The recording equipment which includes a microphone, two revox tape machines and a part of a mixing desk will be on display on the 4th and 6th of July, either side of their final show in Birmingham. The recording kit on display was used to create Black Sabbath's first studio album in 1970, including the microphone Ozzy Osbourne first recorded through. The mixing desk used in Black Sabbath's first recording session will be exhibted to coincide with their final show in their hometown. John Mostyn is organising the display in Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens, he says that the exhibition will reflect the birth of heavy metal music in the city.
The rediscovered items are on loan from Johnny Haynes, who formally owned and ran Zella Studio in Birmingham, the studio where the original recordings were made. Mr. Haynes told the BBC that "We had an excellent demo session, organised by Big Bear Music, and the resultant recordings were well received,", however when the band moved to London, they were spoiled for options when it came to recording studios. Even though the band had a multitude of recording studios to choose from, the band felt that they did not create the same sound and shortly returned to Zella Studios. Mr Haynes ran Zella Studios for thirty years and describes himself as being "in the right place at the right time" as he was there for the recordings of Back Sabbaths first tracks, a band commonly known to be the pioneers of heavy metal music. Eventually Zella Studios was relocated to Walker Hall studio which ran until 1995, after this the equipment was put into storage and remained there until now. This is the first time that fans will be able to come close to this historic music equipment, it is also suspected that some music industry characters will be in attendance for the display, including Mr Johnny Haynes.
Black Sabbath are set to take the stage one last time on the 5th of July at Aston Villa Football Club's Villa Park stadium, the band have not been on stage together in two decades. There will also be perfomances from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tool, and Slayer, among others, and a short solo set by Ozzy Osbourne. Their final gig will also be live streamed worldwide due to the tickets being in high demand. Their hometown show, with the original line up were snatched up in 16 minutes. Fans were able to buy live-stream tickets for £24.99, although these tickets do come with a two hour delay from the start in the arena.
Black Sabbath memebers also have shared their concerns for their last ever perfomance due to Osbourne's parkinson's diagnosis, as Black Sabbath guaitarist Tony Lommi admits "he doesn't know what's going to happen" when Osbournes gets back on stage. He goes on to say that he is worried for the unknown amidst Osbournes health struggles. Despite these health concerns, Ozzy told the Guardian, 'I’ll be there, and I’ll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.' All profits from ther final show will go to charities including Cure Parkinson's and Birmingham Children's Hospital.
