Ozzy Osbourne starred in living wake with Black Sabbath in Birmingham; he died 17 days later
On July 5, the Black Sabbath frontman grasped the rare chance to bask in public adulation shortly before one of popular music’s biggest stars disappeared from our view for the last time.
Most rock stars and pop idols die like the rest of us, in small rooms surrounded by loved ones, far away from the ardent audiences whose baying fandom made them globally famous.
That was the case for Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman of British band Black Sabbath, whose four members laid the bedrock for what became a towering pillar known as heavy metal music.
But Osbourne’s death – announced on Wednesday morning, Australian time – was unusual because only 17 days before, the 76-year-old had addressed a huge crowd of metal worshippers in the band’s hometown of Birmingham.
It was a rare chance for one of popular music’s biggest stars to bask in public adulation shortly before he disappeared from our view for the last time.
On July 5, he made his final entrance on wheels: a custom-made throne painted in black, on which music’s Prince of Darkness sat and addressed his flock.
“Let me see those f..king hands!” he announced, as the 45,000-strong crowd obliged and the band rumbled into its 1970 anti-war protest song War Pigs, one of four to get an airing alongside N.I.B. and Iron Man.
At a daylong concert held outdoors at Villa Park named Back to the Beginning – with millions of fans tuning in via the pay-per-view live stream – it was designed as a celebration of Black Sabbath’s significant musical influence, with Osbourne performing live alongside his bandmates Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums).
Owing to Osbourne’s well-documented health issues stemming from a 2020 diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, however, Back to the Beginning was also intended as a farewell for Ozzy.
Few knew just how close he was to the final curtain. With the benefit of hindsight, the concert took the shape of a living wake.
Metalheads are nothing if not loyal, and across the decades this music has resonated most strongly with adolescents – in no small part, perhaps, because their parents tended to decry it as unmusical.
When distorted guitars, double-kicked drums and hard-edged vocals get into your bloodstream as a teenage boy or girl, it often becomes a life sentence, but one accepted happily; wherever you go, this music follows you.
This allegiance to darker tones was why, when asked, globally popular bands including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera and Alice in Chains all agreed to appear and perform unusually short sets of between 15 and 30 minutes apiece – many of them in daylight, sans their usual production bombast.
Without question, the musical DNA of every player on the stage that day was formed by listening to the work of Osbourne and his bandmates, who began playing together in 1968.
Curated by Tom Morello, the acclaimed guitarist for acts including Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, the line-up was formidable; every band played a Sabbath cover, while Morello played in a “supergroup” led by vocalists including Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Sammy Hagar (Van Halen) and Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins).
When asked if he’d expected to spend so much time this year thinking about Black Sabbath, Morello laughed and replied, “I did not”.
Speaking with The Australian in March ahead of a solo tour, Morello said, “I’ve known Sharon (Osbourne, wife and manager) and Ozzy for a long time, and when I ran into Sharon somewhere, she said, ‘We’re doing one final Sabbath show – would you be the musical director to help me put it together?’ I’m like, ‘Yes’.
“Metal is the music that made me love music, and to be able to help in some way to honour the band that invented heavy metal, it’s really special.”
Ahead of the Birmingham show, Morello reflected on how different it would be to memorial events for the likes of Freddie Mercury (Queen), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) and his Audioslave bandmate Chris Cornell – all of which took place after their deaths.
But in the case of Back to the Beginning, “Black Sabbath is going to be there; the band that invented heavy metal is going to be there, on the greatest day in the history of heavy metal, celebrating them”, he said.
Asked whether it was as fun to put together as it looked, Morello replied, “It started at lunch, just making a list: if there’s going to be one last Black Sabbath show, what’s the dream bill?
“I called Metallica up ... first of all, when you say, ‘There’s going to be one final Black Sabbath show, and you’re invited to play at it,’ people tend to pick up the phone.
“The dominoes kept falling, of awesome band after awesome band (agreeing); and then, once it was announced, the phone rang again: people who maybe had not really understood the magnitude of what was going on, and so we’ve got some pretty great late additions.”
Watching fan-filmed footage of Black Sabbath’s last gig on Wednesday, in light of Osbourne’s death, puts that final half-hour on stage in a new light.
On the night, bassist Butler and guitarist Iommi were firing with similar precision to what they’d shown 57 years prior, when they began writing and recording riffs and arrangements that would stand the test of time.
Behind the kit, 77-year-old Ward had the hardest job to do, and his timing wasn’t always there. He hadn’t played with the band since 2005, and it showed, but the sense of occasion was such that his minor stumbles were forgiven.
Sat at his dark throne, Osbourne was limited in what he could do, both vocally and physically, but his commitment to playing the character of heavy metal’s Prince of Darkness was absolute.
Black eyeliner emphasised the whites of his eyes, which he occasionally bulged to mimic the crazed, glaring expression he’d been giving on stages for more than five decades. Between songs, he was seen squirting mouth spray to keep his instrument oiled.
It was not a commanding vocal performance; frankly, it had been years since he has given one of those. That he was there at all, though, was remarkable.
In the annals of music history, the Birmingham show will stand as one of the great artistic farewells. (It also raised a reported £140m ($289m) for charity, with profits to be split equally between Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Cure Parkinson’s and Acorns Children’s Hospice.)
It wasn’t a funeral, nor was the abiding feeling funereal; instead, it was a triumphant and joyous living wake as 45,000 people got the chance to salute a true original, devil horns held aloft, throats hoarse from singing and yelling those timeless melodies.
Crucially, Osbourne himself was able to see one last time what he and his bandmates meant to those fans who’d gathered in their masses, as well as the scores of musicians who crowded the wings and backstage to pay their respects.
“Unfortunately, we’ve come to our final song ... ever,” he said, sounding slightly forlorn.
“I just want to say to you, on behalf of the guys in Black Sabbath and myself, your support over the years has made it all possible for us to live the lifestyle that we do.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you; we love you.”
As his bandmates kicked into their signature song, 1970’s Paranoid, Osbourne leaned forward in his throne and gripped the microphone. “Go f..king crazy,” he yelled. “This is the last one!”
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