Black Sabbath farewell concert live: Ozzy Osbourne’s last show ends with fireworks and cake | OneFootball

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Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning trailer

Ozzy Osbourne and the other original members of Black Sabbath, the band credited with creating heavy metal, have played their final show at a massive event held in their hometown of Birmingham.

Some of the biggest acts of metal, from Metallica to Lamb of God, joined the band for the farewell concert at Villa Park on Saturday for 10 solid hours of music.

Legendary guitarist Tom Morello, best known for his association with the bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, served as musical director, while Hollywood actor Jason Momoa hosted proceedings.

During the show, fans saw performances from bands including Slayer, Tool, Gojira, Metallica and Guns N Roses, while Ozzy himself performed some of his biggest solo hits from a black winged throne.

In the final segment, the original four members of Black Sabbath, Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, performed a selection of their signature songs: “War Pigs”, “NIB”, “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”.

Osbourne, who had performed from a black winged throne, was then presented with a cake, while fireworks lit up the stadium from overhead.

“It's so good to be on this f***ing stage, you have no idea,” he told fans.

Follow live updates below:

Our critic's verdict on Black Sabbath's final show

In case you missed it, here’s what The Independent’s critic Mark Beaumont had to say about last night’s farewell extravaganza at Villa Park.

“As the Prince of Darkness himself finally appears for his solo band set, rising from beneath the stage in a batwing-festooned black throne to the crescendo of “O Fortuna”, the roar in the room is one of gratitude and empathy.”

Read Mark Beaumont’s five star review in full

Katie Rosseinsky6 July 2025 14:20

Black Sabbath fans slam ‘disgraceful’ Marilyn Manson appearance during farewell show

Last night’s farewell show wasn’t without controversy, after a video message from shock rocker Marilyn Manson aired.

The statement played in between performances from acts including Alice in Chains, Tom Morello, Yungblud and Metallica, as the music worldcelebrated the legacy of Sabbath and frontman Ozzy Osbourne.

A clip shared to social media of the message showed Manson, real name Brian Warner, speaking of how he later came to share a stage with Osbourne and Black Sabbath, having grown up as a fan of their music.

Read Roisin O’Connor’s report from last night in full

(Getty Images)

Black Sabbath fans slam ‘disgraceful’ Marilyn Manson appearance during farewell show

Katie Rosseinsky6 July 2025 13:25

Sharon Osbourne says she's finally 'done' with music industry after final Black Sabbath gig

Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she is “done” with the music industry after husband Ozzy performed a final farewell gig with his band Black Sabbath.

Sharon, who first met Ozzy when her father was managing Black Sabbath and later took over as his manager when he became a solo artist, said that she was now finally ready to step back from the industry following the triumphant farewell show.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 15, and I’m done,” the 72-year-old told Billboard. “We just want to live our life and do what we want to do and not have to follow an itinerary anymore.”

(AFP via Getty Images)

Sharon Osbourne says she’s finally ‘done’ with music industry after Ozzy’s last Black Sabbath gig

Katie Rosseinsky6 July 2025 11:25

Ozzy Osbourne's emotional statement ahead of Black Sabbath farewell show

In a Q&A with communications agency Premier Comms, Osbourne, 76, said the show, titled Back to the Beginning, was a chance to “say thank you to my fans for always supporting me and being there for me”.

“I couldn't have done my final show anywhere else,” he said of playing the gig in his hometown of Birmingham. “I had to go back to the beginning.”

Osbourne also said that he was surprised by how many people had contacted him about livestreaming the concert, which had not been in the original plan.

“It seemed a great chance for people who didn't have the opportunity to get a ticket to be able to see the show,” he said.

The livestream of Back to the Beginning will be delayed by two hours from the in-arena start time, and will begin at 3pm BST. The stream will open 30 minutes prior to launching. Tickets are available to purchase here.

Playing at Villa Park is particularly significant for him, Osbourne said, as he used to go to the venue with his friends on Saturdays when a football match was being hosted and ask people “for a shilling to watch their car”.

