Ozzy Osbourne eager to 'get back on stage' after announcing retirement from touring amid health issues
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ozzy Osbourne, who recently announced his retirement from touring, now wants to "get back on stage as soon as possible." The 'Black Sabbath' frontman recently underwent significant spinal surgery as a result of a fall he suffered at home in 2019, following which he had to cancel all his UK and Europe tours.
The Prince of Darkness was also diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years ago and was forced to retire. However, the 74-year-old promised that this would not be the last time we saw him perform and thanked fans for their support.
READ MORE
Is Ozzy Osbourne sick? Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend, 74, hints retiring from touring completely
Ozzy Osbourne wants to 'get back on stage as soon as possible'
"My fans. That's the thing that I really miss about not doing gigs," Ozzy told Billboard. "I'm a hands-on guy. I like talking to my fans. I miss them terribly. My goal is to get back on stage as soon as possible." During the interview, he also hinted that his children Kelly, Jack, and Amy Osbourne might follow him and his wife Sharon back to the UK. He further said, "Our kids are over here (in America) at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if they follow us back at some point."
This comes after the official cancellation of Ozzy's next European tour, which was originally slated for 2019 and then postponed three times. The tour was scheduled to begin in May 2023. His final performance was at Ozzfest in Inglewood in December 2018 as part of his farewell tour, No More Tours II.
Ozzy Osbourne's health battles
The last four years have seen Ozzy battling a series of health issues. However, his health troubles began back in 2003, when he met with a motorbike accident. The singer, who has every now and then asserted his "toughness," continued with his work, after checking himself out of the hospital. The injury came back to haunt him years later in 2019 when he fell down while trying to jump on his bed in the darkness and then fell on the floor, unable to move.
Recalling the 2019 accident, Ozzy had told Yahoo Entertainment that he knew he had landed "really badly." "I just laid there till the ambulance came," Ozzy told the publication. "It turned out that from the accident in 2003, I'd damaged my spinal column. It was pinching on my nerve. I had all these malfunctions. I was walking weird and whatever, but it was not from the Parkinson's - it turned out that I'd squashed the tube where spinal cord goes, and there was this pressure," Ozzy continued, adding that at this point he was advised by the doctor to undergo surgery, or he might become paralyzed neck down. He, however, blamed the surgeon for doing a bad job, as he was "crippled ever since" the surgery.
Apart from his spinal injury, Ozzy has also been suffering from Parkinson's disease. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer kept it under the wraps for as long as he could, and it was only in 2020, that he and his wife, Sharon Osbourne, broke the news. On June 9, 2022, the rocker had to undergo another major surgery, which he said came because his previous surgeon "f****d up." In an interview with Classic Rock, Ozzy said, "I can't walk properly these days. I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road."