On August 8th, Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi reunited on state to perform “Paranoid” at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. Which makes this even cooler since Birmingham is also the band’s hometown.
This performance took place at the end of the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, which celebrate the history, culture, and music of Birmingham and the West Midlands. In front of more than 30,000 spectators, the pair teased playing “Iron Man” by having Ozzy Osbourne yell “I am Iron Man” from backstage, before making his way to the stage.
There he was joined by fellow rock legend Iommi, as well as bassist Adam Wakeman and drummer Tommy Clufetos. Wakeman and Clufetos previously worked with Sabbath on their final tour. But Wakeman played the keyboard instead of the bass. Where Clufetos played in place of original drummer Bill Ward.
This is the first time that Black Sabbath has played together since February 2017. Ozzy hasn’t done a live performance since 2019, when he joined Post Malone and Travis Scott at the 47th annual American Music Awards. The trio performed their hit single “Take What You Want.” And Ozzy hasn’t performed at all after undergoing major neck surgery earlier this summer.
Fans of Sabbath will also be happy to hear that Ozzy and Iommi have already been working together again. The pair reunited in the studio to record two songs, “Degradation Rules” and “No Escape From Now,” for Ozzy’s upcoming solo LP, Patient Number 9.
Unfortunately, the singer has had a myriad of health issues including a major fall at home, an ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease, and the aforementioned neck surgery. But the general consensus among fans and critics is his voice is as strong as ever in this clip. And Iommi’s guitar work is still flawless. See for yourself in the video below:
