UPDATE TO BELOW STORY.......
Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi is pleased with how their reunion show went last Saturday in their hometown of Birmingham, England.
Appearing on SiriusXM's Faction Talk, he commented on doing a concert with drummer Bill Ward for the first time in 20 years, as well as Ozzy given his health challenges.
"I'm really a bit of a perfectionist, but they can only do what they can do, and you can't expect anything else. We're in our seventies and late seventies, so you can only do so much. And to expect perfection from everybody is just impossible at the moment. But they did what they could do, and everybody was fine about it. And I think the audience would know that and accepted that. They weren't expecting us to go on and be absolutely just brilliant players. We played as we played and as we are now."
Iommi's other concern was Ozzy doing his own set right before Sabbath's.
"We thought that he should have a longer break. And we didn't really know how we were gonna do it, because the original plan was we'd get a curtain and the curtain was gonna be raised and we'd all be there. But of course ... the day before, when we did a soundcheck -- the curtain didn't work and they thought best not to use it 'cause it was windy. So then we had to figure out how we were gonna get on stage, which was a revolving stage, by the way. It was mainly getting Ozz on, because he's in his throne. And then Geezer [Butler] and I walk on. And Bill was already on. So it was making it up as we went on, really."
Oh, and as for 77-year-old Ward taking off his shirt during their set, Iommi said, "Oh my God. I'll tell you one funny story. When we had a break on one of the rehearsals, we went in to eat at the studio, and Bill got his shirt off, and [bassist] Geezer was just about to have a sandwich. He went, 'Oh, Bill put your shirt on. You're putting me off the sandwich.' [Laughs] But it's typical Bill. He is always taking his shirt off every time. I mean, in the old days, he'd always take his shirt off... He just doesn't care. He goes on and does what he wants, which is great..."
Sabbath were scheduled to do seven songs, but had to cut it short due to the curfew.
Iommi adds that at the end of the day the "main thing" was that it "raised a lot of money for the charities... And it was great to see the guys and all be together again for a few weeks, really, while we were rehearsing and got to know each other again. It was good, yeah."
Proceeds from the show will support Cure Parkinson's, the Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.
Echoing Iommi's sentiments are two of the night's participants -- Sammy Hagar and former Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing.
Hagar says, "I can’t say enough about how impressed, inspired and touched I am about the Back to the Beginning event, especially Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler. They not just did it, they crushed it! And let’s not forget about all the musicians that showed up and gave it up for all the right reasons.
"As for me being asked to be a part of this event, it meant the world and actually doing it in real time is something I’ll never forget. How bout some extra love and respect for Sharon Osbourne and [musical director] Tom Morello and all the technicians, crew, security, and fans that made this event not just happen, but made it one of the greatest rock events of all time."
Downing says, "I cannot praise everyone enough that was involved with organizing this wonderful event. The curtain went up for me and my amazing bandmates and everything had come magically together. This event was truly in the hands of top professionals...
"I cannot end without saying a massive thank you to Sharon, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill for making all of this possible, and for their great contribution to a very worthy charity.
"I think King Charles III of England should now prepare to award Sharon and the Mighty BLACK SABBATH each a very well-deserved knighthood."
The entire event was filmed so stay tuned for when and how it will be released.
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It's over for the original lineup of Black Sabbath, as far as live performances. The iconic metal band played their final show together Saturday in what was a celebration of their storied career, and a who's who of rock showed up to help them mark the occasion. It was the first time in two decades Ozzy Osbourne fronted his original band; Sabbath played only four songs (as they had indicated beforehand), but fans felt anything but shorthanded. Actor Jason Momoa played host, while Metallica, Guns N Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon did sets ranging from two to seven songs in length, each of them including at least one Sabbath or Osbourne cover. On top of those bands, there was a pair of supergroups that included such figures as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Billy Corgan, Ronnie Wood, Travis Barker, Sammy Hagar, Andrew Watt, Yungblud, Jonathan Davis, Nuno Bettencourt, Chad Smith, Vernon Reid, Tom Morello and more.
Let's give you a rundown of the all-star event:
Mastodon
- “Black Tongue”
- “Blood and Thunder”
- “Supernaut” (Black Sabbath Cover)
Rival Sons
- “Do Your Worst”
- “Electric Funeral” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Secret”
Anthrax
- “Indians”
- “Into the Void” (Black Sabbath Cover)
Halestorm
- “Love Bites (So Do I)”
- “Rain Your Blood on Me”
- “Perry Mason” (Ozzy Osbourne Cover)
Lamb of God
- “Laid to Rest”
- “Redneck”
- “Children of the Grave” (Black Sabbath cover)
Supergroup No. 1 (with Yungblud, Lzzy Hale, Nuno Bettencourt, David Draiman, Whitfield Crane, Jake E. Lee, Mike Bordin, David Ellefson, Adam Wakeman, Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Sleep Token II)
- “Ultimate Sin” (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
- “Shot in the Dark” (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
- “Sweet Leaf” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Believer” (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
- “Changes” (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
Jack Black, Revel Ian, Roman Morello (pre-recorded video)
- “Mr. Crowley” (Ozzy Osbourne Cover, pre-taped video performance)
Alice in Chains
- “Man in the Box”
- “Would?”
- “Fairies Wear Boots” (Black Sabbath cover)
Gojira
- “Stranded”
- “Silvera”
- “Mea Culpa” (with Marina Viotti)
- “Under the Sun” (Black Sabbath cover)
Supergroup No. 2 (Billy Corgan, Sammy Hagar, Papa V Perpetua, Steven Tyler, Tom Morello, Nuno Bettencourt, Rudy Sarzo, Travis Barker, Chad Smith, Danny Carey, K.K. Downing, Adam Jones, Adam Wakeman, Vernon Reid, Ron Wood, Andrew Watt)
- “Symptom of the Universe” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Breaking the Law” (Judas Priest cover)
- “Snowblind” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Flying High Again” (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
- “Rock Candy” (Montrose cover)
- “Bark at the Moon” (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
- “Train Kept A Rollin” (Yardbirds cover)
- “Walk This Way” / “Whole Lotta Love” (Aerosmith / Led Zeppelin Covers)
Pantera
- “Cowboys From Hell”
- “Walk”
- “Planet Caravan” (Black Sabbath cover)
- Electric Funeral (Black Sabbath cover)
Tool
- “Forty Six & 2”
- “Hand of Doom” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Ænema”
Slayer
- “Disciple”
- “War Ensemble”
- “Wicked World” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “South of Heaven”
- “Wicked World” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Raining Blood”
- “Angel of Death”
Guns N’ Roses
- “It’s Alright” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Never Say Die!” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Junior’s Eyes” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Welcome to the Jungle”
- “Paradise City”
Metallica
- “Hole in the Sky” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Creeping Death”
- “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
- “Johnny Blade” (Black Sabbath cover)
- “Battery”
- “Master of Puppets”
Ozzy Osbourne
- “I Don’t Know”
- “Mr. Crowley”
- “Suicide Solution”
- “Mama I’m Coming Home”
- “Crazy Train”
Black Sabbath
1. “War Pigs”
2. “N.I.B.”
3. “Iron Man”
4. “Paranoid”
Check out this amazing gallery of pics from the show courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock.