Black Sabbath Legend Geezer Butler Reveals How Farewell Show Really Ended
More than 40,000 fans attended Ozzy Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, and millions more viewed the July 5 event via livestream. The Guardian reported that the iconic heavy metal band's final show was streamed by over 5 million fans worldwide.
But live feed viewers didn’t see the final moment of the show as the stream panned to the cheering audience after the band played their last song. Some home viewers were left under the impression that the Black Sabbath musicians promptly exited the confetti-strewn stage and left Osbourne, 76, onstage alone, seated on his bat-winged throne.
Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler set the record straight with a social media post following the show. The bassist shared a fan photo of him standing alongside Osbourne after presenting him with a cake.
“I keep hearing that people watching the stream thought that our set ended abruptly…with us just walking off,” Butler wrote. “Sorry if it seemed that way. I went off to get this cake for Ozzy. Cheers to the fan that captured the proper ending.”
According to Metal Hammer, the livestream cut off as Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi went over to Osbourne’s throne to speak to him and shake hands. Butler presented Osbourne with a cake decorated with his image as the crowd roared.
Home viewers appreciated Butler’s update. “We know you guys would never leave Ozzy alone there,” one fan wrote in the comment section. “How could they just cut off the transmission without the proper ending and the farewell??? This particular part was weird. I hope on a further release of the film we'll be able to watch how it really ended. The cake, the band saying goodbye, the four Heavy Metal creators saying the great farewell that they and we fans deserved.”
Black Sabbath’s final performance consisted of four classic songs: “War Pigs, “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man,” and “ Paranoid.”
As he came to end of his live performing career, Osbourne appeared emotional. “Unfortunately, we’ve come to our final song … ever,” he said ahead of his last-ever performance of "Paranoid," per The New York Times. “I just want to say to you on behalf of the guys in Black Sabbath and myself, your support over the years has made it all possible for us to live the lifestyle that we do. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you; we love you.”