When Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath delivered their Swan Song concert, closing out nearly six decades as Masters of heavy metal, they were joined by a large group of their peers, including Metallica, Aerosmith, and Slayer.
However, there are a couple of major bands that Ozzy’s wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, really wanted to get on the bill but were not available, due to scheduling issues: AC/DC and Judas Priest.
“There are two bands that we would have loved to have been there, but they couldn’t because they’re working that day,” she Music Business Worldwide, ahead of the big concert. “And that was Judas Priest, a local band, and Angus [Young] from AC/DC, because he’s always been a huge supporter of Ozzy’s.”
“I thought of having all the bands he’s ever had relationships with perform and maybe do Sabbath songs and Ozzy songs,” Sharon went on to say, discussing her approach to booking the Back To The Beginning concert. “I started to ask really close friends, and they were, like, ‘Sure, yeah.’”
Notably, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford recently spoke publicly about not being able to make the show, according to NME, saying that he was “gutted” that he and the band couldn’t participate due to having another concert already scheduled. He went on to share that Sharon had offered to fly him to Birmingham, England, so he could make a special appearance at the gig, but he felt it would be too “dangerous” to risk missing his other commitments.
Ozzy Passes away just weeks after the concert
The Back To The Beginning concert was the absolute last time that Ozzy Osbourne and the original lineup of Black Sabbath performed together live, as Ozzy passed away just weeks later, on Tuesday at the age of 76.
In a statement shared to Sky News, the Osbourne family said: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.” In a post on Instagram, the family shared the same statement and added: “We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” signed, “Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.”
Ozzy had been living with Parkinson’s and faced multiple health issues over the last several years. His cause of death was ultimately ruled as being due to acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction are listed as associated factors
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