This Saturday, 5 July, Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne say goodbye to their fans with Back To The Beginning at Villa Park, an all-day event that promoter Andy Copping calls “the heavy metal Live Aid”, with a who’s-who of heavy metal lining up to pay tribute and all the proceeds going to charity.
The official programme for the event is also an event: a unique collaboration between Black Sabbath, the Big Issue, and Classic Rock and Metal Hammer.
The idea, which started with the team at Classic Rock and Metal Hammer, was simple. “A lot of programmes don’t look great and don’t have enough to read,” says Content Director Scott Rowley. “So we thought: What if we made a collectible one-off magazine about Black Sabbath and Ozzy, that was printed and sold by the Big Issue? Sabbath fans get a cool product, and all the profits go into the pockets of Birmingham's homeless.”
Sharon Osbourne and Live Nation loved it. The result is a special commemorative 68pp official programme, that will be sold on the day by Big Issue vendors at Villa Park for £15, with all the profits going to the Big Issue to help in their mission to end poverty.
"Big Issue is delighted and honoured to be involved in this key moment in British cultural life," says Paul McNamee, UK editor of Big Issue. "We thank the Osbournes, and everyone at Future, for bringing us along for the ride.
"It’s a wonderful gesture and will help our Big Issue vendor colleagues who are present at Villa Park, and will also help us carry on the fight against homelessness and poverty afterwards.
"The programme is going to become a must-have collector’s item – so get it while you can!"
The programme contains interviews with all four members of Black Sabbath, as they look back on their career and say goodbye to their fans, plus interviews with the bands playing on the day: Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Ghost, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Zakk Wylde, and many more.
The farewell show’s musical director Tom Morello has written an introduction and Live Nation’s Andy Copping, who put the show together, is also interviewed. There are memories from fans, excerpts from interviews over the years, and loads of shots of the godfathers of metal
The £15 programme will be available at the Villa Park show and fans who can’t make it will be able to grab a copy from the Classic Rock and Metal Hammer store.
