Black Sabbath have offered a sneak peek at their rehearsals for their last-ever show.
On Tuesday (June 24), frontman Ozzy Osbourne took to social media, sharing a picture of himself, drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler as they ready themselves for swansong Back To The Beginning at Birmingham’s Villa Park next Saturday, July 5.
The extravaganza will mark the first time in 20 years that Sabbath’s founding lineup – Osbourne, Ward, Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi – have played together onstage. It will serve as the band’s retirement show, as well as the bow-out gig for Osbourne, who retired from touring in 2023 due to the physical effects of numerous surgeries and Parkinson’s Disease.
Osbourne is set to perform both with Sabbath and as a solo artist, and the supporting lineup is a who’s who of hard rock and heavy metal. Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Gojira, Mastodon, Anthrax and many, many more will perform, as will a ‘supergroup’ comprised of Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Ghost’s Papa V Perpetua and others. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine will serve as musical director, while Aquaman and Game Of Thrones actor Jason Momoa will compere.
Tickets to Back To The Beginning quickly sold-out after it was announced in February, but it was recently confirmed that the show will be live-streamed. Tickets to the stream are on-sale now.
The new photo isn’t the first insight fans have received regarding preparation for the concert. In April, Osbourne said that he’d started “endurance training” to get stage-ready.
“The first thing to go when you’re laid up is your stamina,” he said on US radio station SiriusXM, “so believe it or not, I’m doing two sets of three-minute walks and weight training. I’m going and going, you know?”
He added: “I’m waking up in my body, you know? I mean, three minutes to you, for instance, is nothing, but I’ve been laying on my back recovering from umpteen surgeries.”
In May, former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar, who’ll perform as part of Back To The Beginning’s ‘supergroup’, let slip that Osbourne is set to perform just five songs at the show.
“I chose to do No More Tears [during my set that day] and Tom [Morello] goes, ‘Oh, that would be great,’” Hagar told Loudwire Nights. “And then he comes back and says, ‘Guess what? Ozzy’s going to try and sing five songs and he wants to sing No More Tears.’”
Though Osbourne will retire from the stage after Back To The Beginning, he’s already been confirmed for future public appearances. The singer and his family – wife/manager Sharon, daughter Kelly and son Jack – will be guests at the Birmingham edition of Comic Con Midlands from July 12 to 13.
