Why Robert Plant Decided Not to Attend Back to the Beginning

Robert Plant turned down an invitation to be part of Back to the Beginning, a farewell concert for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath held in Birmingham, England on July 5.

Reason Robert Plant Declined Back to the Beginning Invite

Plant recently spoke with Mojo, where he revealed that Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi invited him to attend Back to the Beginning at VIlla Park in Birmingham. The event was headlined by Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s final shows.

Osbourne died weeks later at the age of 76.

READ MORE: When the Back to the Beginning Concert Film Will Be in Theaters

Additional acts, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Slayer, played before Ozzy and Sabbath took the stage. Plant did not say whether he was asked to perform during Back to the Beginning, only that he was invited by Iommi to “attend.”

“I said, Tony, I’d love to come, but I can’t come,” Plant told Mojo. “I just can’t. I’m not saying that I’d rather hang out with Peter Gabriel or Youssou N’Dour, but I don’t know anything about what’s going on in the world now, at all.”

The Led Zeppelin singer stressed that it was nothing personal and that he was all for the concept of Back to the Beginning.

“I don’t decry it, I’ve got nothing against it,” Plant said in the interview. “It’s just I found these other places that are so rich.”

Robert Plant Set For Tour, New Album

Plant is currently doing press in anticipation of his new album, Saving Grace, which is set to be released on Sept. 26. He also released the first single from the album, a cover of Minnesota indie rock band Low’s “Everybody’s Song.”

A tour will follow the album’s release. Plant will get things started Oct. 30 at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Robert Plant 2025 U.S. Tour

Oct. 30 – Wheeling, W. Va. @ Capitol Theatre
Nov. 2 – Charlottesville, Va. @ The Paramount Theater
Nov. 3 – Washington, D.C. @ Lincoln Theatre
Nov. 5 – New York, N.Y. @ Brooklyn Paramount
Nov. 6 – Boston, Mass @ Boch Center Shubert Theatre
Nov. 8 – Port Chester, N.Y. @ The Capitol Theatre
Nov. 10 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
Nov. 12 – Chicago, Ill. @ The Vic Theatre
Nov. 13 – Chicago, Ill. @ Old Town School of Folk Music
Nov. 15 – Denver, Colo. @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Nov. 18 – Seattle, Wash. @ The Moore Theatre
Nov. 19 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Vogue Theatre
Nov. 21 – Oakland, Calif. @ Fox Theater
Nov. 22 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The United Theater on Broadway.

Ticket information for the shows is available via Plant’s official website.