On Saturday, July 5th, Ozzy Osbourne will walk out on stage for the last time. Marking the end of his glorious career as the Prince of Darkness, the icon reunited with the original lineup of Black Sabbath that included Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, and Tony Iommi for the show. And the concert will also feature numerous performances from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, and several others. With the event kicking off in just a few days, Ozzy recently sat down to discuss what the event meant to him.
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Titled the Back to The Beginning concert, Black Sabbath and Ozzy will travel to Birmingham, United Kingdom, to perform at Villa Park. When asked what the show means to him, the legendary singer insisted, “It’s my final encore; it’s my chance to say thank you to my fans for always supporting me and being there for me.” Knowing that his legions of fans helped shape his career in the music industry, he added, “I hope they feel appreciated for how much they mean to me.”
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Ozzy Osbourne Recalls Special Memories Of Villa Park
Other than Ozzy wanting to thank fans for their ongoing support, he also knew his final performance had to be at Villa Park. Recalling a time before his life on the stage, he revealed, “My memories of Villa Park when I was growing up were: Every Saturday when there was a match, I would go out with my friends and stand outside the Villa asking people for a shilling to watch their car.”
Even with Ozzy performing at some of the biggest venues in the world, there was no other place he wanted to end his career than in Birmingham. “I couldn’t have done my final show anywhere else. I had to go back to the beginning.”
And apparently, Ozzy himself seemed shocked by how quickly the concert sold out. With thousands of fans wanting to be part of his final goodbye, the organizers decided to offer tickets to a live stream.
Wanting to offer every fan a chance to see his last performance, Ozzy admitted, “We never meant to have a livestream; it wasn’t in our plan. I was just surprised how many people we were contacted by to do one, and so it seemed a great chance for people who didn’t have the opportunity to get a ticket to be able to see the show.”
As for those wondering if it was really going to be Ozzy’s last performance, he declared, “It’s a goodbye as far as my live performances go, and what a way to go out.”
(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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