What Songs Did Black Sabbath Cut From Their Back to the Beginning Set?

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi revealed the band had set aside “six or seven” songs for their Back to the Beginning reunion performance, naming two others they had rehearsed but didn't play.

The metal pioneers’ original lineup — Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — performed last Saturday at Birmingham, England’s Villa Park, marking their first show together in 20 years. They closed out the all-day event with a four-song set comprising “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.”

In a recent interview on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, which you can hear below, Iommi detailed which other songs Black Sabbath had considered for the historic show — and why they ultimately got cut.

What Songs Did Black Sabbath Cut for Back to the Beginning Set?

“Well, we started with 'Fairies Wear Boots', and then we'd done 'Black Sabbath,’” the guitarist said. “And it was a little difficult for Bill 'cause he hadn't played them for so long. And Geezer and I, of course, we played them on the last tour. And, of course, Bill hasn't toured, don't forget, for a long time. So we could have done six, but we ended up doing four."

Iommi also detailed the intense preparation for the Back to the Beginning concert. "Well, it's been stressful for the last couple of months, really, thinking about it,” he said. “And we went into rehearsals a month ago. But you never know until the day. I mean, we hadn't played on a big stage with Bill for 20 years, so it was wondering what's gonna happen. But no, it all went fine."

Iommi said Osbourne’s stamina was a primary concern when picking their setlist, as the singer performed a solo set right before Black Sabbath played.

"We worked out what we were gonna play, what songs we were gonna play. It was really a case of how long Ozzy could do it, really, because we didn't know — with him doing his own set, which I said to him I didn't think he should do, because I didn't want him to get burnt out by the time he'd come with us. But he didn't, and he did his own set. We ended up doing four songs where we put aside sort of six or seven. But it worked out that we did four. So that was fine."

What Did Tony Iommi Think of Black Sabbath's Reunion Performance?

Iommi also offered his thoughts on Black Sabbath's performance at Back to the Beginning, particularly Osbourne's and Ward's.

"Well, I'm really a bit of a perfectionist, but they can only do what they can do, and you can't expect anything else," he said. "We're in our seventies and late seventies, so you can only do so much. And to expect perfection from everybody is just impossible at the moment. But they did what they could do, and everybody was fine about it."

He added: "I think the audience would know that and accepted that. They weren't expecting us to go on and be absolutely just brilliant players. We played as we played and as we are now."