On June 19, 1978, the original lineup of Black Sabbath played their final show together at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Part of Sabbath’s Never Say Die! tour, the show was their last concert before Ozzy Osbourne was fired from the band the following year on April 27, 1979. Shortly after their final show in ’78, Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward would also have their final television appearance, performing “Never Say Die” on Top of the Pops.
Osbourne proceeded with his solo career after parting ways with Sabbath, and the band replaced him with Ronnie James Dio, before Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin, and Ray Gillen took turns fronting the band; Dio and Martin also rejoined during the ’90s.
Outside of a brief set with the band at Live Aid in 1985, Osbourne hadn’t played with the band again until 1992 when they were invited to open up for him on his No More Tours tour, while they were on their Dehumanizer run.
Fronted for the shows by Rob Halford, Black Sabbath opened for Osbourne at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, California on November 14 and 15. On the final night, the band reunited with Osbourne for an encore, playing “Black Sabbath,” “Fairies Wear Boots,” “Iron Man,” and “Paranoid.”
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Ozzfest 1997
In 1997, Osbourne joined Sabbath again, without Ward, for 21 dates across the U.S., co-headlining the Ozzfest Tour with Faith No More’s Mike Bordin (who was also in Osbourne’s band, at the time) behind the kit. “We hadn’t played together in 20 years or so,” said Osbourne in 1997. “We’d done jams here and there, at Live Aid or whatnot. It was kind of all right. We had two shows in Birmingham to prove ourselves. The first night, the press there wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. The second night was phenomenal. You can hear it on the album. It was just absolutely fantastic.”
Ward later rejoined the band for two more reunion shows in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, England at the NEC Arena, which was recorded for their 1998 double live album Reunion, and first release together since Never Say Die! in 1978.
Reunion peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, and the band supported it with a 22-date tour, which kicked off with a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
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Live on ‘Letterman’
“Among bass fishermen, our next guests are considered the preeminent heavy metal band,” said Letterman in his introduction. “Their new live CD is called ‘Reunion.’ Please welcome the four original members of Black Sabbath.”
On Letterman, Sabbath performed their 1970 hit “Paranoid” and had the studio audience on their feet.
More on-and-off performances continued throughout the decades between Osbourne and Sabbath before the band’s farewell The End of the End tour without Ward, and their final show on February 4, 2017, in Birmingham. In 2022, Osbourne reunited with Iommi for the closing ceremony performance at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“You carry on as long as you want to carry on and then you’re free to pull the plug whenever you want to,” said Osbourne. “But believe me, if there wasn’t any demand for me or for Black Sabbath anymore, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t need to play empty halls.”
Osburne continued, “What I love doing is getting in front of an audience and working an audience. That’s what Ozzy is all about, whether it be a club or an arena or a festival or whatever, I love the feeling of being on a stage. It’s where I’m meant to be.”
Photo: SGranitz/WireImage
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