By Daniel Walton
Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath attracted a fantastic line-up of iconic bands for their final ever show ‘Back to the Beginning’ at Villa Park in Birmingham on Saturday.
The heavy metal band and its frontman have held a special place in my heart for as long as I can remember. Black Sabbath was among the first metal gigs I ever went to.
My nan Carol, an avid Ozzy fanatic who ran pubs and clubs and around the West Midlands, raised me on stories of randomly meeting Ozzy and the gang at events, buying the latest releases from the record store, and failing to woo Ozzy one evening in the 70s (though I find that one hard to believe), needless to say, I was an avid Sabbath fan from day one.
I remember my pulse quickening when she told me that she had secured me and my cousin David tickets to see Ozzy and the squad play at Birmingham’s LG Arena as part of their 2012 Reunion Tour.
The group were releasing the 13 album at the time, guitarist Tony Iommi had not long been diagnosed with cancer, and original drummer Bill Ward was in a performance dispute over contract agreements. It was a tumultuous time, to say the least; at the time, many thought they would never play again.
It turned out to be the best gig I have ever been to, amazing vibes, brilliant on-stage antics, and the emotions of finally hearing the iconic ‘Iron Man’, ‘ War Pigs’ and ‘Paranoid’ played live for the first time are something that I’ll never experience again.
As many Sabbath fans know, it’s not the first time that Sabbath or Ozzy have announced an ending tour or show, for example, ‘The End’ in 2016/2017 was the last time the group said they would tour. Ozzy is the king of ‘farewell’ shows, and we all weirdly love him for it.
For this reason, I believe our scepticism was warranted when the group announced the ‘Back to the Beginning’ farewell performance, claiming it would be their last.
But this time felt different from the four other ‘last’ shows and tours, while still managing to smash the crowds for Saturday’s show, Ozzy is dealing with Parkinson’s and a myriad of health issues, and Geezer, Iommi and Ward might not be far behind from retiring either.
So imagine my intense upset at not getting tickets for the Birmingham show, sold out in seconds, one moment they were there, the next, gone.
Part of me thought ‘they always do this – It’s never actually the end’, but part of me also thinks ‘if not now, then when?’.
Watching it on live stream, enjoying the countless iconic bands like Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Pantera, take to the stage and the thousands and thousands of fans enjoying themselves, it dawned on me – ‘now is the perfect time’.
It’s the perfect time for the Prince of Darkness to hang up the cape and crown, returning home for one final show with the original line-up, surrounded and idolised by not only millions of fans, but also dozens of iconic metal bands who all claim to be inspired by Sabbath and their music.
These are bands that defined many of our youths and musical developments, all of them influenced by Black Sabbath, all of them paying homage and giving respect to the legendary career of Ozzy, Geezer, Iommi and Ward.
Tears formed in my eyes while watching the concert livestreamed on TV, and I couldn’t help but think, if ‘Back to the beginning’ may actually be the end, it’s the most fitting end for the most iconic band.