I Think [Ozzy] Really Just Held Out To Do That Show

Tony Iommi shared his thoughts on the passing of his Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne in a new interview with ITV on Wednesday (July 23rd), saying, “I think he really just held out” long enough to do the “Back to the Beginning” concert.

The guitarist gave insight into Ozzy’s condition during the Sabbath’s rehearsal for their final performance on July 5th at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham, England, revealing that the singer didn’t look well during rehearsals. Yet, the frontman’s passing just 17 days later still came as a surprise to Iommi.

“It was a shock for us,” Iommi told ITV in a sit-down video interview (as transcribed by Classic Rock). “I mean, when I heard yesterday, it couldn’t sink in. I thought, ‘It can’t be.’ I only had a text from him the day before. It just seemed unreal, surreal. And it really didn’t sink in. And in the night, I started thinking about it: ‘God, am I dreaming all this?’ But as I said before, he’s not looked well through the rehearsals.”

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He continued, “I think he really just held out to do that show. I really feel – and me and Geezer were talking about it last night – that we think he held out to do it, and just after that, he’s done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really.”

Iommi went on to say, “I think he must have had something in his head that said, ‘Well, this is gonna be it, the last thing I’m ever gonna do.’ Whether he thought he was gonna die or what, I don’t know. But he really wanted to do it, and he was determined to do it. And fair dues, he’d done it.”

When asked about Ozzy’s reaction to the performance, Iommi responded, “He came around before he was leaving on a wheelchair that brought him in to say goodbye and have a little chat for a bit. And he seemed all right. He enjoyed it. And he said, ‘Oh, it went all right, didn’t it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it did.’”

As Iommi mentioned, he received a text from Ozzy just a day before his death. “I had the text off him the day before yesterday saying he’s tired and he’s really got no energy. And I thought, ‘Oh, dear.’ ‘Cause it’s a lot for him to do that under the problems he’s got.

“And we could see it in rehearsal. We didn’t want him there every day at rehearsal, because it’s too much. He just wouldn’t be able to stand it. So they’d bring him in and he’d sit down and sing a few songs, and then we’d talk about some rubbish old times or whatever, have a laugh, and then he’d go. And that’s sort of what we did, really.”

Reflecting once more on the performance, Iommi noted, “But the gig was for him, really, and for us, to say goodbye, ’cause also Sabbath saying goodbye. It was the end of the band, and we’ll never do that again. And to have Bill drum with us as well after all these years, after 20 years of not playing with Bill. I can’t believe it’s 20 years, to be honest.

“I think he was moved and frustrated as well, ’cause he wanted to stand up. You could see he was trying to get up. But yeah, it meant everything to him. This is what we built up for, for that big ending where he could see all the people and we could all see all the people, and close it in that way. But we didn’t expect to close it so quick with Ozz. We didn’t expect him to go that quick, really. Well, we didn’t expect him to go. So it’s been a shock.”

Ozzy performed five songs with his solo band and four songs with Sabbath at the all-star “Back to the Beginning” concert, and gave it his all, as evidenced by his heart-wrenching vocals on the song “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” Sadly, he died just 17 days later on July 22nd at the age of 76.

Watch Tony Iommi’s interview with ITV below.