Taking to the stage less than three weeks before his sudden death at the age of 76, Ozzy Osbourne gave the show of his life at Villa Park.
But Back to the Beginning – which reunited Ozzy with the original Black Sabbath line-up on stage for the first time in 20 years – had not been some off-the-cuff final bow.
Save for a surprise appearance at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in his native Birmingham – leaning against a bracket for support – the Godfather of Heavy Metal had been ‘laid up’, as he put it, for more than six years.
For what would be his last hurrah he needed to be in peak condition – and after a long delay, he returned to Britain earlier this year to prepare for the show like a ‘warrior’, sources told MailOnline.
Ozzy and Sharon’s Buckinghamshire pile, Welders House, was waiting – a 125-year-old Grade II listed country escape with a 350-acre estate, which they snapped up in the summer of 1993 for an undisclosed sum.
Ahead of his arrival, it had been kitted out with a dedicated rehab wing, swimming pool and pond for his return – built in sympathetic red brick to match the original house, which it almost threatens to dwarf.
Heading back to the UK had been on the cards since 2022 – not for Ozzy’s health, but to escape what he called the ‘f****** ridiculous’ rise in gun violence in the US.
Ozzy Osbourne trained like a ‘warrior’ to prepare for what would be his last show at Villa Park earlier this month, sources close to the star have said
A dedicated ‘rehabilitation wing’ (pictured to the right, above) was built on the side of Welders House in Buckinghamshire ahead of the metal legend’s return to Britain
Ozzy had previously been filmed in October 2024 ‘training’ for a marathon autograph session at the Son of Monsterpalooza horror convention in Los Angeles, stretching a resistance band
Planning documents for a health and welfare exercise suite, a swimming pool, and decking were submitted to the local council in March that year.
But his battle with Parkinson’s and a crippling fall that exacerbated his old quad bike injury are thought to have delayed his return to the UK – and even reportedly put paid to BBC series Home To Roost, that was set to follow the homecoming.
Ozzy had postponed the end of his No More Tours II tour due to a collection of maladies: an infection in his hand, the flu, pneumonia, surgeries, the 2019 fall in his bathroom that damaged his neck, already fragile after the 2003 accident.
‘It just seems that since October (2018), everything I touch has turned to s***,’ he quipped as he announced the first of the delays. Covid delayed the tour further until, in early 2023, he announced he would tour no more.
But that was never going to stop the Sabbath frontman – ever one for spectacle – from playing one last show in his home city, Birmingham.
And when he and Sharon made the move back to England permanent in March this year, the rehab wing was ready and waiting for him.
Papers partially redacted for the singer’s privacy detail how Ozzy was set to have everything he needed to push back against Parkinson’s and old injuries.
The extension, it was noted, would feature ‘an abundance of stopping and sitting’ spaces, ‘discreet grab rails and aids’ and ‘soft non-slip surfaces’ as well as a self-contained nurse’s flat.
Alongside the pool room orangery, there is a spa pool, a dedicated health and wellness suite inside what was a garage, a dedicated wet room and a studio for Ozzy.
Ozzy’s extension features a swimming pool, spa, dedicated health and wellness exercise room as well as a music studio
The rock legend said he had been training with three-minute walks and weightlifting ahead of the final show (seen here in the Monsterpalooza ‘training’ video) with hand weights
The legendary Prince of Darkness had last performed live in a surprise appearance at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games – with a bracket for support
The extension is ‘largely lit by natural light with folding doors’ leading to the garden, which now has a pond built to the south of the house, with its own island and water feature – uncharacteristically bright facilities for the self-titled Prince of Darkness.
The upgrades also included new CCTV cameras – including a thermal imaging camera based close to the end of the driveway leading up to the house, and others with built-in analytics software.
Planning officers green-lit the project in May 2022 – noting that it met the ‘ongoing and progressive medical needs of the current owner’ – and the project has since been completed.
But Ozzy was unable to make full use of the facilities for years – the relocation delayed by his ongoing health issues.
‘It just seems that every time we’re set to go, something happens with Ozzy’s health,’ Sharon said on the family’s podcast a year ago.
‘We’ll get there. We wanna go back so bad, but we’ll get there.’
Ozzy finally returned to the UK in March after reportedly being given the thumbs-up by doctors.
