Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath were formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums).

With Osbourne they released eight studio albums: Black Sabbath and Paranoid (both 1970), Master of Reality (1971), Vol. 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy (1976) and Never Say Die! (1978).

Ronnie James Dio fronted Heaven and Hell (1980) and Mob Rules (1981), Ian Gillan sang on Born Again (1983) and Glenn Hughes on Seventh Star (1986). Tony Martin then sang on The Eternal Idol (1987), Headless Cross (1989) and Tyr (1990), Dio returned for Dehumanizer (1992), and Martin was back for Cross Purposes (1994) and Forbidden (1995).

13, produced by Rick Rubin, reunited Osbourne, Iommi and Butler, with Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk on drums in place of Bill Ward. Released in June 2013, it entered the charts at No. 1 in both the UK and the US, the band’s first ever US No. 1 album, and “God Is Dead?” won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

The farewell tour, The End, closed with a show at the Genting Arena in Birmingham on 4 February 2017. On 5 July 2025 the original four members reunited one last time for “Back to the Beginning” at Villa Park in Birmingham, a show billed as their final performance. Ozzy Osbourne died seventeen days later, on 22 July 2025, aged 76.

Last line-up: Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), Bill Ward (drums)