Tony Iommi has spoken publicly for the first time since Ozzy Osbourne’s passing and has reflected on Back to the Beginning farewell show, which took place weeks before his bandmate passed away.
As the news of the Prince of Darkness’ death broke on Tuesday (July 22), Iommi had said, “There won’t ever be another like him” during a short but touching social post. Now, speaking to UK broadcaster ITV, the guitarist whose hands helped forge heavy metal has further opened up.
“It was a shock for us,” he confesses, with Ozzy's passing coming just over two weeks after his blockbuster bow out. “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,” he continues. “In the night, I started thinking about it: ‘God, am I dreaming all this?’ But he’s not looked well through the rehearsals.
“I think he really just held out to do that show. And just after that, he’s done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really.
“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; he was determined to do it. And fair dues, he’d done it.”
Iommi had previously said that he wasn’t sure about Ozzy doing a double shift on the day, considering his condition. But he understood the singer was dedicated to closing the curtain on a six-decade career. Ozzy did it his way.
“He came around before he was leaving in a wheelchair to say goodbye and have a little chat. He seemed alright, he enjoyed it,” Iommi says of Ozzy’s reaction to the show. “He said, ‘Oh, it went all right, didn’t it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it did.’”
The text he received from Ozzy several days ago said that he was tired and low on energy. His last dance had taken its toll on him.
“We could see it in rehearsal,” Iommi adds. “We didn’t want him there every day at rehearsal, because it’s too much. 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.
“But the gig was for him, really; for us, to say goodbye and to have Bill drum with us as well after 20 years.
“I think he was frustrated as well, ’cause he wanted to stand up,” Iommi concludes. “You could see he was trying to get up.
“But it meant everything to him. This is what we built up for, for that big ending where he could see all the people and close it in that way.
“We didn’t expect him to go that quickly, really. We didn’t expect him to go. So it’s been a shock.”
After news of Ozzy's death broke, the music world came out in full force to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the legendary singer.
