LONDON - Heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne brought down the curtain on his stellar career with Black Sabbath on Saturday, rattling through the band's most iconic songs in front of an adoring hometown crowd.
The "Prince of Darkness" held court from a giant leather throne, topped with a bat, at Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, firstly in a five-song solo set and then with his original bandmates for the first time in 20 years, and last time.
"It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle..thank you from the bottom of our hearts," the 76-year-old singer told the crowd after finishing the set with "Paranoid" -- the band's most famous song.
The stadium in Birmingham, central England, is a stone's throw from where the band formed 57 years ago, pioneering the hard-rock style that gave rise to heavy metal.
And the genre's big hitters were in town to pay tribute to the band that started it all.
Many thousands around the world followed the concert online after tickets for the show sold out in just 16 minutes.
Osbourne, who revealed in 2020 that he has Parkinson's disease, joined Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the "Back To The Beginning" show in Birmingham, where the heavy metal giants formed in 1968.
They have since sold over 75 million albums worldwide.
The stadium, which hosted Champions League football last season, was transformed into something resembling a pagan cathedral on Saturday, with fans decked in dark metal T-shirts, many sporting long hair, thick beards and large tattoos.
"Birmingham is a city which means so much to Ozzy. When it comes to heavy metal music, Black Sabbath forming and his love of Aston Villa -– it all started here," said his wife, Sharon.
All profits from the show will go to charities including Cure Parkinson's and Birmingham Children's Hospital.