Forty thousand fans packed out Villa Park in Birmingham to watch Ozzy Osbourne’s much-anticipated last show ever.
Fireworks burst over the pitch as Black Sabbath came out to wave goodbye. The band, known as the inventors of metal, took to the stage for the final time for an epic show.
Hit songs War Pigs, NIB, Iron Man and Paranoid were belted out to an adoring crowd, supplemented by a peak of 5.8 million more on the accompanying livestream.
Drummer Bill Ward, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler joined Osbourne on the revolving stage.
Osbourne remained seated for the four-song set.
“Unfortunately, we’ve come to our last song, ever,” he said, introducing the fan favourite Paranoid. “Go f**king crazy! Come on!”
Osbourne’s touring career was looking to have petered out after a frustrating series of setbacks, including illness and Covid lockdowns, and it looked as if he might have been forced into retirement without a decent send-off.
But thanks to the efforts of his wife, Sharon Osbourne, he got to headline at what has been described as the biggest event in heavy metal history.
Sabbath saw out a day of metal mania with performances by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Gojira and Anthrax.
The Back to the Beginning gig was introduced by Jason Momoa.
Birmingham celebrated the final appearance of its biggest band, with the four members of Sabbath granted the freedom of the city this week.
