Tony Iommi made a surprise guest appearance on stage at the Hippodrome in Birmingham on the opening night of Black Sabbath – The Ballet. Iommi contributed guitar to the evening’s final number, which features Sabbath’s evergreen Paranoid, and at the end took a bow with the cast and crew. “I’m honoured to be involved with these talented dancers,” Iommi said, “[but] I’m afraid I won’t be joining every performance.” The show was also attended by Geezer Butler, Sharon Osbourne, Robert Plant and Bev Bevan.
Sharon Osbourne later commented: “Who would have ever thought the combination? This is just so out-there that it’s wonderful.”
Sharon is working on a museum of Ozzy Osbourne memorabilia in Birmingham that will include “all of Ozzy’s awards, his stage clothes, posters, old posters from Earth days”.