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Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi says Ozzy Osbourne ‘really held out’ for the farewell gig despite his illness
A day after Ozzy Osbourne’s family confirmed that the rocker had died at the age of 76, Tony Iommi opened up about their last moments together.
British musician and Black Sabbath's guitarist Tony Iommi believes Ozzy Osbourne pushed himself to perform one last time — and that he knew it would be the final chapter.
“I think he really just held out to do that show,” Tony said in an interview with ITV News, a day after Ozzy’s death at 76 was announced by his family on Tuesday (July 22), earlier this week.
“I really feel — me and Geezer were talking about it last night — that we think he held out to do it. And just after that, he’s done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really,” he added.
Ozzy had reunited with his longtime Black Sabbath bandmates — guitarist Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, and bassist Geezer Butler — on July 5 in Birmingham for Back to the Beginning, a farewell concert in the band’s hometown. The frontman, visibly unwell, performed from a throne while surrounded by the band he helped launch to rock stardom.
“When I heard yesterday, it couldn’t sink in,” Tony said after learning that Ozzy had passed away. “I thought, ‘It can’t be.’ I only had a text with him the day before. It just seemed unreal, surreal. And it really didn't sink in. In the night, I started thinking about it: ‘God, am I dreaming all this?’ But as I said before, he’s not looked well through the rehearsals,” he added.
Despite his failing health, Ozzy was unwavering in his desire to be on stage one last time. “He must've had something in his head that said, 'Well, this is gonna be it. The last thing I'm ever gonna do.' Whether he thought he was gonna die or what, I don't know. But he really wanted to do it and he was determined to do it. And fair dues, he'd done it,” Tony said.
According to Tony, Ozzy had been “training” in preparation for the show, which included a set packed with Black Sabbath classics including War Pigs and Iron Man, along with a separate solo segment.
“He came around after he was leaving on a wheelchair that brought him in to say goodbye and have a little chat for a bit. He seemed alright, he enjoyed it. And he said, ‘Oh, it went all right, didn’t it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it did.’” Tony recalled.
“But as I say, when I had the text off him the day before yesterday saying he’s tired and he’s really got no energy. Oh, dear. Because it’s a lot for him to do that under the problems he’s got. And we could see it in rehearsal. We didn’t want him there every day at rehearsal, because it’s too much. He just wouldn’t be able to stand it,” he added.
“So they’d bring him in and he’d sit down and sing a few songs, and then we’d talk about some rubbish old times or whatever, have a laugh and then he’d go. And that’s sort of what we did, really,” Tony said.
For the guitarist, that concert was not just a goodbye to fans — it was a closing chapter for the band itself. He called it “the end of the band,” and said it “meant everything” to Ozzy.
