There are some moments you can prepare for.
And then there are moments that hit you differently when you finally see them with your own eyes.
For Tony Iommi, one of the most difficult moments surrounding Black Sabbath’s final performance came before the band even stepped onto the stage.
It happened during rehearsals for “Back To The Beginning” at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Iommi already knew that Ozzy Osbourne was dealing with serious health problems. The two longtime friends and bandmates had remained in contact, speaking regularly despite not seeing each other in person for several years.
But knowing something is happening is different from actually seeing it.
And when Iommi finally saw Ozzy again, he was shocked.
“I WAS REALLY SHOCKED WHEN I SAW HIM”
During an interview on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, Iommi reflected on those final rehearsals and the reunion that would become one of the most emotional performances in Black Sabbath history.
He explained that he had not seen Ozzy since the two appeared together at the 2022 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Birmingham.
They had continued talking.
They knew about each other’s lives.
But years had passed since they had stood together in person.
Then came the rehearsals.
And suddenly, the reality of Ozzy’s condition was impossible to ignore.
Iommi described seeing Ozzy being helped into rehearsals as a particularly difficult moment.
He had heard about the problems his longtime friend was experiencing.
But seeing them firsthand was something else entirely.
THE MAN THEY HAD KNOWN FOR DECADES
Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne’s relationship stretches back more than half a century.
Before the stadiums.
Before the platinum records.
Before Black Sabbath became one of the most influential bands in heavy metal.
There were four young musicians from Birmingham trying to create something nobody had quite heard before.
Iommi and Ozzy were there from the beginning.
They experienced the rise together.
The chaos.
The success.
The arguments.
The reunions.
The separations.
And eventually, the decades-long legacy of Black Sabbath.
That history made seeing Ozzy struggling physically during those final rehearsals especially difficult.
This wasn’t simply Tony Iommi watching a famous singer prepare for a concert.
It was Tony watching his longtime friend.
A FINAL SHOW THAT ALMOST DIDN’T NEED TO HAPPEN
By the time “Back To The Beginning” was being organized, the idea of Black Sabbath performing again carried enormous emotional weight.
The original lineup — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — had not performed together in decades.
And there were genuine concerns about whether everyone could physically manage it.
Iommi had previously expressed reservations about the show and questioned whether they should perform at all.
The charity purpose of the event ultimately helped bring everything together.
And somehow, after more than 50 years of history, the four original members found themselves preparing to stand on the same stage again.
For the final time.
IOMMI HAD ONE MAJOR CONCERN
There was one part of the schedule that particularly worried Iommi.
Ozzy wasn’t simply going to perform with Black Sabbath.
He was also scheduled to perform his own solo set before the Sabbath reunion.
That meant Ozzy would have to perform once, leave the stage, recover, and then return for another performance with Black Sabbath.
Iommi didn’t think it was a good idea.
He had already warned Ozzy that doing both sets might be too much.
The concern was simple.
Ozzy’s health was already fragile.
And performing twice would place an enormous physical demand on him.
Iommi even suggested that Black Sabbath could simply walk onto the stage afterward, thank the audience and let the occasion speak for itself.
But the plan remained.
Ozzy wanted to perform.
And eventually, that is exactly what happened.
OZzy GAVE EVERYTHING HE HAD
On July 5, 2025, Villa Park became the setting for an extraordinary farewell.
Ozzy performed with his solo band first.
Then, after completing that set, he returned for the Black Sabbath portion of the evening.
For Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, the concern remained.
Could Ozzy make it through?
Could he handle the physical demands?
Would he have enough energy left?
But Ozzy did it.
He sat upon his throne and performed with the band that had started everything.
Black Sabbath played four songs:
“War Pigs.”
“Iron Man.”
“N.I.B.”
“Paranoid.”
Four songs.
But the significance of those four songs was almost impossible to measure.
They represented the beginning.
And they represented the end.
IT WASN’T ABOUT PERFECTION
Iommi later acknowledged that nobody should have expected the musicians to perform as though they were decades younger.
They were older men coming together for a final performance after years apart.
The goal wasn’t perfection.
It was presence.
It was history.
It was being together one last time.
And the audience understood that.
They weren’t there to judge every note.
They were there because they knew they were witnessing something that could never happen again.
