Black Sabbath farewell concert live: Ozzy Osbourne’s last show ends with fireworks and cake

Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning show - key points

• Guns N Roses, and a message from Ricky Gervais
• Disturbed's David Draiman booed during band appearance
• Sharon Osbourne says 'we're done' after tonight
• Controversy as Marilyn Manson delivers statement via video
• Ozzy Osbourne's emotional statement ahead of Black Sabbath show

And that's it! Black Sabbath's final show is over

Fireworks, cake and a rendition of “Paranoid”.

What an absolutely mammoth show, wow. Mark is running off to finish writing up his review now, and I’ll be signing off soon. Thanks everyone for following along with us! Review to come shortly.

Some side of stage footage of Ozzy Osbourne's final show

"Powerful stuff from Sabbath"

Marks say the band’s performance of “Iron Man” was particularly weighty.

We’ve only got about half an hour left before this absolute mammoth of a show concludes.

Black Sabbath are onto songs from their debut album

The album that changed music - one of the most influential of all time. Storms and bells!

Jason Momoa and Steven Tyler (Ross Halfin)

Yungblud performs at the Black Sabbath farewell show (Kazuyo Horie)

Tom Morello and Stephen Tyler performing during the Black Sabbath farewell show (Ross Halfin)

Ronnie Wood performs during the Black Sabbath farewell show (Ross Halfin)

Ozzy says he's been 'laid up for six years'

“Thank you for the bottom of my heart,” Ozzy says, ahead of a rendition of “I’m Coming Home”.

He fires off a water cannon.

More solo songs from Oz

We’ve had “Mr Crowley” from his 1980 solo debut Blizzard of Ozz, which Mark says is “bombastic and operatic to the max”, and “Suicide Solution”, from the same album.

If you're wondering where the pictures are...

Promoter LiveNation aren’t sending over any pics until after the event concludes, so around 11.30pm.

Ozzy: 'It's so good to be on this f***ing stage, you have no idea'

‘Let the madness begin!’

It's Ozzy!

The Prince of Darkness himself rises from beneath the stage on a winged black throne.

Mark says he sounds “in great voice” as he leads the clapping and swaying to “I Don’t Know”.

Birmingham-born band Black Sabbath’s farewell show is set to help boost the city’s economy by up to £20m, as fans flock to say goodbye to the long-running rock group.

The West Midlands Growth Company, which invests in growth for the region, said that the West Midlands is expecting a boost of up to £20m in visitor economy, largely thanks to the sold-out Black Sabbath Back to the Beginning festival at Villa Park.

Full story:

Elton John sends in a message for Ozzy Osbourne

Elton John tells Ozzy: You are one of the most remarkable singles of our time... You are the king, you are the legend.

“You’ve been through so much crap in the last few years. I hope this is the best day of your life so far.”

James Hetfield: 'Look at all this love for heavy metal!'

“Without Sabbath there would be no Metallica,” the frontman announces. “Thank you boys for giving us purpose in life.”

Metallica went big on the speed metal, obliterating “Master of Puppets” and pouring a lifetime of riffs into their cover of “Johnny Blade”, a track from Sabbath’s eighth studio album Never Say Die! (1978) - the last one featuring their original lineup and the last with Ozzy’s vocals until 13 (2013).

Ozzy's statement on Back to the Beginning

Back when the gig was first announced, Ozzy explained what this show means to him:

“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Osbourne said in a statement. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”

Guns N Roses, and a message from Ricky Gervais

At the live event, Guns N Roses have hammered out half a set of Sabbath covers before turning to “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Paradise City”.

Ricky Gervais sends Ozzy a video message from the bath: “Your humour and charisma has made you an everlasting treasure.”

And more AI videos: Now Ozzy’s a blue alien in Avatar, and onstage with The Beatles circa 1964 doing “Twist and Shout”.

VIDEO: 'My heart breaks for him': Emotional Sharon Osbourne discusses husband Ozzy's Parkinson's disease

Jason Momoa joined the pit for Pantera's set

Sharon Osbourne says 'we're done' after tonight

Sharon Osbourne — who is married to Ozzy, has managed his solo career since it started in 1979, and has also handled Sabbath — says “there’s no way on God’s Earth” there will be more shows.

