Ozzy Osbourne is excited that two of his former solo band members, Jake E Lee and Rudy Sarzo, will be part of BLACK SABBATH‘s final reunion show at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5th.
This event will also be a historic reunion for BLACK SABBATH’s original lineup—Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward—playing together for the first time in two decades.
The legendary heavy metal band will headline a special one-day festival at Villa Park, showcasing numerous bands they influenced, such as METALLICA, PANTERA, SLAYER, GOJIRA, and ANTHRAX.
Andy Copping of Live Nation, who booked the Villa Park concert with Tom Morello and Sharon Osbourne, told Planet Rock‘s Loz Guest that Ozzy Osbourne was excited about the lineup.
Loz Guest, noting the impressive roster of bands, commented to Andy Copping that the event felt like a small festival.
“Yes, it is. It is going to be an all-day event,” Andy said. “You obviously mentioned the bands that are playing, but we’ve also got the individuals that are playing on the bill as well.
“We’ve got Papa (V Perpetua) from GHOST, we’ve got Fred Durst from LIMP BIZKIT, Jonathan Davis from KORN, Slash and Duff (McKagan) from GUNS N’ ROSES, Billy Corgan from SMASHING PUMPKINS, Wolfgang Van Halen… I mean the list goes on and there’s still one or two other members that are going to be joining the party. We’ve got Sammy Hagar on there.
“Jake E Lee and Rudy Sarzo who have previously played with Ozzy, and Ozzy hasn’t seen them in over 30 years, and he’s just elated that those two guys are coming in too,” Andy continued. “But he’s happy about everybody getting involved, it’s such a great bill.”
Rudy Sarzo played bass for Ozzy Osbourne from 1981 to 1982. Guitarist Jake E Lee had a longer stint with Osbourne, from 1982 to 1987, and appeared on the albums Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin.
The proceeds from the event will benefit Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a hospice for children supported by Aston Villa.
Ozzy Osbourne, who has postponed his “No More Tours 2” shows several times due to illness, the pandemic, and logistical issues, and who paused touring in 2023 after spinal surgery, will perform his last concert ever at Villa Park, according to Sharon.
“Ozzy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there’s no been no full stop,” she said. “This is his full stop.”
“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning, time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Ozzy said in a statement. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love.
“Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham forever.”
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.