A month beforehand, he had made what would be his last major announcement: Back To The Beginning, with the original Sabbath line-up, at Villa Park in July.
He said at the time: ‘It’s my time to go back to the beginning… time for me to give back to the place where I was born. How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.’
Sharon, it was said, was the one who ‘worked her a***’ to get the show – a medley of metal supergroups and huge bands like Pantera, Slater, Metallica and Alice In Chains – off the ground.
Then the real work began.
Ozzy said he had his blood pressure taken ’15 times a day’ with a live-in trainer helping him get ready for his swansong
Ozzy – pictured with daughter Kelly and wife Sharon in 2020 – had intended to return to Britain in 2023 before his health prevented him from leaving the US
He and Sharon had intended to leave their Beverly Hills mansion behind more than two years ago (pictured poolside in around 2006)
Sources close to Ozzy told MailOnline he took on the training like a ‘warrior’, determined to get fighting fit for the grand finale.
The star lifted weights, went for three-minute walks and had a vocal coach visiting four times a week to keep his voice strong.
He told Sirius XM in May: ‘I’m waking up in my body, you know? I mean, three minutes to you, for instance, is nothing, but I’ve been laying on my back recovering from umpteen surgeries.
‘I’ve been lying on my back doing nothing and the first thing to go is your strength. It’s like starting all over again.
“I’ve got a vocal coach coming round four days a week to keep my voice going. I have problems walking. I also get blood pressure issues, from blood clots on my legs.
‘I’m used to doing two hours on stage, jumping and running around. I don’t think I’ll be doing much jumping or running around this time.
‘I may be sitting down, but the point is I’ll be there, and I’ll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.’
The source said: ‘Ozzy was quite open about having all these medical tests and devices in his life in the last few months.
‘He was in and out of doctors’ offices because they wanted to make sure he was doing okay as he tried to get strong enough to stand on stage.
‘He was always complaining: “They are taking my bloody blood pressure all the time or checking my heart with this f****** thing on my finger.”
‘Ozzy was a warrior though, because he was like: “I am gonna f****** get up on that stage even if they to carry me up there.”
‘He did say quite a lot that he so exhausted by the end of each day. It was wiping him out how hard he was working to be fit for the show.’
Ozzy’s final performance at Villa Park on July 5 won rave reviews from the musical press despite his ailing health
The show was livestreamed across the world and raised £140million for charity, according to organisers
Ozzy performed from a throne with a giant bat on top – likely a nod to his early on-stage antics
Ozzy trained ‘constantly… seven days a week’ ahead of the Villa Park swansong, with a live-in trainer monitoring his blood pressure ’15 times a day’ and telling him to wear a finger pulse oximeter to check his heart rate, he told Sirius XM in May.
In trademark foul-mouthed style, he noted: ‘F****** hell, I am constantly in training. I have got this guy who’s virtually living with me and I am in bed by seven.
‘I used to have to take a handful of f****** sleeping pills. Now I don’t take anything.’
His producer, Andrew Watt, told the Howard Stern Show the rocker had even been hitting the gym, though his body was ‘not doing what he wants it to do all the time’.
Referencing Black Sabbath’s trademark song, Watt quipped: ‘He is the real Iron Man.’
The work paid off: Ozzy’s swansong in front of 40,000 cheering metalheads in Villa Park – both as a solo act and with the original Black Sabbath line-up – was roundly praised by the musical press.
Poised in a giant black throne, topped with a giant bat – a nod, presumably, to his infamous on-stage antics – the singer was frail, but nonetheless dominated a nine-song set of solo and Sabbath material.
‘During Mama, I’m Coming Home, his struggle with pitch is both painful and moving: he seems on the brink of tears as the crowd carry him home, but brings everything back with a triumphant Crazy Train,’ noted The Guardian.
The Telegraph said: ‘Ozzy is not the kind of character to shuffle off quietly, so he gave it one last shot, and the result was a cracked triumph.’
Triumph is right: Back to the Beginning raised a total of £140million for Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, according to show producer and Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
Ozzy had joked in May that he may not reach heaven.
He said on his OzzySpeaks show on Sirius XM: ‘I’m just taking it one day at a time. Ask him upstairs. In my case, the one below.’
All that training might have done just enough to secure Ozzy a spot ‘upstairs’ after all.