“We’re done,” she told Billboard. “I’ve been doing this since I was 15, and I’m done. We just want to live our life and do what we want to do and not have to follow an itinerary anymore.”

Circle pits open up for Slayer...

Mark describes the circle pits opening up as Slayer’s performance gets underway as like a kind of “metal tornado season”. Brilliant!

Mike Inez's tribute to Ozzy and Black Sabbath

Mike Inez met Ozzy Osbourne in 1989 while auditioning for his band aged 23; a month later he was playing live with the Prince of Darkness at Wembley Stadium. He went on to join the metal band Alice in Chains, and has also played with bands including Slash’s Snakepit, Heart and Black Label Society.

Hearing Black Sabbath for the first time changed my life. I come from a really musical family, so we had a lot of records around the house, but there was just something different about that first Sabbath record. The opening chords, it was just like, ‘Oh, my God, what’s this all about?’ I was instantly drawn to it. And now they’re such a big part of the tapestry of my life. I can’t even tell you – I’ll be on vacation after a big tour like, ‘No music, I’m having a break.’ But for me, no music means solely listening to Black Sabbath.

It’s nice to be a small slice of the big history of Ozzy’s career, you know? I co-wrote “No More Tears” – it was so funny. The first time I saw Ozzy play in the flesh was in 1983, there was this big festival, the US Festival here in California. I went on the heavy metal day, tickets were 20 bucks and it was Van Halen, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Motley Crue and Ozzy. Seeing Ozzy, I had this epiphany – I was already playing guitar at that point, I think I was a junior in high school – but when I went to that concert and saw Ozzy, it was like this light bulb went off and I realised I was on the wrong side of the f***ing PA – I needed to be on the stage!

So how do I manifest that? What’s that going to take? Well, you just dive in – seven years later, I’m in the Ozzy band. It’s amazing that he was the one who made me realise I had to figure this out and literally, seven years later, I’m flying to Ireland and living in County Wicklow with them, doing rehearsals to play McGonagles. We did the two shows, then the Marquee club [in London], then Wembley. That’s how it all started for me, living in a house with Ozzy and the band.

My first impression of him, well… First of all, you’re starstruck. It’s just like, holy s***! This is the guy I’d been watching in videos and staring at his album covers my whole life, and suddenly there he is. The audition process was crazy – it was at Joe’s Garage, Frank Zappa’s place in Los Angeles. It was all surreal to me. I remember showing up – I was wearing a ratty LA Kings hockey jersey and jeans, and everyone else in there was in leather. So in my head I was thinking, “OK, I’m never getting this f***ing gig, so I’m just gonna have a good time with it, and be able to say I got to play ‘Crazy Train’ with Ozzy one time.” Little did I know I was going to get it, and then my whole life trajectory was going to change.

I owe everything to Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy and Sharon [Osbourne, the Sabbath frontman’s wife and manager] changed my life – I didn’t have decent bass gear before then, I didn’t have health insurance, I didn’t have a passport. I wouldn’t have met Alice in Chains or anybody else I jam with. It all goes back to Ozzy, all the way back to the beginning. He’s like a father figure, or an older brother. One thing I do remember is just that we laughed – that’s my one solid thread of all the memories of every gig, every album. We were always laughing, because it’s impossible not to laugh in a room when you got Zakk Wylde and Ozzy Osbourne in there just cracking jokes.

Black Sabbath basically created heavy metal. There were a couple of other bands around – but with Sabbath it was the image of it, and there’s something about Birmingham, right? There’s something in the water there – it reminds me of Pittsburgh here in the States, a working-class town of hard-working people, so there wasn’t any pretentiousness. And there’s something to be said about their chemistry, too: the way Bill Ward played drums is completely different to how a modern metal drummer would play now. Ozzy’s voice is just so good – no one will ever sound like him, and I’ve never seen a crowd respond to one man like they do with him. Seeing the four original guys up there on that stage, man, I’m gonna cry like a baby!

