Ozzy Osbourne goes "Back to the Beginning" for farewell appearance as original Black Sabbath line-up announce Villa Park show
It's set to be an historic day for West Midlands heavy metal as the Prince of Darkness re-joins his Black Sabbath bandmates for one more time.
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It was announced on Wednesday morning by Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi that the original Black Sabbath line-up of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward will be playing together for the first time in 20 years as headliners at "Back to the Beginning".
The all-day music event will take place at Villa Park in Birmingham on Saturday, July 5 and is a charity event with all profits from the show being shared equally between Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.
Chris Heck, President of Business Operations at Aston Villa FC, said: “We are delighted to host Birmingham-born legend Ozzy Osbourne at Villa Park.
“Live music events have and will continue to play a major role in our strategic plan for Aston Villa.
"They drive additional revenue streams that allow our Club to comply with stringent Premier League regulations, while ultimately solidifying our position as a world-class organisation capable of continually competing and winning at the highest level.
“By drawing in new audiences and keeping them engaged for longer, events like Ozzy Osbourne's concert will play a key role in our continued success, on and off the pitch.”
The event is also an opportunity to celebrate the originators of heavy metal and also see Ozzy Osbourne play his own short set before joining with Black Sabbath for his final appearance on stage.
The band, who formed in Birmingham in 1968, previously played a farewell show to a sold out audience of 16,000 people at the city's NEC Arena in 2017 with a set which consisted mainly of songs from their early days, including War Pigs, N.I.B and Black Sabbath, before finishing on their breakthrough hit and signature song, Paranoid.
Following that concert, Osbourne released two solo albums, Ordinary Man and Patient Number 9, but also suffered a spinal injury in 2019 after a crash involving an ATV, requiring extensive surgery.
The same year, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's and stepped back from touring after playing the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in 2022, but took part in a video publicising Aston Villa's 2024/25 home shirt.
He said the show as an opportunity to say thank you to everyone who made the band and him what they are today.
He said: “It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning and time for me to give back to the place where I was born.
“How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
Back to the Beginning will feature sets from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon.
Other artists also announced will include Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), David Draiman (Disturbed), Duff McKagan & Slash (Guns ‘n Roses), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Jake E Lee, Jonathan Davis (Korn), KK Downing, Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Sleep Token ii (Sleep Token), Papa V Perpetua (Ghost), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Wolfgang Van Halen and Zakk Wylde.
Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday, February 14, at tickets.AVFC.co.uk.
