Triumph and defeat after Black Sabbath ticket sale

Excitement for Black Sabbath's reunion gig is spreading after tickets went on general sale.

Fans who managed to secure tickets in the scramble were celebrating on Friday, while those less fortunate tried not to feel too "paranoid".

The show at Villa Park in Birmingham in July is now a sell-out, and will mark the first time Sabbath's original line-up - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - have played together in 20 years.

That, plus the claim it will be the band's final show, and a bill also featuring Metallica and Pantera, means Sabbath's homecoming gig is likely to go down in rock 'n roll history.

But that might be salt in the wound for those who missed out earlier - they reported heavy weather rather than heavy metal.

Tickets ranged from about £200 into the thousands and those in the market for them included super-fan Alex Woodford who told the BBC the day before he would be willing to spend £2,000 to get himself and his brother to the show.

He ended up spending nothing. At one point he was 66,000th in the virtual ticket queue but vowed to stay to the bitter end.

"I got stuck on about 53,000 for ages," he said, "then all of a sudden it went down to [just] 40-something and quicker from there.

"Eventually there was one person in font of me but by the time I got in, everything was sold out, even the super-expensive VIP-type tickets were gone.

"It wasn't meant to be this time." He went on to say he was "gutted".

Fan Emily Pywell, from London, said she was trying to get tickets for her and her boyfriend, Brandon Hall.

The pair had tickets to Osbourne's last solo tour No More Tours II, which was cancelled in 2023.

She said: "It's just disappointing for the actual fans that want to (go), that have tried to see them for years, and have lucked out to touts and potentially not as big fans, people that are just going for the experience."

The 29-year-old said it would be her partner's "last chance" to see the singer.

Speaking about her ticket-buying experience, she added: "We had a bigger number in the queue than we'd had during the pre-sales and the rest of the week, [we] only just really got through just now, like two hours after.

"It's who can refresh the fastest and click on it the fastest, it's not really a fair system on Ticketmaster."

She said on Tuesday, the seating map would not load - and when she contacted Ticketmaster on X, she was told to refresh the page only to be kicked to the back of the queue.

"Yesterday, I was clicking on seats that are available, but it wasn't selecting them, even though I was clicking on them, so I wasn't able to do it then.

"And then today, it's just doing the same, you're just trying to click on them, and it won't select them, or it'll come up saying someone else has already bought them."

Ms Pywell now faces a battle to get hotel bookings refunded, after sorting them in advance.

Ticketmaster has been contacted for a comment.

Others, though, had better luck.

Simon Humphreys, from Stourbridge in Dudley, who has an Ozzy tattoo, managed to get two hospitality tickets for £1,088.

He explained: "I said to my missus, this is your birthday, Valentine's, Christmas all done this year - and she's not even into rock or metal."

Elsewhere, fans Lauren and James Ashton, from Curdworth in Warwickshire, have been feeling excited.

They managed to get tickets on Thursday during a pre-sale event, thereby avoiding Friday's queue, although Mr Ashton joined it for a time just to gauge demand.

"I couldn't believe it really," he said. "We logged in and saw we were 77,000. So I don't think we wold have stood much chance."

Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who is serving as the 5 July event's musical director, said it would be "the greatest heavy metal show ever".

Proceeds will support Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Acorn Children's Hospice, a charity supported by Aston Villa.

Other acts on the line-up include Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Lamb Of God and Mastodon.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council said it would explore ways to ensure it is an event to remember.

When asked by the BBC about the prospect of fan zones and big screens in the city, council leader John Cotton said: "There are lots of discussions ongoing at the moment, and we will certainly be announcing some stuff.

"I think it's going to be a great moment for the city - as Ozzy says 'Birmingham forever'."

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