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Ozzy Osbourne is preparing for the most emotional moment of his career: the very last appearance with Black Sabbath. As part of the “Back to The Beginning” concert on July 5th in Villa Park in Birmingham, the 76-year-old Metal legend will not only be on stage for one last time, but will also play his final solo set. The crowning glory of an era and Osbourne should apparently celebrate him on a flying throne.
Despite health setbacks and numerous operations, the “Prince of Darkness” is determined and combative. In the Siriusxm radio broadcast “Ozzy Speaks”, which he moderates together with co-moderator Billy Morrison, Osbourne now said that he started “violent training” to prepare for the physical challenges of the show. It will be its first complete performance since 2018.
“It’s really like a fresh start”
“I have been doing nothing since – that was seven years now -” said Osbourne. “And I have all these operations behind me. It’s really like a complete fresh start.” He describes his current training program as “endurance training”. Every step is a step forward for the recourse rock star: “The first thing that flutes is when you are bedridden is the condition,” he explains. “So believe it or not, I do two sets on three minutes long walks a day and weight training. I have to get going. So I wake up my body.” He makes it clear how much even small training sessions demand: “Three minutes for you, for example, are nothing. But I was lying on my back and recovering from tens of ops.”
Not a complete black Sabbath or solo set
Already in February Osbourne had dampened the expectations of his stage appearance in the same radio show. There will probably be no complete solo set or even a whole Black Sabbath program. “I don’t plan to make a complete set with Black Sabbath, but I will play small pieces with them. I do what I can and which I feel comfortable,” said the musician. Whether it was drugs, alcohol, animal bites or public escalations – Ozzy Osbourne is known for the fact that he used to exceed pretty much every border.
Today, however, the 76-year-old fights with a number of health challenges. In addition to his Parkinson’s disease, he continues to suffer from severe back problems-everyday life remains a challenge: “I try to get back on my feet. Most people just jump out of bed in the morning-I have to find my balance first. But I’m not dead. I’m still active and do what I can do.” In the past few months, Osbourne had repeatedly spoken openly about his health problems. Finally, he was seen several times in a wheelchair.
A metal gig for the history books
Despite everything, Osbourne wants to say goodbye to his fans-and it has it all: In addition to Black Sabbath and his own solo set, the concert of music greats such as Metallica, Guns N ‘Roses, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira and Alice is accompanied in Chains. The festival is like a pilgrimage site for heavy metal fans from all over the world.
Accompanying the grand finale, a documentary on Paramount+, the Osbourne’s health fights and its way back to the stage also appears in autumn-including the last Black Sabbath appearance.