Zakk Wylde has mentioned that he is unsure which songs will be performed at Ozzy Osbourne‘s farewell concert in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
During an interview with “Chaz & AJ In The Morning” on 99.1 PLR, Zakk spoke about his involvement in “Back To The Beginning“: “As far as the Sabbath [last-ever concert] goes, I found out about it when you guys found out. It was just, like, ‘Oh, cool. I guess this is gonna be crazy.’ But I don’t know what we’re playing yet… Barb‘s [Zakk‘s wife and manager, Barbaranne Wylde] spoken to Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy‘s wife and manager] a bunch about it. And I texted Ozz and stuff like that because I’m always sending him goofy stuff. But we haven’t figured out what we’re gonna be playing yet. I mean, even with the Pantera celebration thing, we haven’t figured out what Sabbath song we’re playing [at the event]. Like, what’s on the list? You can’t have everybody playing Paranoid. And then you’ve gotta figure Sabbath, if they’re gonna be doing songs, you can’t be playing songs that the guys are gonna play at the end of the night. So everybody’s gotta get a list of, what song do you want us to play? I’ll just learn it… As far as I’m concerned, I’m a team player. Whatever you need me to do — whatever pass route you need me to run, I’ll run it.”
Earlier this month, Zakk shared his thoughts with Riff X‘s “Metal XS” about “Back To The Beginning“: “Well, yeah, it’s gonna be awesome. The gameplan is — let’s hope this is what happens. I mean, you always gotta stay on the bright side of life. [Laughs] ‘Cause Ozz was singing at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame thing. He was doing ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home‘, ’cause Jelly Roll wasn’t there when we did the soundcheck the day before [Ozzy‘s induction into the Rock Hall last October]. And Ozz was just sitting at the chair and he was singing ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home‘, and it sounded great. So hopefully we’ll just do this, and then Ozz will go, ‘Let’s just fire up the machine again and we’ll do another tour.’ You know what I mean? With Ozz and his throne that just flies over the stadium or whatever — shoots out buckets of water and does everything like that. So, yeah, if Ozz has a great time, whatever, and it’s just, like, ‘I wanna go out on the road again,’ it’s just, like, ‘Good. Let’s do it again.’ I mean, what else is he gonna do? It’s like Keith Richards said. He [was asked], ‘When are you going to retire?’ He goes, ‘Retire from what?’ If you like reading a book and having a cup of coffee, it’s, like, why am I retiring from this? I enjoy it. I play music. I mean, what am I retiring from? It’s something I enjoy, something I love doing. So hopefully that’s what happens.”
He continued: “Considering all the bands that are on that thing and everybody’s gonna be playing Sabbath songs, it’s gonna be pretty mindblowing. It’s gonna be pretty awesome. And then to see Ozz get up there and do a song with ’em and then watch Sabbath play. I think for all the bands that are gonna be there, ’cause if it wasn’t for Sabbath, none of us would exist. You know what I mean? So I think it’s gonna be special for everybody.”
Scheduled for July 5 at Villa Park, the highly anticipated event — known as “Back To The Beginning” — sold out in under 10 minutes last month.
This concert will mark the first time in 20 years that the original lineup of Black Sabbath — Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward — will share the stage together.
Also joining the lineup for this historic event are Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, and Mastodon.
Additionally, the concert will feature a special performance by a “supergroup of musicians“, including Duff McKagan and Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), K.K. Downing (Judas Priest), Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne), Wolfgang Van Halen (Van Halen, Mammoth WVH), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Andrew Watt, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe), David Draiman (Disturbed), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Jonathan Davis (Korn), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Sleep Token II (Sleep Token), Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot), and Papa V Perpetua (Ghost).
Ozzy — who has not performed a full show since late 2018 — revealed his final performance on February 5.
The proceeds from “Back To The Beginning” will be donated to Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a facility supported by Aston Villa.
