Tony Iommi Shares His Thoughts on One Last Black Sabbath Performance With Ozzy Osbourne

Considered one of the pioneers of the heavy metal genre, Tony Iommi gained fame thanks to his contributions to the iconic band Black Sabbath. While the band went through some lineup changes over the years and featured legends like Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi not only co-founded the group but continued to perform with them for over five decades. Although Black Sabbath celebrated their last show back in 2017, both Osbourne and Iommi believe one more performance was needed given that drummer Bill Ward wasn’t part of their farewell show. 

Appearing on The Madhouse Chronicles podcast, Osbourne shared his thoughts on one last performance with Black Sabbath and how he wanted Ward on the stage. “I was sad that Bill wasn’t there. I mean Tommy Clufetos, my drummer, did a great job. But he ain’t Bill Ward.” The rocker added, “If they wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I would jump at the chance.” 

Giving his thoughts on the matter, it appeared that Iommi agreed when he discussed the idea on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk. While he claimed some might believe one last show would be a cash grab, the musician said, “That’d be a nice thing to actually do, but whether it happens will be another thing. But we’ll see. I mean, who knows?” He added later, “It would be nice, yes, to do a one-off, if that ever happens, yeah.” 

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Tony Iommi Not A Fan Of Another Tour With Black Sabbath

While willing to get back together for a final performance with Ward, Iommi seemed unwilling to helm another tour. “I have to look at it realistically at my age. I can’t go out and do a two-year tour like we were doing before. And to put something together like the original Sabbath or this or that or the other, you’ve gotta do it a long time because of the cost of everything.” 

Although wanting to take the stage with Ward again, the drummer suggested he received no invitation. He insisted that his “management reached out to the Black Sabbath management to inquire as to whether or not they would like to discuss my participation in the tour.” To his astonishment, he was told “there was no interest.” 

With unfinished business, fans of Black Sabbath might get one more show featuring Iommi, Osbourne, and even Ward. But like Iommi said, “Who knows?”

(Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)