THE FINAL TIME BLACK SABBATH STOOD TOGETHER
For Iommi, the event was ultimately something to be grateful for.
The show brought the original members back together.
It gave fans one final opportunity to see Ozzy perform with Black Sabbath.
And it raised money for charity.
But there was another meaning that could only become clear afterward.
Ozzy died on July 22, 2025 — just 17 days after the Villa Park performance.
That made the show something far more significant than anyone could have fully understood that night.
It was his final performance.
And it was Black Sabbath’s final performance with Ozzy.
“I’M SO GLAD WE DID THAT SHOW”
Iommi has repeatedly expressed gratitude that they went through with it.
That feeling is understandable.
Because if they had decided against performing, there would have been no final Black Sabbath set.
No final “Paranoid.”
No final moment with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill together.
No final opportunity for the four men who helped create heavy metal to stand on the same stage again.
Instead, they did it.
Despite the difficulties.
Despite the uncertainty.
Despite Ozzy’s declining health.
They did it.
THE FRIENDSHIP BEHIND THE LEGEND
It is easy to look at Black Sabbath through the lens of history.
Albums.
Songs.
Awards.
Tours.
Influence.
But underneath all of that was a relationship between people who had known one another for most of their adult lives.
Tony Iommi wasn’t simply watching a legendary vocalist struggle through rehearsals.
He was seeing Ozzy.
The same Ozzy he’d known since the earliest days of Black Sabbath.
The same man who had stood beside him when the band was still trying to figure out what it could become.
The same friend who had shared decades of music, memories and history with him.
That is what made those rehearsals so emotional.
THE LAST PERFORMANCE BECAME A LAST GOODBYE
At the time, everyone knew the concert was being presented as Ozzy’s farewell.
They knew it was supposed to be his final live performance.
But nobody could know exactly how close the end truly was.
Ozzy stepped onto that stage one final time.
He performed his own songs.
Then he reunited with Black Sabbath.
He sang the songs that had helped create an entire genre.
And then he left the stage.
Seventeen days later, he was gone.
WHAT TONY SAW THAT DAY
Perhaps that is why Iommi’s memories of the rehearsals carry so much weight.
He saw how difficult it was.
He worried about Ozzy doing too much.
He knew the physical toll the performance could take.
And yet he also saw Ozzy’s determination.
Ozzy wanted to do the show.
He wanted to stand — or, in his case, perform from his throne — before the fans one final time.
He wanted to return to Birmingham.
He wanted to share the stage with the men who had been there at the beginning.
And he did.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
The title of the event turned out to be almost perfect.
“Back To The Beginning.”
Back to Birmingham.
Back to Black Sabbath.
Back to Tony, Geezer, Bill and Ozzy.
Back to the songs that changed music.
Back to the place where a group of young musicians once began a journey nobody could have predicted.
And then, after more than five decades, the story reached its final live chapter.
Ozzy had given everything he could.
Tony Iommi had watched his friend struggle, worried about him, played beside him and helped close the book on one of the greatest stories in rock history.
THE MUSIC REMAINS
Ozzy’s final performance wasn’t perfect because it didn’t need to be.
It was powerful because it was real.
It showed the limits of the human body, but also the extraordinary determination of a performer who wanted to say goodbye on his own terms.
Tony Iommi saw the difficulty firsthand.
He also saw the importance of going through with it.
And now, every note from that night carries a different meaning.
“War Pigs.”
“Iron Man.”
“N.I.B.”
“Paranoid.”
Songs that once sounded like the beginning of heavy metal now feel like part of Ozzy’s final chapter.
ONE LAST TIME
Tony Iommi had spent more than 50 years making music with Ozzy Osbourne.
On that final night in Birmingham, he got one last chance to stand beside him.
It was difficult.
It was emotional.
It was physically demanding.
But it happened.
And perhaps that is what matters most.
Because when Ozzy finally left the stage at Villa Park, he didn’t leave behind an unfinished story.
He left behind a final performance.
A final reunion.
A final roar from Birmingham.
And one last moment with the band that started it all.
**Tony Iommi was shocked by how much Ozzy had changed.
But he was grateful they still had one final chance to make history together.**
And 17 days later, the world would realize just how precious that final performance truly was.
