Legendary hard rock bassist Rudy Sarzo says that it is “very exciting” for him to be participating in Ozzy Osbourne‘s farewell concert in Birmingham, United Kingdon.
Taking place on July 5 at Villa Park, the all-star event — billed as “Back To The Beginning” — sold out in less than 10 minutes last month.
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),Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (ANTHRAX),Sleep Token II (SLEEP TOKEN) and Papa V Perpetua (GHOST).
Speaking to Jon Liebman of For Bass Players Only, Rudy, who played bass for Ozzy Osbourne from 1981 to 1982, stated about his involvement in “Back To The Beginning”: ”To be there, that’s a blessing to me beyond words, to be able to do that. It’s just one show, one charity show, with many other bands that were associated not only with the genre, but also they opened up for Ozzy. They got their career breaks opening up for Ozzy on tour and Ozzfest and things like that. So you have METALLICA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER, all the big ones, participating. It is very exciting.
“There’s a tendency nowadays for artists to kind of fade out,” Rudy continued. “You don’t even know that they have quit, they retired, basically. They just fade out. And going out with a bang — you can’t fade out if you’re somebody like Ozzy who lived his life larger than life. Everything was bigger than life. It’s Ozzy. You can’t expect him to just quietly go into history. No, he’s gotta go out with a huge fricking bang, probably the biggest bang ever. He deserves it. He’s gotta do it.”
Regarding the other musicians taking part in the concert, Rudy said: “I’m pretty sure they’ll be adding on a couple of more, more bands and names. Jake E. Lee has been invited to do it. From what I see on the bill, it says ‘Ozzy Osbourne‘ and then it says ‘BLACK SABBATH‘. And from what I understand, whether Ozzy is the one who performs Ozzy‘s solo career music, singing, or if it’s other singers — there’s gonna be a lot of different singers there, from Billy Corgan to Sammy Hagar through the singer from GHOST; he has like all these names, like Pope something. So there’s gonna be plenty of vocalists who take over that, and guitar players.”
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
