Heavy Metal Icons Are “Gutted” They Can’t Make Black Sabbath’s Farewell Show, but They Made up for It Perfectly

On July 5th, a historic moment in heavy metal will take place when Ozzy Osbourne joins forces with Black Sabbath for one last performance. Having stood at the forefront of heavy metal for several decades, Osbourne wanted one last performance with the original lineup of Black Sabbath that included Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward. Besides Black Sabbath, the Back to the Beginning concert will feature performances by Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Alice in Chains, and numerous others. But for one band, they were absolutely “gutted” when a schedule conflict made them miss out on such an iconic celebration. 

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As the news of Ozzy’s final concert circulated the internet, Judas Priest found itself in a difficult situation. Although the band wanted to be part of the celebration, the band already made prior commitments to Scorpions, who planned to celebrate the band’s 60th anniversary in Hanover, Germany. Speaking about the double-booking, singer Rob Halford said, “I had no idea it [the Sabbath show] was happening. It all got announced and was a big deal.” 

It wasn’t long after the news broke that Halford found himself sitting on the phone with none other than Sharon Osbourne. “Suddenly I get this phone call [from Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne], ‘Robbie, I know you’ve got this gig with Scorpions, but could you consider coming over to do a thing with Ozzy and the guys. He’d love to see you.’”

[RELATED: Iron Men: Black Sabbath Members Receive Prestigious Freedom of the City Honor from Their Hometown of Birmingham, U.K.]

Judas Priest Honors Black Sabbath With “War Pigs” Cover

Explaining the situation, Sharon offered to handle the flights to make sure they could make it to both performances. But not wanting to let Scorpions down, Halford said, “Even with a private plane, there’s a word called ‘technical’, where something could go wrong, or the weather that time of year could cause problems… I was absolutely gutted [to miss the show].”

While gutted over missing the performance, Judas Priest paid tribute to Ozzy and Black Sabbath when they released a cover of “War Pigs.” 

As for the Back to the Beginning concert, Halford knew Ozzy would be in great company. “All my mates are going to be there though, great bands and artists.” He added, “It’s a wonderful and epic moment for Sabbath and heavy metal — it re-emphasizes that Birmingham is where metal came from.” 

(Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)