Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath’s career came full circle on Saturday (04Feb17) as the rockers closed out their last-ever concert in their hometown of Birmingham, England with their first chart hit.
Ozzy Osbourne and his bandmates have been bidding farewell to fans as part of their The End Tour, which began last year (16), and they concluded the global trek with a pair of shows at the NEC Arena.
The heavy metal pioneers made sure they went out on a high note as they treated fans to a two-hour long set, featuring hits which spanned the group’s five-decade long career, including War Pigs, Iron Man, and Into the Void.
But the veterans made sure to really bring it home for their final song of the night, 1970’s Paranoid, which was streamed live on Facebook so devotees around the world could witness the historic moment onstage.
Frontman Ozzy, who repeatedly thanked fans for their support throughout the concert, then took a series of bows and posed for photos with original bandmates Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, before leaving the stage for good.
Sharing the footage on social media after the show, a representative for the band posted, “The final song and final bow”.
On the eve of Black Sabbath’s last gig, Ozzy, who plans to continue with his solo career, admitted he was feeling a “whirlwind of emotions”, and wouldn’t be surprised if he cried on the night – although it didn’t actually happen.
“My emotions are flying all over the place,” he told the BBC on Friday (03Feb17). “Since I’ve got to this building today, I’ve been happy, I’ve been tearful. Let’s see what happens.”