Back to the Beginning is on. And, in a new interview with the Guardian, Ozzy Osbourne describes the lengths he’s going to not only make the final Black Sabbath gig, but also make it something to remember.
Ever frank and honest, Osbourne doesn’t shy away from talking about the battle he’s had to get this far. “How many surgeries have I had? I’ve got more fucking metal in me than a scrap merchants,” he offers. He also details catching pneumonia while on his 2019 ‘farewell’ tour not once, but twice, and his ongoing battle with infection.
“I’m still on antibiotics to be honest with you, I had a thing put in the vein in my arm to feed in IV shots of them. I’ve still got it on – it comes out this week, with a bit of luck. Antibiotics knock the hell out of you.”
Then there’s the tale of jumping into bed and missing (“I dived and there weren’t a bed there. I landed straight on my face”) resulting in exacerbating a neck injury he sustained in his 2003 quad bike accident.
“Five operations later, it just fucked his body. It was torturous for him: Parkinson’s and damage to his spine. It’s just been horrendous,” wife and manager Sharon explains. But it’s not all bad… “I’d take painkillers recreationally – they’re very addictive. I’d whack my arm with a lump of wood to get a bottle of them,” Osbourne admits.
All in all, Osbourne goes so far as to describe his recent years as “the worst of my life”. “You wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong. You begin to think this is never going to end.”
But there’s good news buried in there. And that’s that Osbourne is stoked for his much anticipated Back To The Beginning final live event on 5 July this year – effectively a festival of Black Sabbath celebration featuring a reformed band and appearances by a cavalcade of big names coming to pay their respects to the masters.
That’s – deep breath – Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Mastodon, Tool; members of Judas Priest, Limp Bizkit, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeth, Van Halen, Ghost and Faith No More so far, with Soundgarden and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler just confirmed.
Oh, and Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello is the musical director.
“It was something to give me a reason to get up in the morning,” says Osbourne of his wife’s brainwave for the gig. “I thought: oh, fucking hell, she’s got an idea. Here we go. Then everyone and their fucking mate started jumping on board”.
On yer bike…
And Osbourne is working hard to make the gig. “I do weights, bike riding, I’ve got a guy living at my house who’s working with me. It’s tough – I’ve been laid up for such a long time,” he offers.
“I’ve been lying on my back doing nothing and the first thing to go is your strength. It’s like starting all over again. I’ve got a vocal coach coming round four days a week to keep my voice going.
“I’m used to doing two hours on stage, jumping and running around. I don’t think I’ll be doing much jumping or running around this time. I may be sitting down, but the point is I’ll be there, and I’ll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.”
Elsewhere in the interview there’s a neat new retread of his well known love for The Beatles: “When I met Paul McCartney it was like seeing God. I was telling a guy about it one day. His kid was with him, and he said to me, ‘You know what you said to that guy about meeting Paul McCartney? That’s what I felt like when I met you.’ I was like, ‘You what?’ You never think about it.”
And the small matter of putting Black Sabbath back together, describing the band as being “like a marriage: you have a row with the wife, but then you make up again” going so far as to suggest that Geezer Butler’s appearance was only secured because the gig is taking place at his much loved Aston Villa’s home ground. “My first thought was: that’ll make Geezer fucking happier,” Osbourne suggests.
And will this really be Osbourne’s last gig? That’s looking increasingly likely. “I’d love to say ‘never say never’, but after the last six years or so … it is time. I lived on the road for 50-odd years, and I’ve kind of got used to not picking up my bags and getting on the bus again. I don’t smoke dope or do any of the rock star lifestyle any more. I’m kind of like a homebody. I never go out. I never hang out in bars – I don’t drink. So what the fuck is out there for me?
“I hate going shopping with my wife. I feel like stabbing myself in the neck after half an hour. But it’s time for me to spend some time with my grandkids, I don’t want to die in a hotel room somewhere. I want to spend the rest of my life with my family.”
Back to the Beginning takes place 5 July, at Villa Park in Birmingham
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