When the first electric guitar riffs reverberate from the speakers in Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5, 2025, it will be more than just a concert — it will be history in the making. Heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath return to the stage in their original lineup for one last time. At the center of it all is a man whose life has long since become a legend: Ozzy Osbourne.

In a way, it's a bit like a fairy tale with a happy ending: A heavy metal hero scarred by life returns to where it all began — and bids farewell to the very stage where he once got his start. "It's my time to go back to the beginning... time for me to give back to the place where I was born. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham forever," he said earlier this year when announcing the concert, which is scheduled to be his last. Osborne also said the proceeds from the concert will go to various charities in Birmingham.

John Michael Osbourne was born in 1948 in industrial Birmingham, in a world of soot, smoke and social tension. His prospects were not promising, and the reality of Birmingham's gritty neighborhoods was indeed harsh.

But in music, Ozzy — a name he's had since his school days — found a language through which he could express his anger and despair, as well as his black humor. Together with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, he founded Black Sabbath at the end of the 1960s. The dark, heavy rock, coupled with occult themes and socially critical lyrics, became the music of a generation.

Albums such as "Paranoid" (1970) and "Master of Reality" (1971) became blueprints for later heavy metal groups. Osbourne's distinctive voice, high, plaintive, penetrating and vulnerable at the same time, became iconic.

But while Black Sabbath's music rose to dizzying heights, Ozzy's personal descent was almost just as dramatic. The singer was lost in a world of alcohol, drugs and other excesses. By 1979, his substance abuse issues had gotten so out of hand, his behavior so erratic and unreliable, that the band kicked him out.

And then came the event that would stick with him forever. In 1982 at a concert in Iowa, USA, he bit the head off a live bat that hat been thrown on stage, supposedly believing it was fake and made of rubber (he received rabies shots afterwards). Whatever the truth behind the incident, whether it was a perfectly staged moment or an act of total delusion, it came to represent the myth of Ozzy Osbourne, the so-called "Prince of Darkness" who had both a dark side and crazy side.

Leaving the band in 1979 was initially another low point for Ozzy. He sank further into substance abuse until his future wife, Sharon Rachel Levy, helped him overcome his addictions. She also suggested he embark on a solo career.

He recorded the album "Blizzard of Ozz" (1980), and immediately saw success.

His marriage to Sharon Osbourne, who also became his manager, brought him the stability he needed.

In the 2000s, the couple and their children Kelly and Jack became known worldwide through the reality TV show "The Osbournes." In it, viewers saw Ozzy as a spoiled, foul mouthed, but warm-hearted father, making him even more of a pop culture phenomenon.

The last few years of his life have been characterized by health setbacks. In 2019, it was revealed that Osbourne was suffering from Parkinson's disease. He canceled tours, underwent operations and fought his way back, not without difficulty. But his love of music, his audience — and perhaps also the myth of Ozzy — kept him going.

And that's how the idea for the reunion concert with Black Sabbath came about. "I'll be there and do my best. All I can do is show up," he recently said in an interview with The Guardian.

The concert on July 5 in Birmingham is aptly titled: "Back to the Beginning." It will be the first time in over 20 years that the original lineup has performed together. In addition to Black Sabbath, metal greats such as Metallica, Pantera and Gojira will also perform, much to the delight of metal fans.

But it's safe to say that the main focus will be on the moment when Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill take the stage together. It's not just a reunion, but a worthy farewell to one of the greatest rock groups of the era.

This article was originally written in German.