Black Sabbath Great, 77, Reveals If It's Really the End of the Band Audio Ink Radio

Black Sabbath Great, 77, Reveals If It’s Really the End of the Band

2025-06-14

What will Ozzy Osbourne be like during his final show, and is it really the end for Black Sabbath? One band members answers. – Author: Charles Ken, Photo via Vertigo/Republic Records/Universal

The countdown to the final Black Sabbath show is on, and that concert is set to take place in just a few weeks. The band’s much-anticipated farewell gig is scheduled for July 5, dubbed “Back to the Beginning,” and will take place at the group’s old stomping grounds of Villa Park in Birmingham.

The concert will present Ozzy Osbroune and Black Sabbath in their final public performance, as well as a collection metal bands, from Metallica to Tool to Slayer.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, 77, says he’s excited about the upcoming gig, but that his “excitement mixed with fear” as the big date approaches. The concert will feature original Black Sabbath members Osbourne, Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

Black Sabbath Legend Opens Up About July 5 Show

“This would be a big, monumental thing if it all comes good,” he said in an interview with Music Week, per Louder Sound. “The worrying thing for me is the unknown. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Normally, when we’d tour, we’d rehearse and run through the thing for a while, and it’s just us,” he added. “But with this event there are so many other moving parts.”

So, will Black Sabbath retire just to pop up again, as so many bands do? We’re looking at you, Motley Crue. The answer, Iommi says, is definitely not.

This final show is “absolutely the end,” he said in the interview. “This show has come up because of the situation [with Osbourne’s illness] and because it’s a charity thing. But there’s no way we could go out and do a tour.”

He added, “Everybody in the band is looking forward to doing it, though it’s a nerve-wracking thing, as we’ll be touching on some stuff that we haven’t done for a long time.”

What to Expect from Ozzy Osbourne at His Final Concert

So, what will Osbourne be like during his final show? He won’t be very mobile, according to Iommi.

“You’re used to Ozzy running around, but he certainly won’t be doing that for this show,” Iommi told Music Week. “I don’t know if he’s going to be standing or sitting on a throne or what.”

Iommi isn’t the only one thinking a lot about the final show. In an interview with The Guardian, Butler talked about having nightmares before the final gig.

“I’m already having palpitations. In fact, I had a nightmare last night,” he told the publication. “I dreamed everything went wrong on stage and we all turned to dust. It’s important that we leave a great impression, since it’s the final time that people will experience us live. So it has to be great on the night.”

The final Black Sabbath show will be available to watch online, as it will be streamed worldwide. Streaming options are available on the concert’s website. The livestream will be delayed two hours from the actual start time of the show in the arena, so it will start at 10 a.m. ET, or 7 a.m. PT, on July 5. But, the show will also be available to watch replay for 48 hours after the show is available to stream.

Author
Recent Posts

Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a trending news writer for Audio Ink Radio. He is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.