Back to Birmingham: Sabbath Go 'Back to the Begining'
Before we start this one, I need to do a little introduction. To my mate Archie. He and I met at university, and have shared a bond over a lot of different music. From Franz Ferdinand to Pink Floyd, ELO to the brothers Gallagher.
Archie is a keen music fan and he very kindly, dedicated some time to write up his experience at the very last Black Sabbath gig, 'Back to the Begining' which saw one of the very best metal line ups ever and the original line up of Black Sabbath hit Birmingham on the 5th of July.
I hope this is the first of many contributions he makes to this blog. He was a huge part in it starting and has been a massive help since day one. So thank you mate!
Enough from me.
Archie's words:
Back to the Beginning was possibly one of the most ambitious, live music shows since musicians all over the world coordinated to deliver Live 8 in 2005. It promised the world a final chance to see and appreciate Ozzy and the rest of Black Sabbath, the band that all music fans can agree created the heavy metal genre with no contest.
On the morning of Saturday 5th July 2025, streets away from where the 4 Black Sabbath members had grown up, the local vicinity of Villa Park (Aston, Birmingham) was bustling. Not just with the lucky minority of people who had tickets, but also some hopefuls who had flown to the UK with the sole intention of being able to experience the atmosphere from outside the ground. People proudly donned the flags of countries such as Brazil, Chile, and the USA, showing the great lengths people were willing to go to be part of this significant event.
As fans started pouring into the stadium, they were greeted to the varied song selection and mixing of Slipknot DJ Sid Wilson, who was always going to be involved due to his relationship with Kelly Osbourne. He had ditched his usual stage attire of an industrial-looking gas mask in favour of a less anonymous current season Aston Villa shirt.
American rockers Mastodon opened the show at exactly 1pm, performing two of their songs including their acclaimed and brutally heavy 'Blood and Thunder', before being joined on stage by a few extra drummers to cover Sabbath’s 'Supernaut'. This premise of including a Black Sabbath cover in each set would continue for the rest of the night. The stage timing was impeccable throughout, with the mic being cut immediately after the last song had finished, while stagehands wheeled all the equipment off to be replaced with drum kits and amps for the next group that had been set up behind the stage curtain. This allowed the modern, rock n’ roll-inspired Rival Sons to start their set just 7 minutes after Mastodon had finished.
Jason Momoa was the official host of the evening and made a few appearances to give personal anecdotes of how important heavy metal is to him and reminded everyone how lucky they were to be a part of this, even those who were watching from home. He would end one of these appearances by taking his out of his in-ear monitors and receiver pack, jumping the fence and fighting through the crowd just in time to join a circle pit as Zakk Wylde of Pantera started their iconic 'Cowboys from Hell' riff.
Each frontman took the time to show their appreciation to Ozzy and Sabbath, except Maynard from Tool (there was very little more that could have been said by the time they were on stage). The day was broken up with video tributes from bands such as Def Leppard and Judas Priest who couldn’t attend but wanted to pass on their best wishes, as well as remarkably convincing AI videos of Ozzy being placed in different pop culture moments from South Park to the Beatles' famous Ed Sullivan show performance.
There were two separate supergroups throughout the day, featuring a rotating lineup of musicians, from Disturbed’s David Draiman, Blink 182’s Travis Barker, Megadeth's Dave Ellefson, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Chad Smith, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and many more.
There were far too many bands to comment on individually, each one of them representing the musical diversity across a wide number of metal sub-genres, all of which link back to Black Sabbath for the original inspiration.
The sets grew gradually longer as the day advanced, giving groups as famous as Guns N’ Roses and Metallica a full 30 minutes of stage time. Upon asking members of the audience who they were most excited to see, the consensus was Metallica regardless of how many times they had already seen them. They have been the face of heavy metal for over 4 decades now, and as the perfect natural successor to Black Sabbath, it was only fitting they ended the tributes for Ozzy ahead of the big man himself taking the stage. They closed with Battery into the entirety of 'Master of Puppets', an absolute masterpiece and possibly their seminal and most influential work.
After a short video was played from the sister of Ozzy’s former legendary guitarist, the late, great Randy Rhodes and a brief introduction, out rose Ozzy on a black armchair detailed in skulls. The greetings were kept to a minimum as the band started the 1980 Blizard of Oz track ‘I Don't Know'. For many, seeing Ozzy was a reminder of the purpose of the show, which was to raise money for local charities and Cure Parkinson's. He was unable to stand, but looked comfortable and content despite seeming to make efforts to reach forward as if he was attempting to stand and using a throat spray in between songs. The prince of darkness sang remarkably in tune, and although his voice was not as strong as it once was the crowd was gladly able to help out.
A sombre rendition of 'Mama, I’m Coming Home' rang out as lighters and phone torches were held aloft. He closed his solo set with the infamous 'Crazy Train', while encouraging to the crowd to “Get those f*cking hands up” multiple times.
Despite it being 9 hours after the show had started, the long-awaited Black Sabbath finally took to the stage, in their hometown for one final time. Although there have been previous Black Sabbath farewell tours none have seemed as definite as this one. This was also the only farewell show to feature fan favourite drummer Bill Ward, who rolled back the years sitting shirtless on his drum stool just behind Ozzy’s chair which had returned to the stage.
As an air-raid siren rang out around Villa Park and the red stage lighting was beamed into a darkening sky, it was Bill’s hi-hat that introduced 'War Pigs' to the elation of everyone in and around the stadium and those watching at home. Despite featuring only 4 songs the setlist featured the perfectly selection of songs that hadn’t yet been covered by any other bands, each song giving each of the 4 members a chance to demonstrate their innovation to each of their crafts and show why they’ve inspired millions to learn an instrument and at the very least appreciate music.
Before the day, everyone knew there was only one closer suitable to a show of epic proportions, and that of course was 'Paranoid'. The audience, although weary from standing for beyond an average work day gave it everything for this last moment, the final farewell. It was elation, there were tears, people were hugging, singing, moshing, throwing horns and fists and everything they could towards the sky, each of them feeling the privilege of being part of something so legendary.
As fireworks lit up the sky around Aston, it was a moment to try and take in everything that had just happened. 68 songs between 14 bands and a slew of other musicians, it had been a true and proper celebration of Black Sabbath. As it was said on stage by many of the musicians it’s a night that was all about Ozzy, he’s been the mascot of heavy metal and an inspiration to continue being yourself to all metal heads – a guiding light to a subculture of people who often feel alienated.
More than just a tribute, to one of Britain's best ever frontmen, and the inventors of metal. The show did a lot of good. All proceeds from the show would be split equally between three charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Accorn's Children’s Hospice.A concert for good, a moment for the city, and a moment for all of those who in some way feel connected to the man, and the band to pay tribute.
Thank you for reading.
Archie & Jack.