Tony Iommi Reveals the One Thing Ozzy Osbourne “Certainly Won’t Be Doing” at Black Sabbath Farewell Show

Marking the end of an era, on July 5th, Ozzy Osbourne will take the stage one last time with Black Sabbath. Reuniting with original members Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler, the concert will feature more than Black Sabbath. Throughout the charity event, bands like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Tool, and numerous others will take the stage, celebrating the long history of the Prince of Darkness. But while a moment of celebration, Iommi shared how he was both excited and worried about the performance. 

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With a career spanning decades, Iommi knew how to entertain a crowd, but when it came the Back to the Beginning concert, he struggled with the unknown. “This would be a big, monumental thing if it all comes good. The worrying thing for me is the unknown. We don’t know what’s going to happen.” Iommi added, “Normally, when we’d tour, we’d rehearse and run through the thing for a while, and it’s just us. But with this event there are so many other moving parts.”

[RELATED: Why Tony Iommi Changed His Mind About the Black Sabbath Reunion]

Tony Iommi Promises “It’s Absolutely The End”

Not knowing how the concert will go, Iommi revealed that Ozzy will perform a few solo songs before reuniting on stage with Black Sabbath. But given his ongoing health issues, the musician insisted that fans would see a different Ozzy on stage. “You’re used to Ozzy running around, but he certainly won’t be doing that for this show. I don’t know if he’s going to be standing or sitting on a throne or what.”

While Iommi shared his concerns, he declared that no matter the outcome, this was the end of Ozzy and Black Sabbath. With rumors of a tour, he declared, “It’s absolutely the end. This show has come up because of the situation [with Osbourne’s illness] and because it’s a charity thing. But there’s no way we could go out and do a tour.”

Having only a few weeks to go before they all stood together one last time, Iommi knew they would give their best. “Once we start playing, then we’ll know we’re doing it. It’s always a worry, even when we did tours before, there’s always that build-up, and then it gets to the point that we do it and it’s OK.”

(Photo by Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images)