Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler says Ozzy Osbourne “desperately wants” to play one final show
Black Sabbath‘s Geezer Butler has said Ozzy Osbourne “desperately wants” to play one final show with the band.
Last month, Osbourne revealed that he would “jump at the chance” to perform another Sabbath show with co-founder Bill Ward. The drummer backed out of participating in the group’s reunion dates between 2012 and 2017 over an “unreasonable” contract.
Butler confirmed later in May that he and Osbourne had “agreed” to play one last concert. It came after the Prince Of Darkness’ wife and manager, Sharon, said Ozzy was planning “two more shows to say goodbye” before he fully retires. These would be held at the Villa Park football stadium in his home city of Birmingham.
Speaking to SiriusXM, Butler explained: “Ozzy was hoping to finish it all off next year back in Aston, at Aston Villa. I’m definitely up for it, to finish the whole thing off. Me and Ozzy have agreed, but I’m not sure about anybody else.”
When asked if Ward would be willing to join Sabbath for a few songs or perhaps a recording session, the bassist replied: “I don’t think so. Maybe, I don’t know. I mean, the way technical things happen these days, maybe a couple of songs, but who knows?”
Tony Iommi also responded to Ozzy’s plea. “That’d be a nice thing to actually do, but whether it happens will be another thing,” the guitarist said. “But we’ll see. I mean, who knows?” He suggested that any potential gig would be a “one-off”, however.
During a new interview with New York radio station Q104.3, Butler explained that Ozzy “desperately wants” Black Sabbath to bow out with one final show – citing the frontman’s ongoing health issues as the reason (via Blabbermouth).
“And he said to me, ‘I’d love Sabbath to do a couple of songs, two or three songs, as the final show ever’ – Ozzy’s final show and Sabbath’s final show,” he continued. “And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m up for it, definitely’.
“But I’m not sure what the others are up to. Me and Ozzy, we’re up for it. But whether Tony and Bill would do it, I don’t know.”
Butler went on to say that he misses playing with his former bandmates, and told the station that he still rehearses regularly: “It’s like part of my daily exercise. I don’t get down to the gym. I just go up to my studio.”
When asked if he was still in contact with Ward, the musician replied: “He’s not on e-mail and I hate the phone. So I send e-mails to his wife, who passes it on to Bill.”
Speaking in a separate interview with 95.5 KLOS, Butler said: “We’d all love [another Black Sabbath show] to happen, obviously, but it’s beyond our sort of control.”
Ozzy announced his retirement from touring in February 2023, calling off his scheduled European and UK tour dates in the process. Later that month, however, he said he hoped to return to the stage at some point in the future.
He gave an update on his health last summer after cancelling his planned one-off headline slot at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California.
In November, Ozzy said he might have to “accept the fact” that a live comeback may not be possible due to his ongoing health issues, including Parkinson’s disease and recovery from multiple surgeries.
“I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will,” he told Rolling Stone UK at the time. “But it’s been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life.
In January, Ozzy said he was going through a “slow recovery” process after his final operation.
“I just came back from the doctor today and my blood clots are gone, everything’s back to normal,” he explained on The Osbournes Podcast. “I can bend my neck. I just gotta get my balance going now.”
He added: “I’m not seeing so many doctors anymore. I’m just seeing the Parkinson’s doctor but I’m not having surgery or anything. I had seven surgeries in five years.”
The operations stemmed from a fall in 2019 that dislodged multiple metal rods that were put in Ozzy’s body following a quad bike crash in 2003.
Ozzy Osbourne will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame later this year. Responding to the honour in April, the singer said: “My solo career, has been a much larger part of my overall music career as a whole, so this feels more special.”
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Tom Skinner
NME
