I’ve mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it’s nice that they finished the last show in their hometown of Birmingham. I’ve been there, it’s a shithole. Also, great that it was for charity. I will forgo my issues with some of the supporting acts. However, having my last memory of one of my favourite bands, being that of Ozzy rising from the stage in a wheelchair and singing seated is a big issue for me. Ok, it was a “throne”. I come off as heartless as I know his Parkinson is bad. He was doing his best.
I saw Black Sabbath with all original members and an energetic Ozzy hoping around the stage at the Skydome in Toronto back in 1999. Pantera opened (with Dimebag Darrell, then alive) and they were so loud they took out my left ear, just before Ozzy rose from the stage, through the fog, to sing War Pigs. No worry, my hearing came back fully by the next song. This is the memory I will keep of my favorite band and one of my favorite concerts. This was the top of their game. I think that’s the point I’m trying to make, abet awkwardly. Here’s some video of that concert. Look closely you might even see me. Long reddish hair.
Black Sabbath – The Last Supper – February 1999 at Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Funny side story, I was a broadcast engineer at a radio station at the time. It was a country station. Ya, I know…not my music at all. Not even close. Steve Earle is as close as I get to that musical genre. Anyway, I would get teased at the station as I would show no excitement when the country “stars” came in for interviews promoting their new records. I didn’t blink when Shana Twain, Dixie Chicks and even Garth Brooks walked into the studio. So, the joke around the station was that I would not get excited unless Ozzy Ozbourne himself entered. On my desk one morning was an envelope and inside were 2nd row centre floor tickets for…you guess it…the 1999 Black Sabbath concert mentioned above. Holy fuck! The station program director felt my pain and got me the tickets. I still love him for that. He called in a favour from Sony Music, Sabbath’s record label at the time.
Below, a video of their very last song together. Paranoid of course.
Black Sabbath – Back to the Beginning – 5 July 2025 at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham, England
