In what is perhaps a bid to temper expectations, Ozzy Osbourne has cautioned that his upcoming farewell performance with pioneering metal band Black Sabbath will be a somewhat limited affair. The 76-year-old metal legend is set to return to the stage this summer for his first ‘proper’ live show since injuring himself in a fall back in early 2019.
That fall, which took place during a late night trip to the bathroom, ruptured steel rods previously surgically inserted in him in the wake of a serious ATV accident he was involved in back in 2003.
The injuries sustained in that fall left him with spinal damage, with the resulting surgeries failing to deliver the desired results, instead finding him suffering from nerve damage and other undesirable side effects. Compounded with his struggles with the advancing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease (he was diagnosed with PRKN 2 in the early 2000s,) Osbourne is no longer able to walk unassisted.
While he did return to the stage for a pair of brief performances in 2022, those two-song sets were staged with the aid of a back brace mounted to the floor, which helped him with his balance issues. Osbourne himself also remained seated and didn’t perform during his solo Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction this past fall.
For this final sendoff, the man known as the Prince Of Darkness is set to pull double duty at an all-star show in Black Sabbath‘s hometown of Birmingham, UK. Booked for July 05th at Villa Park, that performance will be headlined by a reunion/farewell set from Black Sabbath, complete with drummer Bill Ward rejoining guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and Osbourne this time around. An abbreviated solo set from Osbourne is set to take place beforehand.
All proceeds from the event will go to several charities. That special event is also set to find Rage Against The Machine‘s Tom Morello directing an all-star jam collective that is expected to pay tribute to the works of Osbourne, Sabbath and more, with a raft of metal and hard rock superstars set to join him.
However, in a new appearance on his SiriusXM show ‘Ozzy Speaks‘, Osbourne has now confirmed that he will not actually be performing a full traditional set with Sabbath. Instead, he only plans to do ‘bits and pieces” with them. Whether or not this amounts to a medley, a truncated setlist, or other vocalists joining in to help assist is unclear. Osbourne himself stated:
“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them. I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable.”
“I am trying to get back on my feet. When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
With a venue capacity of 42,640, the aforementioned show quickly sold out within minutes of tickets going onsale last week. With the amount of talent also lined up to celebrate Sabbath and Ozzy, that’s was entirely expected, as the support bill for the show will run as follows:
Metallica
Slayer
Pantera
Gojira
Halestorm
Alice In Chains
Lamb Of God
Anthrax
Mastodon
Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello will also be leading an all-star jam collective during that event, with the following artists among the initial list of confirmed participants:
Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins)
Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Danny Carey (Tool)
David Draiman (Disturbed)
Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses)
Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit)
Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
Jake E. Lee (Red Dragon Cartel, ex-Ozzy Osbourne)
Jonathan Davis (Korn)
KK Downing (KK’s Priest, ex-Judas Priest)
Mike Bordin (Faith No More/Ozzy Osbourne)
Papa V Perpetua (Ghost)
Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, etc.)
Sammy Hagar (ex-Van Halen)
Slash (Guns N’ Roses)
II (Sleep Token)
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
Wolfgang Van Halen (Mammoth WVH, ex-Van Halen)
[via Blabbermouth.net]
