During a recent interview with Audacy Music, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about the fact that she will appear at the upcoming “Back To The Beginning” charity show on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The concert will mark the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH‘s last-ever performance and Ozzy Osbourne‘s final appearance as a solo artist. Asked if she will perform the Ozzy Osbourne/Lita Ford song “Close My Eyes Forever”, which she recorded as a duet with DISTURBED frontman David Draiman for the self-titled debut album from Draiman‘s DEVICE project, at the event, Lzzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “So, according to [RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE‘s] Tom Morello [who is the musical director for the concert], that is in the works, but he said, ‘You’re gonna have to be patient with the confirmation for that.’ Because of Ozzy‘s health and everything, we’re gonna have to see pretty much on the day how much Ozzy‘s going to be singing and willing to do. But HALESTORM is doing a set. We’re also doing a BLACK SABBATH cover. And I’ve been asked to sing in the supergroup with Tom Morello and everybody there.”
Regarding how HALESTORM‘s participation in the concert came about, Lzzy said: “Dude, so we got this e-mail from [Ozzy‘s wife and manager] Sharon Osbourne. And I didn’t answer it for two days. ’cause I’m, like, ‘Is this real?’ It’s wild.”
She continued: “I’ve been a BLACK SABBATH fan since I was 11. The first riff I ever learned a guitar was ‘Heaven And Hell’ by BLACK SABBATH. And then you opened for HEAVEN & HELL in 2009, with Ronnie James Dio, and that was Ronnie James Dio‘s last show before he passed away. So it’s this incredible full-circle, unfathomable dream. If you had told me this when I was 13, I’d be, like, ‘You’re a liar. This will never happen to me.'”
Lzzy went on to say that “to be the only woman asked to be there is an honor as well.” She added: “I was talking to my friends, uh, [THE PRETTY RECKLESS‘s] Taylor Momsen and [EVANESCENCE‘s] Amy Lee and [IN THIS MOMENT‘s] Maria Brink and all of my sisters in this genre, and they’re all so proud of me. And I said, ‘Hey, girls, I’m carrying you with me. You’re gonna be there in spirit. I’m gonna make you girls so proud.’ And so it’s this beautiful event that everyone gets to look forward to. I’m so glad they’re doing it.”
Circling back to BLACK SABBATH‘s influence on her career, Lzzy said: “[SABBATH bassist] Geezer Butler ended up mentioning our band in his book because of us opening up for HEAVEN & HELL right before Ronnie passed. And I got some amazing words of advice from Ronnie James Dio at that gig that I carry with me every day.
“There’s a difference between believing that you are capable of doing and being a part of great things, and then it actually happening,” she explained. “‘Cause you can believe all you want; it doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen. So, yeah, I’m very grateful for all the people that believe in us and believe in me, and I’m so happy that we’re still a band. We haven’t disbanded yet, and we didn’t give up before the miracles started happening.”
Lzzy said that Morello‘s task of curating the performers for the concert is not something that can be taken lightly. “Sounds like a shit show,” she said. “I do not envy that job at all.
“They’ve been keeping us a little bit in the dark,” she added. “I get bits and pieces from Tom. Every time Tom calls me, I’m, like, ‘Uh-oh. Am I learning a new song? What’s happening?’ And so there’s all these moving pieces.
“It’s gotta be hard ’cause you have the legacy of BLACK SABBATH, and then you have everyone attached to BLACK SABBATH, all of the ex-bandmates, the family members, and then the rock royalty, like Wolfie Van Halen and Billy Corgan and all of these guys and TOOL and everybody that wants to be a part of it,” Hale added.
Reflecting on the impact of the Ozzy-curated Ozzfest traveling festival in the 1990s and early 2000s, Lzzy said: “I could never afford to go when I was a kid. The only shows I could afford to go to were local shows in Pennsylvania. And all my friends would be going to Ozzfest. Like, ‘Are you coming?’ I’m, like, ‘No. I can’t.’ And so it’s kind of like I skipped a lot of important steps, and now I’m getting to open up for BLACK SABBATH and sharing a stage with them. But Ozzfest was fundamental in our upbringing, ’cause anybody that was worth their stuff in anything was at Ozzfest. And any new band — like DISTURBED broke through Ozzfest; so did the SYSTEM OF A DOWN. We probably wouldn’t have these acts if it wasn’t for Sharon being, like, ‘Hey, get on Ozzfest.’ So it’s a big deal.”
“Back To The Beginning” sold out in less than 10 minutes in February. The concert will mark the first time that the original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — have played together in 20 years.
Also set to appear at the event are METALLICA, GUNS N’ ROSES, TOOL, SLAYER, PANTERA, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX and MASTODON.
In addition, there will be a 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),Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT),Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (ANTHRAX),Sleep Token II (SLEEP TOKEN) and Papa V Perpetua (GHOST).
Ozzy — who hasn’t played a full show since late 2018 — announced his last-ever performance on February 5.
Proceeds from the “Back To The Beginning” show will support Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.
The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH last performed in 2005. Since then, SABBATH has played in partial reunions but never in its original lineup.
The legendary BLACK SABBATH frontman was diagnosed in 2003 with Parkin 2 — a very rare genetic form of Parkinson’s. During a TV appearance in January 2020, the singer disclosed that he was ‘stricken” with the disease which occurs when the nerve cells of the body degenerate and levels of dopamine are reduced. Dopamine is an essential chemical that is produced by these nerve cells which send signals to different parts of the brain to control movements of the body.
Ozzy‘s health issues, including suffering a nasty fall and dislodging metal rods placed in his spine following a quad-bike accident in 2003, as well as catching COVID-19 three years ago, forced him to cancel some of his previously announced tours.
While Osbourne‘s health issues forced him to scrap most of his live appearances, the musician said he would return if his condition improved.
Despite his health problems, Osbourne has performed a couple of times in the last three years, including at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022 and at the NFL halftime show at the season opener Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills game in September 2022.
Source: blabbermouth.net
