Sharon Osbourne names the two artists she wishes were playing Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show
Music manager Sharon Osbourne revealed two artists she wished were playing at the Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne farewell show, which is set to take place on July 5th at Villa Park in Birmingham.
The show, dubbed Back To The Beginning, will see frontman Ozzy perform onstage with bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi, and drummer Bill Ward for the first time in two decades. This is no small feat due to Osbourne’s health complications; the singer himself has shed doubts on his ability to perform: “by hook or by crook, I’m gonna make it,” he stated previously, “All I can say is I’m giving 120%. If my God wants me to do the show, I’ll do it.”
During a new interview with Music Business Worldwide, Sharon, Ozzy’s wife and manager, spoke about a pair of names even she couldn’t convince to play at the show. “There are two bands that we would have loved to have been there, but they couldn’t because they’re working that day,” she revealed.
She continued, “That was Judas Priest, a local band, and Angus [Young] from AC/DC, because he’s always been a huge supporter of Ozzy’s.” Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has previously admitted he was “gutted” not to be part of the big day, despite Sharon’s offer to fly him to Birmingham and back on a private jet.
Other acts confirmed to appear include host Jason Momoa, Steven Tyler, Soundgarden, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Mastodon, Tool as well as members of Limp Bizkit, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeth, Van Halen, Ghost, and Faith No More.
In the interview, Sharon deemed the big day “a celebration of the music. All the generations are going to be there that Sabbath and Ozzy have passed the torch down to. The only place that we could do it would have been Aston, because that’s where Ozzy was born and grew up, which is right where the Villa ground is.”
Elsewhere, the band’s manager and Osbourne’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, has stirred up more drama by axing an as-yet unknown band from the bill of the gig, due to their manager “making up bullshit lies.” Due to demand for the concert, a pay-per-view livestream is being made available to purchase for £24.99.
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