After 49 years together, Black Sabbath are officially breaking up. Guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward formed the band in 1968 and played all the way through until 2006. After a five year hiatus, they returned to the stage in 2011 and have officially called 2017 “The End.” While the band experienced a rotating cast of players throughout their years, original members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne played their “final gig” together last month in their hometown of Birmingham.
However, Tony Iommi gave hope to fans in explaining that he’s “sure something can happen somewhere” between band members, after that gig took place. “It’s just the touring for me. It’s time to stop roaming the world and be at home for a bit,” he told Planet Rock. “When you’re touring you’ve got to go out for six, eight, 12 months or whatever, and you’ve got a schedule that you have to do. Now, if I want to do some TV for a month, I can do that.” He continued, “I don’t think we’ve ruled anything out, apart from me not wanting to tour any more. Who knows? We may do something. We haven’t spoken about it. We haven’t talked about anything, really – but I’m sure something can happen somewhere.”
The end has now been confirmed, with a post from the band reading “Black Sabbath: 1968-2017.” The only words that accompany this image are #TheEnd. See below for the band’s official announcement:
In memory of the English rock band, watch the original music video for “Iron Man” below: