Thousands of heavy metal fans gathered at Villa Park earlier this month for Back to the Beginning, a daylong celebration billed as the farewell concert by Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. The event, which raised record-breaking funds for children's hospitals, hospices and Parkinson's research, saw acts forgoing their usual fees to honour the Prince of Darkness.
Ozzy, who has Parkinson's disease, performed from a throne of bats, visibly fighting against his physical limitations. Despite the challenges, his voice carried conviction on classics such as Mama, I'm Coming Home and Paranoid. The performance highlighted that his power has always lain in his fragility; his vocals, often described as a soul's wail, gave rise to the entire genre of heavy metal.
The concert took on an air of a wake happening in real time, with fans acutely aware of Ozzy's health struggles. Black Sabbath's history of overcoming adversity, including Tony Iommi's prosthetic fingertips after losing two fingers, Geezer Butler's depression and Bill Ward's heart attack, added to the poignancy. The event closed the circle for Osbourne, providing a final connection with his audience before he went home.
