Pioneering Musicians Black Sabbath Announce "The End"

Today pioneering band Black Sabbath announced a farewell tour kicking off January 20th, which will include several west coast mainland cities in February, as well as a return to the Asia Pacific, with dates in Australia and New Zealand in April. Both Black Sabbath and singer Ozzy Osbourne have previously launched farewell tours,  so you never know how things will actually end. HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence spoke with Black Sabbath founding guitarist Tony Iommi in November 2011 when they last reunited, and he shared a story of an amusing gig the band did in the company of British royalty.

 See the complete interview with Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, recorded Nov. 2011 at WNYC, New York:

This tour will continue a three-quarters original version of the band. While “The End” tour kicks off January 20, 2016, in Omaha, Nebraska, Ozzy Osbourne has famously done retirement tours dating back to 1992, only to return numerous times. Under the direction of his wife and manager, Sharon, he reunited the original Sabbath for a 1999 “farewell” tour, which they promptly followed up several times. In 2013, without original drummer Bill Ward, the trio released their first studio album together in decades, touring behind it, too. Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler in February will hit easy to reach mainland cities like Vancouver, LA & Vegas before heading to Australia and New Zealand for seven shows starting April 15 in Perth, moving on to most major cities down under. The dates announced so far are below, and more concerts will be announced next month. Could the Blaisdell get a show? We’ll have to see. Never Say Die, as Sabbath says.

North American Tour Dates
 

 
Australia/New Zealand Tour Dates