Asked about what the formidable lineup meant to him, the musician remarked: “It means everything, I am forever in their debt for showing up for me and the fans. I can’t quite put it into words, but I feel very emotional and blessed.”

Tribute from Yungblud

Born in Doncaster, Yungblud – Dominic Richard Harrison – rose to fame with the release of his debut album, 21st Century Liability. He has since released a further three albums, all of which have topped the UK charts, including his 2025 record Idols. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne made a cameo in his 2022 music video for “The Funeral”.

Since I can remember, Ozzy has always been a part of my life. I grew up around rock music, and he was a character to me before I even knew anything about him. I remember his hair, I remember his massive mouth, I remember his glasses from when I was three years old.

If you know me and my family, we’re truly f***ing loud– they used to call us The Osbournes. So, I kind of found solace in being similar to them. Growing up watching The Osbournes and the madness, I was always like that. I was always out there and “crazy”. To see someone being so loved and accepted with all their madness… I really found solace in a figure like Ozzy.

We’re very similar. Even though we don’t necessarily make the same kind of music, we kind of represent the same thing. Being out there and thinking outside the box is what we’re both known for.

To now be a close personal friend to them all – basically family – it’s been amazing. Sharon has been so helpful to me in terms of my festival and my business, and Ozzy has been an inspiration. It’s wild when you meet your heroes, let alone become their family.

Tribute to Ozzy from Rob Trujillo

Rob Trujillo rose to prominence as the bassist for the California thrash band Suicidal Tendencies – as well as their side project, Infectious Grooves – before successfully auditioning for Osbourne’s band in the late Nineties. He joined Metallica in 2003, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band – including the late Cliff Burton and former bassist Jason Newsted – in 2009.

When I was younger, I had a really great friend who had older brothers who were obsessed with Black Sabbath. Back then it was all about the record player and vinyls, so we would sit there and play the first album, and listen to the song “Black Sabbath”, and actually really scare ourselves with it. We’d imagine what they were like, because coming from southern California… to us they were like sorcerers or something. We were afraid of them, but we also looked up to them as heroes, and there was a weird, creative energy that went along with the actual experience of hearing their music.

Then, in high school, a friend turned me on to them as a musician and I started learning their songs, working out why Geezer Butler was so great. So I started covering Sabbath songs when I was around 16, 17, and Ozzy’s solo stuff as well.

I was recording the first Infectious Grooves album around the time Ozzy was doing No More Tears – we were both at a studio called Devonshire Studios in LA, it was a compound and so we were all there together like one big happy family. And Ozzy, back then he was kind of wild and he would go missing, and he’d end up in our studio hanging out with us in the control room, so we featured him on a song called “Therapy” – he loved it. And later on when the band were gearing up to do their Theatre of Madness tour, he insisted Infectious Grooves open for him. We weren’t even a physical band then, so he helped that happen. And we had a great time! Opening for Ozzy was a dream come true; I even remember the Metallica guys coming to see us, I think in Atlanta.

Being asked to join [Ozzy’s band] was crazy. I’d been thinking about Ozzy – it’d been two or three years since the tour with Infectious Grooves – and I was missing albums like Diary of a Madman, so I got the CD and put the outgoing message on my answering machine. Then out of nowhere I got a call from Sharon’s office about auditioning, and they were blown away because the first thing they heard was the intro to “Over the Mountain”!

Obviously I went to the audition. It was a bit of a cattle call, I remember – there were a lot of great players there. But you go in, you have fun, you play. And if you don’t get the gig, at least you get to say you jammed with Ozzy, right? I had the same attitude when I auditioned for Metallica: “I got to play three songs with my heroes.” I’ve stayed friendly with Ozzy since then and played in the band for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And I’m so excited to be part of this, to be able to show my love and respect for Black Sabbath – because it’s safe to say a lot of us wouldn’t be playing the music that we play if it wasn’t for that band. To be sharing this stage with Ozzy, thinking back to the days when I played backyard parties and barbecues, and to still be friends with them, it’s a blessing. This is a huge, historical, monumental experience that we’re going to have on this day in Birmingham.