Music: Sabbath’s paranoid comeback

By Geezer Butler’s own admission the drama surrounding Black Sabbath’s original lineup reunion had turned it into a soap opera.

Their world tour had been called off after Tony Iommi was diagnosed with cancer. Certain elements of the band’s past had been glossed over on their new website. And to top it all, drummer Bill Ward wasn’t going to take part due to a contract dispute.

So when the band announced a warm-up homecoming show in Birmingham, for just 4000 people, it was too easy to get lost in the question of who’d be playing drums (it turned out to be Ozzy’s man Tommy Clufetos) and what might be said about Ward.

Slightly forgotten in the hype was the more important question: could Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath still deliver?

See what you think in this official clip from the May 19 show, as the band bow out with classic track Paranoid.