Though Ozzy Osbourne has retired from touring due to his ongoing health struggles, the heavy metal icon isn’t ready to relinquish his dream of returning to the stage.
“I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will,” Osbourne, 74, told Rolling Stone UK for the magazine’s December/January 2024 cover story. The Prince of Darkness retired in February, citing a “major accident” where he damaged his spine, and he told the publication that the months after have “been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life.”
He continued, “At the start of my illness, when I stopped touring, I was really pissed off with myself, the doctors, and the world. But as time has gone on, I’ve just gone, ‘Well, maybe I’ve just got to accept that fact.’”
Osbourne underwent surgery on his spine in September and hoped to tour again. The “Bark at the Moon” singer told Rolling Stone UK that if he can’t tour, he would still want one final performance where he could give back some love to the fans who have supported him.
“For whatever reason, that’s my goal to work to. To do those shows. If it’s at Ozzfest or somewhere, or even a f—ing gig at the Roundhouse,” said Osbourne. “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.”
In his February retirement announcement, Osbourne cited that his singing voice is “fine,” but after “three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernetics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak. … Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really F—KS ME UP, more than you will ever know.”
“Never would I have imagined my touring days would end like this,” he added. Seven months later, he gave an update that he’s doing another album — a follow-up to 2022’s Patient Number 9 — and would still want to “go back on the road.”
Osbourne has been struggling with his health since suffering a fall in 2019. The accident dislodged metal rods that had been inserted into his back after a 2003 quad bike crash (the same year that Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a battle he largely kept private until 2020.)
After the 2019 fall, he underwent corrective surgery but it went “drastically wrong” he told Rolling Stone UK. “Virtually left me crippled. I thought I’d be up and running after the second and third, but with the last one, they put a f—king rod in my spine. They found a tumor in one of the vertebrae, so they had to dig all that out too. It’s pretty rough, man, and my balance is all f—ked up.”
Despite these setbacks, the metal icon is still staying positive as he works to get back on stage. “I do count my lucky stars,” he says. “I don’t know why I’m still here, and I do sometimes think I’m on borrowed time.”
