He had a major accident four years ago that damaged his spine and resulted in a life-altering operation last year. Photo: TNS
The Prince of Darkness has high hopes that he will be able to have a last hurrah, in spite of his unstable health status.
In February, Ozzy Osbourne cancelled his spring tour stops in Europe while marking four years since a major accident that damaged his spine and resulted in a life-altering operation last year that removed and realigned pins in his neck and back. The former Black Sabbath frontman said that he was “not physically capable” of dealing with the gruelling travel that touring entails.
Osbourne announced in July that he was pulling out of headlining the Power Trip Festival, which would have seen him performing alongside co-headliners AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica.
He revealed in 2020 that he had Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that can cause slow movement, stiffness and loss of balance, among other issues. He told The LA Times in 2020 that he had been diagnosed with the disease in 2003 and that he was on medication to manage it
“I’m getting pissed off reading the papers, and they’re saying things like, ‘Ozzy is fighting his last battle.’ He’s sung his last Paranoid,” Osbourne told British Rolling Stone in a recent interview. “You know, I don’t even think about Parkinson’s that much.”
The 74-year-old said he’s now taking it “one day at a time” and hoping that he will one day be able to perform again, but has accepted the fact that he may never step on the stage again. Osbourne further clarified that he’d only get back on the stage if he could be his full self up there.
“I’m not going to get up there and do a half-hearted Ozzy looking for sympathy. What’s the f— point in that? I’m not going up there in a f— wheelchair,” he said. “I’ve seen Phil Collins perform recently, and he’s got virtually the same problems as me. He gets up there in a wheelchair! But I couldn’t do that.”
Osbourne expressed a longing to say thank you to his fans, whom he has viewed as his family for years, at least one last time.
“That’s one of the things I’ve been the most f— pissed off at: I never got the chance to say goodbye or thank you,” Osbourne said. “Because my fans are what it’s all about. If I can just do a few gigs. ... They’ve been loyal to me for f— years. They write to me, they know all about my dogs. It’s my extended family really, and they give us the lifestyle we have. For whatever reason, that’s my goal to work to. To do those shows... .
“If I can’t continue doing shows on a regular basis, I just want to be well enough to do one show where I can say, ‘Hi, guys, thanks so much for my life.’ That’s what I’m working towards, and if I drop down dead at the end of it, I’ll die a happy man.” – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
