'THE END' COMES AS BLACK SABBATH PLAYS ITS LAST SHOW
Black Sabbath finished its year-long "The End" farewell tour on Saturday night (February 4th) in the band's hometown of Birmingham, England, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career with an emotional 15-song set. Singer Ozzy Osbourne told the BBC shortly before the concert, "Since I’ve got to this building today, I’ve been happy, I’ve been tearful. One of the proudest things I have in my heart is the fact that Black Sabbath wasn’t a band that was created by some big mogul. It was four guys who said let’s have a dream, and it came true beyond our wildest expectations." Ozzy told us not long ago that he's glad that Sabbath has come full circle: "Black Sabbath has been through the mill over the years, but to come back and be friends with my buddies who I started off with all those years ago, it's a closure for me, a chapter of my life which I can say, 'Well, we came, we saw, we had a good time and now it's over.' I'm glad we ended up happy. Whatever axes we had to grind between us over the years, we got rid of all that and we're friends again."
- Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi said that he wouldn't rule out the possibility of doing one-off shows or even more recording, saying, "I wouldn't write that off, if one day that came about. That's possible. Or even doing an album, 'cause then, again, you're in one place."
- The band decided to make this tour its last because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.
- The original lineup of Sabbath came together in 1969 with Osbourne, Iommi, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums. That lineup recorded and toured through 1978, and periodically reformed through the '90s and 2000s for live work.
- They regrouped again in late 2011 for a new album and tour, although Ward dropped out after a few months over financial issues. Sabbath has used Ozzy's regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. Rage Against The Machine's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on the album 13, which came out in June 2013.
- Iommi and Butler haven’t announced any specific post-Sabbath plans yet, but Osbourne is reportedly at work on a new album, and already has a pair of solo shows scheduled for this summer.
