Out today (November 17) is Black Sabbath: The End, a CD and home video of the group’s final concert on February 4 in its hometown of Birmingham, England.
The video comes with a variety of special features, including new interviews with group members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, and the whole package captures what Butler tells us was a night of varied emotions:
“I felt relief that it was all over, that it was done with, that we’d done a good show, and quite sad in a way to think we’d never do it again. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, actually. It just felt right.”
Butler adds that it was also a crazy night behind the scenes for the band:
“It was chaotic backstage. That’s for sure. Seeing every friend we’ve ever met in our lives was there. All our family was there. So, backstage it was chaos, and we didn’t see each other before we went on, and it really was nerve-wracking, the last-ever show. I was just hoping against hope that I wouldn’t break a string or the lights wouldn’t fail, or that Ozzy wouldn’t fall over, whatever, I was just petrified that something would go wrong, but everything went great on the night.”
Black Sabbath’s The End Tour played 74 shows over nearly 13 months to more than a million fans, grossing an estimated $84.8 million.
Osbourne has announced plans for a farewell tour of his own, while Butler and Iommi have not yet announced any future musical plans.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
