'There'd Be No Point' - The One Essential Condition Needed to Pull Off Ozzy + Black Sabbath's Farewell Show

Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath will sign off their performance careers on July 5, but in order to get there all of the band members had one essential condition - Bill Ward must return.

In a final group interview with Classic Rock, the band revealed that there were certain details discussed about how the final show might go down, the one thing that had to happen to bring it all together was the return of Ward, the drummer who famously sat out the band's final album and touring over a contract dispute.

Geezer Butler shared, "The whole point of this last show was to finish with the original four of us playing together, so I wouldn’t have contemplated it without Bill.”

Tony Iommi insisted, "There’d be no point. We’ve already done that. And that was the thing. Because it’s the original line-up, that makes it more proper. So no, I wouldn’t have done it without the original line-up.”

“It’s very important,” added Ozzy Osbourne of Ward's return. “The original Sabbath will never be on stage together again. From the late sixties, we’re probably one of the only bands where the original members are still alive and speaking with one another.”

Ward was part of the initial press conference back in 2011 when Black Sabbath announced their intent to play a final tour and record one last album. But before the album arrived and the touring commenced, Ward bowed out of the proceedings unhappy with the contract he'd been presented.

“It was a difficult period for me,” the drummer recalled. “There was a lot of mud-slinging. I went inwards, which wasn’t wise. I became ill.”

Despite comments that were made publicly about the divide, the drummer says he still kept up a solid relationship with Ozzy Osbourne. “Me and Oz never fell out,” Ward says. “Slowly but surely it all came around.”

“It’s an invisible bond,” added Ozzy. “It can’t be broken.”

The Bonds of Black Sabbath

Though Black Sabbath has seen its fair share of lineup changes, the camaraderie of the group has always managed to unite the four members.

Looking back to the early years, Ward recalled,  “There was this unity we had. We couldn’t stay apart from each other. We used to walk each other home after we played. We’d get to the first house, and sit and talk. Then we’d decide to walk to somebody else’s house and do the same. We’d walk through the night, picking each other’s brains: ‘What do you think?’ Sometimes we wouldn’t get in until four or five in the morning. If one of us was injured or got in a fight, we had each other’s backs.”

“We lived and breathed each other,” added Iommi.

The Black Sabbath Legacy

When asked how they would like the band to be remembered, Iommi shared, “For what we brought to the table. For bringing this music out and inspiring other bands to build on it.”

READ MORE: The 5 Most Underrated Black Sabbath Albums

Butler added, “As four working-class blokes who defied all the odds, but had an unbreakable belief in ourselves, and bonded with the greatest fans ever.”

Ward offered, “For showing that it’s okay to push things, to be outlandish and extraordinary and rough around the edges. We were loud and aggressive, and that’s what I love about us.”

About Back to the Beginning

Destined to be the music event of 2025, Back to the Beginning reunites the original foursome of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward onstage together playing their hometown of Birmingham, England at the Villa Park venue on July 5.

Joining them throughout the day will be an all-star lineup of musicians paying respects to the metal pioneers and the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne. Performances by Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and Rival Sons will lead up to the big moment.

Additional performances throughout the day will feature Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, David Draiman, Duff McKagan, Fred Durst, Lzzy Hale, Jake E. Lee, Jonathan Davis, K.K. Downing, Mike Bordin, Papa V Perpetua, Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Slash, Sleep Token II, Steven Tyler, Soundgarden, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Vernon Reid, Whitfield Crane and David Ellefson. Meanwhile, actor Jason Momoa will host the day-long event.

A pay-per-view Back to the Beginning global livestream is now being provided so that fans may access this historic moment. The raw livestream will begin at 3PM BST on July 5 and those who purchase the livestream will continue to have exclusive access to watch the concert in its entirety for another 48 hours.

Tickets for the livestream are currently on sale through the Back to the Beginning website.