Ozzy Osbourne’s ex-bassist Rudy Sarzo “honoured” to be playing final Black Sabbath show: “It’s the union of all the heavy metal tribes”
Rudy Sarzo, Ozzy Osbourne‘s ex-bassist, has said he is “honoured” to be playing at the final-ever Black Sabbath show.
The iconic heavy metal band will return for one last concert at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham on Saturday July 5. The upcoming show will see the group’s most iconic line-up – comprising frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – play live together for the first time in two decades.
The all-star line-up joining them, put together with the help of Tom Morello, consists of the likes of Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, recent Grammy-winners Gojira, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Tool, Jason Momoa and Rival Sons.
Sarzo, who played bass for Osbourne for a year in the ’80s, recently spoke to WDHA-FM 105.5 FM about being approached for ‘Back To The Beginning’. “I happened to be on the road with Quiet Riot playing some casino in the West — I think Idaho, I believe — and I just finished having lunch with Alex [Grossi].”
“I got a text from Tom Morello,” he continued (via Blabbermouth). “This was around October, November. It’s been in the works quietly behind for a year and a half by the time that it got confirmed last month. But going back to me getting that text, I’m reading it and it’s basically, ‘Hi, Rudy. [It’s] Tom. Sharon and Ozzy asked me to see if you were available and wanted to participate in this event.'”
Reflecting on the significance of the show to him personally, Sarzo said: “At that moment, for so many reasons, it was like time stood still and brought me back, like, 40 years. So after I got out that trance, I immediately said, ‘Yes. Of course.'”
He also told the rock radio station that he managed not to tell anyone except Grossi, who often works with a booking agency for Quiet Riot, so needed to know the specific date to leave free.
Despite having had roughly a year to digest the news, the magnitude of the gig still isn’t lost on him. “For me, I’m doing it to be able to show my gratitude, but in reality it’s also a celebration of the tribes,” Sarzo said.
“It’s the union of all the heavy metal tribes gathering to pay homage to Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, because a lot of those bands actually opened up for Ozzy when they were just an opening band, the ones that are going to participate, from Metallica to Alice in Chains, maybe even Slayer, because they were part of Ozzfest — all these bands that were part of Ozzfest and all of that, not just opening up for Ozzy as a solo artist, but also from Ozzfest.
“And in addition to that, they are the architects of the music that we play, of our genre of music, heavy metal. And I got to play not only Ozzy’s music with Ozzy, I also got to play Black Sabbath music with Ozzy when I recorded ‘Speak Of The Devil’. So I am very versed, very educated in all things Geezer Butler.”
Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi recently spoke to NME about the show, with Ozzy’s wife and manager acknowledging just how stacked the historic line-up is: “Can you imagine the photo at the end of it with all of these guys together?” she said. “One mass of icons together out here. That ending photo will be incredible and it will go down in history.”
While Ozzy Osbourne’s performance with Black Sabbath has been confirmed, the extent of his involvement – given his ailing health – has been in question. Recently, however, he opened up on just how much fans can expect him to be onstage with Black Sabbath come July.
“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them. I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable,” he told SiriusXM.
Osbourne, who last performed a full set in 2018, added: “I am trying to get back on my feet. When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
The post Ozzy Osbourne’s ex-bassist Rudy Sarzo “honoured” to be playing final Black Sabbath show: “It’s the union of all the heavy metal tribes” appeared first on NME.
Poppy Burton
NME
