Eight Quid for a Pint? Black Sabbath Fans Get Absolutely Fleeced at Villa Park

By HOAR Team 5 July, 2025 6 mins read 105 Views

Right, so I thought I'd seen everything when it comes to concert rip-offs.

But then Black Sabbath's final Birmingham gig happened at Villa Park last weekend, and bloody hell – fans got absolutely hammered by the prices before they even heard a single note. We're talking £8 for a pint of lager. Eight pounds! For beer that probably costs them 50p to pour.

Hear the Summary

The Damage: A Breakdown That'll Make You Weep

My mate Dave texted me from inside the venue with a photo of the drinks menu. His message: "Already updating my overdraft limit." The man wasn't joking. Here's what Sabbath fans were facing:

Poretti lager came in at £8 a pint (£4 for a half, because apparently they're feeling generous). Somersby cider wasn't much better at £7. Want something stronger? A draught Rum Punch will set you back £13. Thirteen quid! For what's probably just cheap rum and fruit juice.

Even a bottle of water cost £3.50. Water. From a tap. In Birmingham.

Over in the Doug Ellis stand, they were charging £6.50 for Carlsberg, £7 for wine, and £7.50 each for gin and tonic or vodka lemonade. Because nothing says "metal" like overpriced G&Ts, right?

Food Prices That'd Make Gordon Ramsay Swear

The drinks were just the beginning of this financial nightmare.

A sausage roll – probably frozen and reheated – cost £5. A steaky pasty was £6.50. Yardbirds chicken and chips? £15. Fifteen pounds for what I'm guessing was three pieces of chicken and some chips that had been sitting under heat lamps since 2019.

They were charging £3.50 for a can of Coke, £2.50 for a chocolate bar, and £2.20 for a bag of Walkers crisps. You know, the same crisps that cost 80p at Tesco. Want a tea? That's £3.95. An espresso? £4.50.

I feel stupid now for thinking festival prices were bad.

Fans Lose Their Minds (Understandably)

The backlash was immediate and brutal. Social media exploded with fans calling it "festival-level rip-offs" and saying the prices "left a bad taste before the music even started." One gig-goer I spoke to put it perfectly: "I knew it'd be expensive but £8 for a pint and £7 for chips? That's taking the Mick."

Another fan summed up what everyone was thinking: "You expect a bit of markup, but this is madness. Ozzy's not the only one going out with a bang – so is my bank account."

Poor bastards had already shelled out hundreds for tickets to see their heroes' final performance, only to get absolutely mugged at the bar.

But Wait, There's More Financial Pain

This pricing disaster comes after the whole Comic Con Midlands controversy. Ozzy's charging £666 for his 'Ultimate Sin' VIP package – which gets you a group photo with the family. But here's the kicker: only two people per photo (unless you've got kids under 5).

Want an autograph? Extra. £225 for a book signing, £375 for a poster or album, and £750 if you want him to sign your guitar. Total damage: £1,416.

One fan's response said it all: "Laughable prices, genuinely laughable." Another joked: "Time to start selling me kidney."

The Bittersweet Reality

Look, despite the financial bloodbath, the atmosphere inside Villa Park was electric. This was history in the making – Birmingham's own heavy metal legends playing their final hometown gig together. Fans traveled from across the UK and beyond to witness this moment.

Ozzy, bless him, was upfront about his limitations. He admitted they'd only be playing "a couple of songs each" and called it "a sample." The man's been through hell with his health issues, so fair play to him for even showing up.

The lineup was stacked with legends – Metallica, Slayer, Pantera – all there to celebrate Sabbath's final bow. It was the kind of night that'll be talked about for decades.

But here's the thing: when you're charging working-class fans £8 for a pint at a metal gig in Birmingham – the birthplace of heavy metal – you're taking the absolute piss. These aren't corporate executives at a wine tasting. They're regular people who've saved up to see their heroes one last time.

The music might've been legendary, but the prices? That's just greed wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt.

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