The band's frontman said he was devastated he couldn't fulfil upcoming UK and European dates due to long-running problems with his spine.

Fans will now be able to get a slightly different fix of the band's music when Black Sabbath - The Ballet debuts at the Birmingham Hippodrome in September.

The ballet's artistic director says it will be the "next best thing" following Osbourne's announcement.

Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man are among eight of the rockers' songs that will be re-orchestrated and it will also include new and archive material.

The 90-minute show has been commissioned for the Birmingham Royal Ballet and director Carlos Acosta said Osbourne had given his blessing, while former guitarist Tony Iommi is also involved.

Acosta said: "He [Iommi] saw that it was just a wonderful thing to explore that sound into a ballet, and his enthusiasm for this piece was contagious.

"And that gave me a lot of strength to carry on because, obviously, we needed the validation of the band for this."

Iommi said he is looking forward to how the show develops.

"I'd never imagined pairing Black Sabbath with ballet but it's got a nice ring to it," he said.

"I've met with Carlos several times and his enthusiasm is infectious.

"I performed alongside some of the dancers at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and they had an incredible energy, so I'm happy to go along for the ride with them and see you on the other side."

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The hope is that the band will be involved with the show, with potential for newly-recorded interviews with its members.

Black Sabbath are considered one of the greatest hard rock groups of all time and formed in 1969 with bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward alongside Osbourne and Iommi.

Performances will run from 23 to 30 September at Birmingham Hippodrome, with further dates in Plymouth and London this autumn.