures last year.
Sharon criticised him for using the song after he was told he could not. On whether Kanye – who legally changed his name to Ye – would be welcome at the gig, Sharon said: “No, not at all. I wouldn’t have him anywhere near.”
The general ticket sale starts at 10am on Friday, February 14, 2025[/caption]
Ticket packages and how much they cost
Ticket prices have not been announced yet so we won’t know exactly how much general sale tickets are priced at until they go on sale. But the prices of hospitality packages at Villa Park has been revealed – and prices start at £445.
Platinum box package
Ticket cost: £795 per person, excluding VAT. (Minimum of 12 guests.)
What you get:
- Exclusive pre-show access to Villa’s hospitality suites
- Private reserved box for 12 guests
- Pre-show access to your executive box
- Premium padded seating outside the box to view the concert
- Food served throughout the day from gates opening
- Brunch, afternoon tea/snacks, and evening street food served to the private box
- Two inclusive beers, wines or soft drinks
- Tea and coffee available throughout the day
- Seated ticket located within Trinity Road Stand
- Post-event lounge access for 30 minutes after the last act
Platinum restaurant package
Ticket cost: £795 per person, excluding VAT.
- Exclusive pre-show access to one of Villa’s hospitality suites
- Private reserved table
- Food served throughout the day from gates opening
- Brunch, afternoon tea/snacks and evening street food
- Two inclusive beers, wines or soft drinks
- Tea and coffee available throughout the day
- Post-event lounge access for 30 minutes post-last act
- Reserved padded seat within the Trinity Road Stand (Oak Room & Legends Lounge) or Doug Ellis Stand (The Aston or 150 Club)
Gold package
Price: £595 per person, excluding VAT.
- Pre-show access to an exclusive hospitality lounge
- Reserved padded seat
- Food served throughout the day from gates opening
- Brunch, afternoon tea/snacks and evening street food
- Two inclusive beers, wines or soft drinks
- Tea and coffee available throughout the day
- Seated ticket within the Doug Ellis Stand or Trinity Road stand
- Post-event lounge access for 30 minutes post-last act
Silver package
Price: £445 per person, excluding VAT.
- Pre-show access to The Terrace View
- One course evening street food served from the kitchen; additional catering available to purchase
- Two inclusive beers, wines or soft drinks
- Located in Holte Upper Stand
- Post-event lounge access for 30 minutes post-last act
Everything you need to know about Black Sabbath
Inspired by the industrial sounds of their hometown, Black Sabbath have sold a reported 75 million albums worldwide and arguably remain the most influential rock bands in history; their first eight albums featured Ozzy, and included the UK number one Paranoid.
Ozzy left for a solo career in 1979 – to be replaced by various vocalists, including Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan – but was brought back into the band in 1997.
The last time the original line-up performed was on the 2005 Ozzfest tour, but Ward left the group shortly after citing a contract disagreement. Ozzy later publicly chastised Ward on Facebook stating the drummer wasn’t “capable” of doing the album and tour and calling on him to “stop playing the victim and be honest with yourself and our fans”.
Their final album, 13, was released in 2013 with Brad Wilk, drummer with Rage Against The Machine, filling in for Ward.
Ozzy’s health battles
In 2022, Ozzy had spinal surgery after a 2019 fall while a 2023 tour was cancelled as he recuperated. It is perhaps fitting that his final gig will be at the home of Aston Villa in the area of Birmingham where he grew up before forming Black Sabbath in 1968.
While it has not yet been confirmed what the setup will look like at Villa Park, the stadium has a capacity of more than 42,000 across four stands.