Black Sabbath star played his final gig at special Birmingham show at the weekend – but we can reveal exciting move which could see him perform again
Ozzy Osbourne may have bowed out at his farewell show but it might not be the last time you see the Black Sabbath star perform. The band have trademarked their name in virtual reality, which means they could return on stage as holograms.
ABBA have already used avatars for their London show, Voyage, which has been running since 2022 and features younger versions of themselves. Black Sabbath filed documents 20 years ago and could do the same. These papers trademark use of “production and presentation of animation and other special effects”. A number of other artists have taken similar action.
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Ozzy, 76, who has Parkinson’s, performed his final gig with Black Sabbath in Birmingham on Saturday. The singer had to sit on the stage at Villa Park, a stone’s throw from his terraced childhood home, as he ran through five solo hits including Mr Crowley and Crazy Train.
Then he was joined by the original Sabbath line-up of guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. The group – credited with inventing heavy metal after forming in 1968 – played together for the first time in 20 years for the Back To The Beginning concert. They finished with War Pigs, N.I.B, Iron Man and Paranoid. An emotional Ozzy said: “You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
This week, one of his pals said Ozzy was plotting a new album and in April wife Sharon, 72, when asked if she would consider an ABBA-style return for him, said: “Sure I would, yeah. “Technology keeps moving on and on. You can do incredible things now, so what you could do in five years will be even better. You never know what the opportunities are.”
The show features avatars of a young Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Falt- skog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson performing hits like Dancing Queen and Waterloo. It launched in 2022, but is still one of the capital’s top attractions.
KISS have unveiled digital versions to replace them when they stop touring. The estates of late stars George Michael, Freddie Mercury and Tina Turner have also filed papers with digital plans.
Queen guitarist Brian May said his band has talked “very seriously” about holograms of Freddie – but he won’t be an avatar while the rest of the group is having the days of their lives. He said: “While we’re here I want to play live. I don’t want to be a hologram. I want to be me.”
Last year Oasis filed paperwork to secure trademarks that would cover “virtual music group” and “avatars”. Noel Gallagher previously said he’d up for the band returning as holograms after being amazed by ABBA’s avatars. He said: “It was great – an hour-and-a-half gig. The holograms looked that real I thought they were actors. The way they walk to the stage is so realistic.” He told pal Matt Morgan’s podcast: “If anybody wants to do an Oasis one, give us a shout. I would be bang up for it. Come up with a figure and I’ll say yes or no.”
Source: Mirror
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