More Ozzy AI

Mark tells me that Ozzy has since told Forrest Gump to “get the f*** out of her” and also enjoyed cameos in Pulp Fiction with a rubber pellet gun.

He also receives a message from Brian and Angus from AC/DC, who thank Ozzy for “putting the fun in rock n’ roll”.

Black Sabbath fans slam ‘disgraceful’ Marilyn Manson appearance during farewell show

Back to the Beginning: The family photo

Top left to right: Rex Brown Pantera -Tobias -Ghost -David Draiman Disturbed -James Hetfield Metallica -Tony Iommi Black Sabbath -Robert T Metallica – Phil Anselmo Pantera – Geezer Butler Black Sabbath -Sammy Hagar -Kirk Hamnett Metallica, Steven Tyler Aerosmith – Ozzy Osbourne –Bottom Mike Inez -Alice In Chains – Zakk Wylde Ozzy/Pantera – Bill Ward Black Sabbath – Lars Ulrich Metallica Billy Corgan Smashing Pumpkins

Top left to right: Rex Brown Pantera -Tobias -Ghost -David Draiman Disturbed -James Hetfield Metallica -Tony Iommi Black Sabbath -Robert T Metallica – Phil Anselmo Pantera – Geezer Butler Black Sabbath -Sammy Hagar -Kirk Hamnett Metallica - Steven Tyler Aerosmith – Ozzy Osbourne Bottom Mike Inez -Alice In Chains – Zakk Wylde Ozzy/Pantera – Bill Ward Black Sabbath – Lars Ulrich Metallica - Billy Corgan Smashing Pumpkins (Ross Halfin)

Ozzy is being AI'd into famous film scenes

The Chad Smith x Tom Morello supergroup closes on 'Whole Lotta Love'.

Meanwhile, Ozzy is being AI’d into famous film scenes: biting the head off a Pirates of the Caribbean parrot, as Doug from The Hangover (“’ve got a bad case of the s***s”), and as the kid in The Sixth Sense.

VIDEO: Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning trailer

Supergroup performs "Walk This Way"

After a cover of “Breaking the Law” between Billy Corgan and Tom Morello, along with members of Judas Priest and Tool, Sammy Hagar of Montrose and Van Halen fame comes out for a rendition of Ozzy’s “Flying High Again” (1981).

The band then morphs to include Ronnie Wood and Steven Tyler -- and Travis Barker on drums -- for a rousing racket of “Walk This Way”.

Tom Morello performs tribute to Diogo Jota in Portuguese

A moving tribute from musical director Tom Morello to Liverpool star Diogo Jota.

The Portuguese footballer and father of three died in Spain alongside his brother, Andre Silva, after their Lamborghini burst into flames following a tyre blowout in the early hours of Thursday morning.

His distraught family, friends and teammates gathered for his funeral today.

500,000 viewers!

More than half a million people are now tuned into the livestream. Crazy!

Sharon Osbourne says 'we're done' after tonight

Sharon Osbourne — who is married to Ozzy, has managed his solo career since it started in 1979, and has also handled Sabbath — says “there’s no way on God’s Earth” there will be more shows.

“We’re done,” she told Billboard. “I’ve been doing this since I was 15, and I’m done. We just want to live our life and do what we want to do and not have to follow an itinerary anymore.”

(Getty Images for The Recording A)

It's a drum-off!

Jason Momoa introduces a drum-off between Chad Smith, Travis Barker and Tool's Danny Carey: “I was talking to Chad Smith back there and he was saying this is the heavy metal boot camp,” Momoa says.

Ozzy's statement on Back to the Beginning

Back when the gig was first announced, Ozzy explained what this show means to him:

“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Osbourne said in a statement. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”

Fans are upset over the Marilyn Manson appearance

“F*** Marilyn Manson, he’s a piece of s***,” one angry fan writes on X/Twitter after seeing Manson’s Ozzy tribute.

“Disgraceful that he is on this otherwise outstanding Black Sabbath show.”

“Marilyn Manson on the Black Sabbath stream f*** off,” another fan writes.

In a clip on social media of the statement in question, Manson describes Ozzy as a “friend” whom he grew up to share a stage with, along with Black Sabbath.

“I’d like to say congratulations and I love you very much Ozzy,” he said.

Controversy as Marilyn Manson delivers statement via video

A statement on Black Sabbath and Ozzy from Marilyn Manson is aired to the arena, reportedly to cheers (although there has been some consternation in the livestream comments).

This comes around two weeks after the shock rocker’s first UK concert of his One Assassination Under God Tour was cancelled following pressure from campaign groups and an MP.

Manson, who was sued by four women accusing him of rape, sexual assault and bodily harm, was due to kick off the tour on Wednesday 29 October at the Brighton Centre.

Ticketmaster has informed customers that the event will no longer go ahead as planned and they will be refunded.

Manson has always vehemently denied allegations of rape, sexual assault and physical abuse. The case against him was dropped in January after a year-long investigation, as prosectors in California found that the statue of limitations had been exceeded.

Sharon Osbourne claims one band was 'disinvited' from the show

Ozzy’s wife and longtime manager claims one band was uninvited from the concert because they “wanted to make a profit, and it’s not the time to make a profit,” she told Billboard.

“After the show I’ll let everybody know who it was. I think people will be shocked”.

How long is the Back to the Beginning concert?

This is an all-day event: gates opened at 11am and the show kicked off at 1pm. From there, it will go on for a staggering 10 hours, with an 11pm curfew. Phew!

How the Back to the Beginning concert works

Can you imagine organising so many massive bands and artists at the same event?

It’s quite the production feat - you can see what a well-oiled machine it is, in part thanks to a rotating stage that means the crew can set up one band’s kit while another is performing live, concealed by a giant black screen bearing the event name.

VIDEO: Ozzy Osbourne closes Commonwealth Games shouting 'Birmingham forever'

Mark Beaumont praises Yungblud's 'Changes' cover

“God bless Black Sabbath and God Bless Ozzy Osbourne,” Yungblud tells the audience, before beginning his piano-led and very emotional take on “Changes”.

Mark says it reminds him of Yungblud’s “Life on Mars” cover he performed as part of the virtual tribute concert, A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day!

How much does a pint cost at Villa Park?

The team at Birmingham Live, including the lovely Kirsty Bosley, doing the lord’s work and reporting on the food and drink prices at Villa Park.

Apparently a pint of Poretti lager will set you back £8 (half pint for £4), while a pint of Somersby cider is £7.

A draught cocktail called a Rum Punch is an eye-watering £13, while water is £3.50.

Meanwhile at the Doug Ellis stand you could pay £6.50 for a Carlsberg Pilsner is £6.50, or £7 for a glass of wine. It’s £7.50 for a gin and tonic.

The livestream has sailed past 250,000 viewers

Quite extraordinary, there are now a quarter of a million people watching the Black Sabbath / Back to the Beginning livestream.

Yungblud performs cover of Ozzy hit "Changes"

Surprise! Yungblud let this slip during our interview a while back (but I promised I wouldn’t say anything) - he’s one of the previously unannounced guests taking part in today’s celebrations.

The British singer, real name Dominic Richard Harrison, is a longtime Ozzy fan and can now claim to be something of an honourary Osbourne, having befriended both Ozzy and Sharon. They even did a great cameo in his music video for “Funeral” back in 2022.

Is this really the last Black Sabbath show?

Apparently Geezer Butler couldn’t hide his amusement at being asked if this will truly be the final stage appearance by the original members of Black Sabbath.

“With this band, I have given up trying to predict a ‘last ever’ performance,” he told Billboard. “Every time I have stated ‘never again,’ something comes up, like this Villa Park gig.”

Just one woman on the lineup...

Lzzy Hale is apparently the sole woman on the lineup, which is otherwise dominated by men.

While it was, of course, important for Black Sabbath to be able to celebrate this farewell show with their fellow heavy metal legends - most of which are all-male bands - it is a shame that they haven’t considered the optics of such a gender-biased concert.

