The original line-up of heavy metal legends Black Sabbath will play together for the first time in 20 years at a one-off concert in Birmingham, England, this summer, organisers said on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters.
The July 5 show at the birthplace of the band will feature Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward - the group that pioneered heavy metal music in the early 1970s with hits such as War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man. Since their last gig together in 2005, Black Sabbath have played in partial reunions but never in their original line-up.
Black Sabbath, in what is being billed as their final show, will top a line-up of rock and heavy metal icons including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Lamb Of God and Anthrax at the Villa Park event. Profits from the show, called Back to the Beginning, will be donated to charities including Cure Parkinson's, organisers said.
Osbourne, the group's charismatic frontman who left the band in 1979 due to drug and alcohol problems and went on to pursue a highly successful solo career, said in 2020 he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
"It's time for me to give back to the place where I was born," Osbourne, 76, 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."
Tickets will go on sale on February 14. As per the Guardian, Black Sabbath have sold a reported 75 million albums worldwide and remain amongst the most influential heavy rock band in history. Their first eight albums featured Osbourne and included the UK No 1 Paranoid as well as classics such as Master of Reality and their 1970 self-titled debut.
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