Tony Iommi described how Ozzy Osbourne’s determination to perform at Black Sabbath’s final reunion show overcame initial concerns about his health and the band’s readiness, speaking on Louder Sound.
Iommi explained that he had doubts about whether Black Sabbath should play the reunion show at all. He also expressed concern about Osbourne’s physical condition before the performance and whether the band would be ready after such a long time away.
Tony Iommi said: “I said to Ozzy: ‘I don’t think we should do it.’ I said: ‘We should just let the other bands play our stuff, and us come out at the end and say thank you. But it was for a good charitable cause, and eventually we said okay.'”
“I hadn’t seen Ozzy for a bit, and it was difficult seeing him like that. Fucking hell…”
The band needed extensive rehearsal time to prepare. “We needed to rehearse with Bill, because it had been twenty years and he couldn’t remember how to play some of his stuff. We wanted to do the song Black Sabbath on the night but it was too difficult for him,” Iommi explained. “But Ozzy would arrive with this gang of people carrying him up and down. We’d say: ‘Oz, you don’t have to be here today, go home.’ I was concerned about his voice. But he wanted to be there. There was no stopping him.”
Despite these worries, Osbourne pushed through on the night. “The adrenaline carried Ozzy through. And I’m so glad we did it. But of course we didn’t expect him to go so soon.”
Iommi was also worried that Osbourne might exhaust himself before Black Sabbath even took the stage. “I was concerned he was going to blow himself out, and by the time we came on he’d be struggling.”
These comments came as Iommi reflected on Black Sabbath’s final reunion performance. The guitarist’s recollection underlines how Osbourne’s refusal to give up defined the band’s last show together.
The reunion show took place on July 5, 2025, at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK, as part of the Back to the Beginning event. The concert featured an all-star lineup including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Anthrax, Alice in Chains, Halestorm, Mastodon, and Lamb of God, with all proceeds supporting three charities: Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
Ozzy Osbourne was managing serious health challenges at the time of the performance. He was living with Parkinson’s disease and emphysema, conditions that made performing particularly difficult. Medical specialists had advised against the concert due to the risks to his health, and Sharon Osbourne later revealed that doctors warned the performance could be fatal.
Osbourne gave his final live performance at that show, performing “Paranoid” with Black Sabbath. He died on July 22, 2025, just 17 days after the farewell concert. The Back to the Beginning event raised more than $190 million for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospice, and Cure Parkinson’s.
