• As the final curtain fell on Black Sabbath’s last show, Bill Ward wasn’t thinking about the legacy or the applause. His only thought was Ozzy.

August 4, 2025  Birmingham, UK

For most fans, Black Sabbath’s farewell concert at Villa Park was the end of a legendary era  the last time the original lineup would stand together on stage. But for drummer Bill Ward, those final minutes meant something far more personal.

“From behind the drums, I felt it in my chest  I just wanted to get down and make sure Ozzy was okay,” Ward recalled quietly. “I wasn’t thinking about the crowd or the celebration. I was thinking about my friend.”

It was a bittersweet night in Birmingham, the city where it all began for the fathers of heavy metal. The show was filled with thunderous riffs, emotional moments, and the weight of five decades shared between four men. But as the last note faded into the night sky, Ward says something shifted in him.

“I could see the strain in Ozzy’s body,” he said. “He was pushing himself so hard, like he needed to finish this for all of us  for the fans, for the band, for himself. That wasn’t just performance. That was love.”

Ozzy Osbourne, 76, passed away just weeks after that final performance. Though the audience didn’t know it then, many now believe he knew it would be his last time on stage. And so did Ward.

“I didn’t leap off the platform,” Ward said, pausing. “But I wanted to. Every part of me wanted to just go to him. Not as a bandmate, but as a brother.”

That moment  unspoken, unseen by most  is a powerful reminder of the bond that held Sabbath together through their ups and downs. More than fame or music, it was about loyalty, pain, and a deep connection forged through years of touring, creating, and surviving.

Fans have since praised Ward’s honesty, saying it captures the side of Black Sabbath few ever got to see  not the legends, but the men.

“We started this journey together as kids,” Ward said. “And standing there, hearing that last chord, I just needed to

know he was alright.”

Sometimes, the heaviest thing in rock isn’t the music. It’s the love that lives behind it.