For instance, a younger act like Nova Twins could have been great as an early performance, ditto Rina Sawayama who absolutely slays a heavy metal cover, including “Enter Sandman” by Metallica for their Blacklist album...

Disturbed's David Draiman booed during band appearance

Mark (and others in attendance posting to social media) report a fair bit of booing for David Draiman, frontman of the band Disturbed, when they came out onstage.

He apparently responded: “We gonna start this?”

It’s not confirmed what reason audience members booed, but it’s very likely it has something to do with his very public support of Israel. His Instagram is populated with posts praising the IDF.

He also thanked Sharon Osbourne when she slammed the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap for their pro-Palestine displays at Coachella Festival in April.

Black Sabbath’s final show set to boost Birmingham economy by £20m

Birmingham-born band Black Sabbath’s farewell show is set to help boost the city’s economy by up to £20m, as fans flock to say goodbye to the long-running rock group.

The West Midlands Growth Company, which invests in growth for the region, said that the West Midlands is expecting a boost of up to £20m in visitor economy, largely thanks to the sold-out Black Sabbath Back to the Beginning festival at Villa Park on Saturday 5 July.

Dubbed ‘the greatest heavy metal show ever’, the show will see frontman Ozzy Osbourne perform for the final time with the original lineup of Black Sabbath.

Jason Momoa's reaction to being asked to host

It turned out Jason Momoa was desperately trying to blag some tickets when he found out the Osbournes wanted him to host the thing.

“I was just calling my buddies. I called Scott Ian, I called Kirk [Hammett], I called people basically begging to go. And then Ross Halfin, who’s the photographer of every goddamn band, he hit me up,” he told Kerrang!

“I said I was trying to get a ticket, then he’s like, ‘Sharon wants you to host it!’ I’m like, ‘What the f*** are you talking about, man?!’ I’m over here begging for a ticket and now they want me to host it! I’ve never hosted anything before but I’ve gotta go out in front of all these f***ing people and host! And now it’s on pay-per-view. Jesus Christ… I’ll be s****ing my pants but at the same time it’s the goddamn greatest metal show in history.”

Black Sabbath have made more than £2.5m from their livestream

I’m not great at maths, but a quick calculation upon seeing the 110,000 (and climbing) viewers already in the livestream (and it’s not even started yet), means that at around £25 per person (not including booking fees etc), the band have made millions from their livestream alone.

Randy Blythe of Lamb of God introduces their Sabbath cover

“This is a command to love yourself! This song is called ‘Children of the Grave.’”

Lamb of God are going with the track from Sabbath’s 1971 album Master of Reality, featuring similar lyrical themes to those heard in “War Pigs”, from their previous album Paranoid.

The song is consistently ranked among the band’s greatest songs by publications including Kerrang (number six) and Louder Sound (number five).

It has also been covered on a number of occasions, including by Argentine thrash metal band Nepal for their third album, Manifesto, in 1997, and the US thrash metal band Havok in 2013 (it featured on their third album, Unatural Selection).

How to livestream the Black Sabbath farewell concert

Tickets for the livestream went on sale at 3pm BST on Friday 6 June and are still available!

Tickets cost from £24.99 plus booking fees and provides fans with “live” viewing and access to the video for 48 hours.

While it’s being called a livestream, the video will in fact be delayed by two hours from the in-arena start time. Viewers who have paid for a stream are able to sign in from now, and it will begin at 3pm BST.

The all-day event at Villa Park, produced by Live Nation, will be hosted and compered by American actor Jason Momoa, and feature a supergroup of musicians. Further artists announced so far include Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax & Rival Sons, Andrew Watt, Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Dave Ellefson, David Draiman (Disturbed), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Jake E Lee, KK Downing, Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Papa V Perpetua (Ghost), Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Sleep Token ii (Sleep Token), Tom Morello, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe).

Ozzy Osbourne's emotional statement ahead of Black Sabbath show

Hollywood actor Jason Momoa is hosting proceedings

Actor and noted heavy metal fan Jason Momoa promises fans an “epic” gig today.

