Okay, it’s official (and I think you saw this coming)! Black Sabbath and Ozzy‘s final concert, ‘Back to the Beginning’, at Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5, is going to be live-streamed globally. Good, ’cause I was beginning to think we might not be able to see it!
In case you’ve been under a rock, Sabbath’s original lineup of Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward are playing together for the first time in two decades! And, it’s likely Ozzy’s last performance. Ever.
See the show poster above? The show is insane. On the bill: Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Alice In Chains and so much more. Crazy, right?
And now, we don’t have to worry about jumping the pond to see it. It’s being live-streamed on a pay-per-view basis. Grab a ticket for the stream here.
The raw livestream will begin at 3pm BST on July 5 and if you have a ticket, you’ll have access to the concert footage for 48 hours afterwards.
Back in February ’25, Sabbath guiarist Tony Iommi and Ozzy’s wife Sharon Osbourne spoke to NME and told them what to expect.
“You can’t say goodbye. Look at what they leave – it’s a huge, great body of work that they’ve left for the world. As long as you’ve got that, it’s never goodbye. It’s there for eternity.”
“It starts at noon, then you’re going to see one icon playing with another icon, doing a Sabbath song and one or two of their own songs, and people playing with each other that you never you’d see. Tom Morello is going to play with the drummer from Tool (Danny Carey) and they’re going to have Billy Corgan with them – they’re all from Chicago so they’re all doing their bit.
“Then you’ll see Slash and Duff and whoever they choose to play with. David Draiman (Disturbed) is going to come up and sing, Jonathan from KoRn is going to be here and he could be playing with Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith or whoever! Alice In Chains are coming and they’re playing as the band.”
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Ozzy did an interview with The Guardian and talked about his health issues, saying it won’t be a full set with Sabbath or his solo band but he’ll “do the best I can” and that he “may be sitting down”.
“We’re only playing a couple of songs each. I don’t want people thinking, ‘We’re getting ripped off,’ because it’s just going to be a sample. You’re going to get a few songs each by Ozzy and Sabbath.”
Ozzy added, “I’d love to say ‘never say never’, but after the last six years or so … it is time,” he said. “I lived on the road for 50-odd years, and I’ve kind of got used to not picking up my bags and getting on the bus again.”
“I don’t smoke dope or do any of the rock star lifestyle any more. I’m kind of like a homebody. I never go out. I never hang out in bars – I don’t drink. So what the fuck is out there for me? It’s time for me to spend some time with my grandkids, I don’t want to die in a hotel room somewhere. I want to spend the rest of my life with my family.”
Do you think you’ll buy the stream? I probably will. Huge lineup and likely the last time you’ll see Ozzy perform.
