BLACK SABBATH ended its nearly five-decade touring career Saturday night (February 3) with a two-hour concert at the NEC Arena in the band's hometown of Birmingham, England. The show at the NEC Arena saw the heavy metal legends play fifteen songs, including set closer "Paranoid". Ticker tape and balloons fell as SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne thanked fans for fifty years of support. "Thank you. Good night. Thank you so much," Osbourne said as he and his bandmates left the stage. Guitarist Tony Iommi gave a thumbs-up as he waved goodbye to the cheering crowd. SABBATH's official YouTube channel has now been updated with better-quality video footage of the final song of the band's concert and the subsequent bow. Check it out below. Iommi said last fall that he wouldn't rule out the possibility of doing one-off shows with SABBATH in the future. He explained: "I wouldn't write that off, if one day that came about. That's possible. Or even doing an album, 'cause then, again, you're in one place. But I don't know if that would happen." SABBATH's "The End" tour was its last because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time. He admitted: "It was only when I got ill, that's when I stated getting vulnerable. Before that, I could do anything… And they're going, 'You shouldn't be flying, really.' And, 'You shouldn't be doing this, you shouldn't be doing that.' So that's what brought that about — the end of this, really, because the constant touring does eventually get to you." SABBATH wrote and recorded its 2013 reunion album, "13", and toured it all over the world while Iommi was going through treatment for his illness, with the guitarist having to fly back to England every six weeks. Asked what he'll do after SABBATH, Iommi replied, "I'm wondering, because it's gonna be such a weird thing, because BLACK SABBATH's always been my life, ever since day one, and everything's fell by the wayside to BLACK SABBATH — all the marriages and everything — over the band, basically, because I'm always out working and always doing this, always in the studio. So it's gonna be pretty weird, that last show." The original lineup of SABBATH came together in 1969 with Osbourne on vocals, Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums. That lineup recorded and toured through 1978, and periodically reformed through the '90s and 2000s for live work. They regrouped again in late 2011 for a new album and tour, although Ward dropped out after just a few months. SABBATH has used singer Ozzy Osbourne's regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on "13", which came out in June 2013.
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