"Initial thoughts: Blast it, she's brainstorming, here we go. A wave of individuals, accompanied by their companions, jumped on the bandwagon: Ozzy Osbourne confirms his participation in this summer's Back To The Beginning grand event"
Primeval Vibes, Classic Style: Ozzy Osbourne Gets Ready for a Slamming Goodbye
The big day is almost here – 5th July, to be exact. And in a new chat with the Guardian, the one and only Ozzy Osbourne dishes about the measures he's taking to not only make the final Black Sabbath gig but also to make it epic.
Ozzy, ever candid, doesn't mince words about his health struggle to get to this point. "Count the number of surgeries I've had, and you'll need more fingers than I have," he quips. He also recalls catching pneumonia twice during his 2019 farewell tour and his ongoing fight against infection.
"I'm still on antibiotics, to tell you the truth. I've got a thing in my arm that feeds in IV shots of them. I've still got it in - hopefully it'll be out by next week. Antibiotics are a real energy drain."
Then there's the hilarious tale of diving into bed and missing – yes, you guessed it – the bed itself. The mishap aggravated a neck injury from his 2003 quad bike mishap.
"Five operations later, it played havoc with his body. It was a nightmare: Parkinson's and damage to his spine. The last few years have been horrendous," his wife and manager Sharon explains. But there's a silver lining – more on that later.
Ozzy admits to his past habit of abusing painkillers – highly addictive, by the way – and whacking his arm with a lump of wood to score a fix.
"The last few years have been the toughest of my life." Ozzy confesses. "One morning, I'd wake up, and something else would go wrong. You start to wonder if it will ever end."
But there's some good news tucked away in there. And that's that Ozzy is thrilled about his much-anticipated "Primeval Vibes, Classic Style" final live event on 5th July this year – effectively a Black Sabbath festival, featuring a reformed band and cameos by a slew of heavy hitters joining in on the celebration.
An A-List Affairmetallicaguns ns rosesSlayerPanteraAlice in ChainsAnthraxMastodonTool, as well as members of Judas Priest, Limp Bizkit, the Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeth, Van Halen, Ghost, and Faith No More, have been confirmed as guests, with Soundgarden and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler recently joining the lineup.
Oh, and Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello will serve as the musical director.
"It gave me a reason to get up in the morning," Ozzy reminisces about the event's inception. "I remember thinking: oh, fucking hell, she's got an idea. Here we go. Then everyone and their dog seemed to jump on board."
Riding to Victory"I hit the gym, bike around, and have a trainer at home helping me out," Ozzy hints about his preparations. "It's tough – I've been idle for a long time. I used to powerlifting and jumping around in those days, but I'll probably take it easy this time – might be sitting down, but I'll be there."
In the meantime, Ozzy's been doing his vocal exercises and staying motivated, knowing that he won't let the fans down.
"I have a vocal coach coming four days a week to keep my pipes in shape," He shares. "I'm looking forward to this one. It's going to be something special – don't miss it!"
Elsewhere in the interview, Ozzy talks about his love for The Beatles and meeting Paul McCartney, and there's a hint of a possible Black Sabbath reunion. As for Ozzy's plans after this final run, well, there's talk of spending more time with his family and enjoying the quiet life.
"I hate shopping with my wife. I feel like sticking a knife in my neck after half an hour. But it's time for me to spend some time with my grandkids, and I don't want to pass away in a hotel room somewhere. I want to live my remaining days with my loved ones."
So mark your calendars for 5th July, and catch the legendary Ozzy Osbourne's final performance at Villa Park in Birmingham – it's sure to be a night to remember!
- Ozzy Osbourne's final performance, a Black Sabbath festival, is set to be an A-list affair, featuring appearances from bands such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, and Pantera, among others.
- As the big day approaches, Ozzy is preparing for his performance with rigorous exercise and vocal coaching, aiming to deliver a Primeval Vibes, Classic Style experience that's not to be missed.