“Welcome to Back to the Beginning - the final show ever. I'm not gonna lie to you, when this concert was announced I knew it was going to be the greatest night of music ever,” he begins.

““I f***ing freaked out and told everyone I knew. I gotta get here, I gotta bring my kids. I'm not just a fan, I am obsessed with Sabbath.

“Every character that I've ever played has been inspired by this music - it's in everything that I am. So when the Osbourne's called and asked me to host I was scared as hell, I've never done this before in my life.

“But if this is how I get exclusive tickets and be the luckiest of 40,000 people in the world I said... let's f***ing go.

“Today we celebrate heavy metal. A movement invented by Black Sabbath. Can we have a celebration of all of you, of Birmingham, because this is the city that gave birth to them.

“We also wanna welcome all the metal heads all over the world joining us on the live stream so say what is up everybody.

“Together we're gonna make this the most epic day in the history of heavy metal.”

'Sabbath gave us the blueprint' - Slipknot's Corey Taylor

“Sabbath gave us the blueprint, Sabbath gave us the recipe. They gave us the cookbook, man,” Slipknot’s Corey Taylor said in BBC Radio WM’s Forging Metal documentary, which was released yesterday.

Tom Morello says fans should ‘arrive early’ to Black Sabbath show

Tom Morello has told fans to expect some “surprises” on the day of Black Sabbath’s farewell show this summer.

Ozzy Osbourne is preparing to take his final bow as the frontman of the band credited with creating heavy metal, at an event held in his hometown of Birmingham.

Legendary guitarist Morello, best known for his association with the bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, is serving as the concert’s musical director and has promised that it will be “the greatest heavy metal show ever”.

Speaking to The Independent, he said he was approached by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne with the idea of being musical director for the event.

“When duty calls, when it comes to the most massive metal event in history, I’m here to serve,” he said.

The renowned musician, who is a longtime Black Sabbath fan, said he sat down with the couple and compared lists of artists and bands who they wanted to perform at the show.

“The North Star from the first conversation was to make this the greatest day in the history of heavy metal,” he said.

“Black Sabbath invented the genre… it’s a tribute to [them] but unlike other tributes, Black Sabbath’s going to play at the end of the night, and so it’s a chance for artists of all ages and branches of the heavy metal tree to pay respects by playing some of our own music that owes a debt to Black Sabbath, and then also have 14 to 16 of the greatest Black Sabbath cover bands that ever graced the stage.”

Asked what fans should expect, Morello advised them to “get there early”.

“Some of the biggest artists who are performing have not been announced,” he revealed. “There’ll be some surprises during the day.”

He added: “I think it’ll be very emotional for Black Sabbath fans in the room and around the world on that day, to really give that band their due.”

Mastodon open proceedings!

All acts today are doing a Sabbath cover, apparently, and everyone is being very effusive about the Sabbath.

Scott Ian from Anthrax says: “All of us are in one place for the same reason, to celebrate the music that Black Sabbath gave us. We’re not here to say goodbye, we’re here to say thank you.”

Lzzy Hale from Halestorm says: “This is the greatest moment in heavy metal history!”

From a reunion to a farewell...

It seemed like the whole music press was in Cardiff last night for the long-awaited Oasis reunion, and now it’s on to Birmingham to say goodbye to one of the most important and influential bands in history: Black Sabbath!

The band’s four original members - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – will be playing together for the first time in 20 years, while Ozzy is also expected to do a few solo numbers.

Some of the biggest acts of metal – from Metallica to Lamb of God – are also taking part in the concert today, with all profits to be shared equally between three different charities.

‘I owe Ozzy Osbourne everything’: Metallica, Alice in Chains, Sammy Hagar and Yungblud on Black Sabbath’s farewell show

As one of the world’s most influential bands prepare to bid farewell with a huge show at Villa Park in Birmingham, Roisin O’Connor speaks to just a few of the musicians whose lives were changed by the Prince of Darkness.

Sharon Osbourne claims band was ‘disinvited’ from Black Sabbath show: ‘People will be shocked’