Tony Iommi , guitarist for Black Sabbath , spoke openly for the first time about the death of Ozzy Osbourne . The Prince of Darkness died last Tuesday, July 22nd, at the age of 76.
In an interview with ITV News , given last Wednesday, July 23rd, about the passing of his former
bandmate, Iommi said [transcription via Blabbermouth ]:
“It was a shock to us. I mean, when I found out yesterday, I couldn’t understand it. I thought, ‘It can’t be.’ I only got a message from him the day before. It seemed unreal, surreal. And it really didn’t sink in. At night I started thinking about it: ‘My God, am I dreaming all this?’ But, as I said before, he didn’t seem well during rehearsals. And I think he really pushed himself to do that show. I really feel, and Geezer [ Butler ] and I were talking about this last night, that we think he pushed himself to do it, and right after that, he did it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was it, really.”
Then, the interviewer commented that playing at Back To The Beginning , Black Sabbath's farewell show , "meant everything" to Ozzy, followed by Iommi's response:
“Ah, he’d been preparing for this for a while. He’d been training and trying to do everything he could to be able to do this show, to be able to do it. And that’s exactly what he wanted to do. I think he must have had something in his head that said, ‘Well, this is going to be it, the last thing I’ll do.’ Whether he thought he was going to die or what, I don’t know. But he really wanted to do it and was determined to do it. And, in all fairness, he succeeded.”
Tony Iommi talks about what Ozzy Osbourne did after his farewell concert.
Asked how Ozzy was feeling when he left the stage after the emotional performance in Birmingham, Tony replied:
“Well, he went to his dressing room, I went to mine, and Geez went to his, and so on. And then he came. He came before leaving, in a wheelchair, to say goodbye and have a chat. And he seemed fine. He enjoyed himself. And he said, 'Oh, everything went well, didn't it?' I said, 'Yes, it did.' But, as I said, when I received his message the day before yesterday saying that he was tired and out of energy, I thought, 'Oh, my God.' Because that's a lot for him to do, considering the problems he has.”
He continued: “And we saw that in rehearsals. We didn’t want him there every day, because it’s too much. He simply wouldn’t be able to handle it. So, they’d bring him in, he’d sit down and sing a few songs, and then we’d talk about some bad old times or something like that, laugh a little, and then he’d leave. And that’s pretty much what we did, actually. But the show was for him [to say goodbye], really, and for us to say goodbye, because Black Sabbath also said goodbye; it was the end of the band, and we’ll never do that again. And having Bill [ Ward ] with us too, after all these years, after 20 years without playing with Bill. To be honest, I can’t believe it’s been 20 years already.”
Tony also said that Ozzy enjoyed being on stage at that show: “I think he was emotional and frustrated too, because he wanted to get up. You could see he was trying to get up. But yes, it meant everything to him. That's what we prepared for, for that grand finale, where he could see all the people and we could see all the people, and end it that way. But we didn't expect to end so quickly with Ozzy, we didn't expect him to leave so quickly, actually. Well, we didn't expect him to leave. So it was a shock.”
Ozzy Osbourne's last concert
Ozzy Osbourne died just 17 days after his last live performance, at Black Sabbath 's farewell show , which took place on July 5th at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Approximately 40,000 people attended the event, with 5.8 million people watching the show online.
Titled "Back To The Beginning ," the final show by the greatest heavy metal band reunited the four original members. Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler , guitarist Tony Iommi , and drummer Bill Ward played together for the first and last time in 20 years.
In an interview with ITV News , Tony Iommi commented on everyone being together in Birmingham: “It was really exciting, I think. We all thought, ‘Wow.’ And, again, it was almost like a dream. Before you knew it, we were off stage. And [we were thinking], ‘What happened?’”
Ozzy Osbourne's last public appearance was at the Birmingham edition of Comic Con Midlands . The event took place a few days after Back to the Beginning , on July 12th and 13th.
Ozzy, along with his wife/manager Sharon, his daughter Kelly, and his son Jack, held autograph and photo sessions on both days of the event.
READ ALSO: Black Sabbath: What will each member do after their farewell?
