As Black Sabbath wrapped up their final show, fans around the world were likely wondering: What were the band members thinking in those last moments on stage? After five decades of shaping the heavy metal genre, the emotions must have been overwhelming.
One of the biggest challenges of that final night was curating the setlist. With such a vast discography, how do you say goodbye in just a few songs? For Sabbath, the solution was to play their most definitive tracks—songs that not only defined the band but united the entire lineup.
Speaking to the LA Radio Sessions (via Blabbermouth), drummer Bill Ward gave insight into how those final tracks were chosen:
“I think it was a common denominator of what we thought we might be able to play. There was a couple of other songs that we tried. [It] didn’t quite work out. I can think it was [about] finding the most popular songs.”
Then Ward corrected himself slightly:
“Actually, popular is not a very good word, ’cause there’s probably a lot of songs that are popular. Definitive – yeah, let’s go with definitive, as being the most definitive songs that work for all of us, all of us being the bandmembers.”
While fans may have expected deeply sentimental reflections during the show’s closing moments, Ward revealed that his thoughts were far more practical at the time.
“My feeling, at that point, was really to get off the drum [riser]. Really, that’s what I was thinking about, and to see if Ozzy was okay. That’s what I was thinking about. And making sure Geezer and Tony are heads up. And then I wanted to see the audience, so I went out and I applauded the audience. So that’s what was on my mind.”
It’s a raw and honest reflection, showing that even after 50 years, live performance is about the team and the crowd—not just the symbolism.
As the show wrapped up in Aston, Ward’s focus shifted toward expressing gratitude to everyone who helped the band reach that historic milestone:
“I looked behind me, and my family was there, and I applauded my family and people that were around me on the stage. I had a lot of staff members there, and I applauded them. So it was about just basically honoring all the people that had been listening. That’s exactly what I was doing. It wasn’t really anything that was deeper or mature or anything.”
“I just wanted to say thanks to everybody. There was a lot of musicians there that I know, and I was applauding them as well. I love them very much. As you know, we’ve had our radio show for many, many years, so we’ve met a lot of artists.”
Rather than make the moment overly dramatic, Ward kept it grounded—focusing on connection, acknowledgment, and one final gesture of appreciation to fans and colleagues alike.
