Rob Halford of Judas Priest shares he’s “absolutely gutted” to be missing out on Black Sabbath’s final concert.
Black Sabbath and Judas Priest have shared a close friendship spanning decades. Both heavy metal bands were founded in the ’60s, in Birmingham, widely considered to be the birthplace of the genre.
And fittingly, Birmingham is where Black Sabbath’s final show ‘Back to the Beginning‘ is taking place, on 5th July at Villa Park stadium. Proceeds from the show will be donated to local charities. Ozzy Osbourne comments: “It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning… time for me to give back to the place where I was born.”
The bill is stocked with huge names in metal and rock, featuring performances from Metallica, Korn, Alice in Chains and Halestorm, as well as Slash and Duff McKagan from Guns N’ Roses and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins.
However, Judas Priest are playing a gig the same day in Hanover to celebrate German hard rock band Scorpions’ 60th anniversary. Halford says that this event was confirmed before Black Sabbath’s show was announced.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, he details: “We’ve known this guy Ossy Hoppe – he’s like god in Germany for metal […] He came in to see me at one of our last shows and says, ‘Would you consider doing something really special and important? I’m putting on the Scorpions for their 60th anniversary, in their hometown. Would you work with the band?’ And I was just like, ‘Done! We’ve got no plans it’s all good.’”
He later gets a call from Sharon Osbourne, telling him about the Villa Park show: “Suddenly I get this phone call [from Sharon Osbourne]: ‘Robbie, I know you’ve got this gig with Scorpions, but could you consider coming over to do a thing with Ozzy and the guys, he’d love to see you.’”
Not wanting to cancel his commitment to Scorpions, but also eager to be present at Black Sabbath’s send-off, the two of them discussed solutions. Osbourne even offered to send a private jet, flying the band from Hanover to Birmingham in time: “My mind went to Phil Collins when he did Live Aid, where he got on the Concorde from London to Philadelphia to play two gigs in two places.”
However, Halford decided it was too risky. “Even with a private plane, there’s a word called ‘technical’, where something could go wrong, or the weather that time of year could cause problems… I was absolutely gutted.”
Although no current member of Judas Priest will be in attendance for Black Sabbath’s final farewell, former Priest guitarist K.K. Downing will be performing at the show. Halford adds: “All my mates are going to be there though, great bands and artists […] It’s a wonderful and epic moment for Sabbath and heavy metal – it re-emphasises that Birmingham is where metal came from.”
Read here for more about Black Sabbath’s ‘Back to the Beginning’ concert.
