On This Day in 2018, the Godfather of Heavy Metal Announced His (Second) Farewell Tour—and This Time It Stuck

On this day (February 6) in 2018, Ozzy Osbourne announced the North American dates of his final world tour. No More Tours II was Osbourne’s second farewell tour. The announcement came almost exactly a year after Black Sabbath wrapped their final tour.

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Osbourne announced his first farewell tour, No More Tours, in 1992. However, he couldn’t stay away from the stage. Three years later, he embarked on the Retirement Sucks tour. The first Ozzfest festival tour took place in 1997. The next decade saw Osbourne touring as a solo artist eight more times. He also hit the road with Black Sabbath 11 more times. Finally, though, as the 2010s rushed toward their end, the rock legends decided it was time to hang it up.

[RELATED: On This Day in 2017, Black Sabbath Played the Final Show of Their Final Tour in the City Where It All Began]

Black Sabbath launched their The End tour in 2016. The trek kept them on the road until early February 2017. They played a total of 81 dates, bringing things to an end in their hometown of Birmingham, England. Almost a year to the day later, Osbourne announced that he was hitting the road as a solo act for the final time. This time, though, it stuck.

Ozzy Osbourne Announces His Final Tour

The North American leg of No More Tours II was set to kick off on August 30 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Ozzy Osbourne planned to bring it to a close on October 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to a Loudwire report.

This was set to be the final leg of the tour. Osbourne kicked things off with a show in Jacksonville, Florida, in April 2018. Then, he took the tour through South America before playing 17 dates across Europe.

“This will be my final world tour, but I can’t say I won’t do some shows here and there,” Osbourne said in a statement. “I’ve been extremely blessed to have had two successful music careers. I’m looking at this final tour as being a huge celebration for my fans and anyone who has enjoyed my music over the past five decades,” he added.

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