Recommendations of the Editorial team
The British metal legends Black Sabbath have received the highest award in their hometown: the “Freedom of the City of Birmingham”, just a few days before their final concert “Back to the Beginning” on July 5, 2025 in Villa Park.
As part of a private ceremony on June 28, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward from the Lord Mayor von Birmingham were honored with honor roles and medals. An appreciation of her role as a pioneer of the heavy metal and as a pride of the workers’ city of Birmingham.
“We were often mocked because of our accent. But Birmingham has always been behind us,” butler recalled during the event. Osbourne added emotionally: “My father went into debt at the time to buy me a microphone. I think he would be very proud today.”
20 years later: Original line -up again united on a stage
The show marked the first joint appearance of all four founding members in two decades. For front man Ozzy Osbourne it is also the first full concert since 2018. After numerous health sets. Including several operations and its Parkinson’s disease.
Nevertheless, the “Prince of Darkness” is determined: “I give 120 percent. I have a trainer who helps people back to life. It is hard. But I want to go through it. If God wants it, I will appear.”
His wife and manager Sharon Osbourne said Opposite the NME: “It is what he wants. He would finally like to thank everyone. So far he was denied him because of his illness.”
Grandstands, honors, emotions: Birmingham celebrates his rock heroes
The medals were designed by design students Toby Williams and manufactured by the local companies Hilton Studios and Fattorini. Further honor for the band can now be found next to the “Black Sabbath Bridge” on Broad Street and the stars on the Walk of Fame in the city center.
According to the BBC, the farewell concert of the cult band of the local economy in the West Midlands area will bring in up to £ 20 million.
A live stream of the concert begins at 3:00 p.m. BST on Saturday, July 5th. If you have a streaming ticket, you will have access to the complete recording for 48 hours.
Farewell with a metal summit: line-up with world stars
The line-up of the final reads like the who’s who of rock and metal: Tool, Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Alice in Chain, Anthrax, Gojira, Guns N ‘Roses, Korn, Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and the remaining members of Soundgarden are honored.
The only downside: Wolfgang van Halen canceled his participation for tour commitments at short notice.
An era ends, the myth remains
“Back to the Beginning” should not only stand for the completion of a career over 50 years, but also for a return to the roots. With the honor of the city of Birmingham “in the back” and a final concert, one of the most influential rock bands ever says goodbye – forever?