Ozzy Osbourne has revealed that he may never perform live again after a long string of medical procedures and surgeries.
In September, the former Black Sabbath frontman underwent what he said would be his “final surgery” after he had suffered a fall in 2019, which dislodged metal rods that were put into his body after a quad bike crash in 2003.
Now, the iconic metal singer has revealed in a new interview with Rolling Stone UK that though he hopes to return to the stage again one day, he might have to “accept the fact” that he might never get the chance to do so.
“I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will,” he said. “But it’s been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life. 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 continued: “I’m not going to get up there and do a half-hearted Ozzy looking for sympathy. What’s the fucking point in that? I’m not going up there in a fucking wheelchair. 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.”
The Prince of Darkness went on to say that one of his biggest regrets is that he never got “the chance to say goodbye or thank you” to his fans. “Because my fans are what it’s all about. If I can just do a few gigs… They’ve been loyal to me for fucking 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 it’s at Ozzfest or somewhere, or even a fucking gig at the Roundhouse!
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Ozzy concluded: “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 July Ozzy provided a health update after cancelling his headlining slot at the Power Trip festival next month. “Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I’m just not ready [to perform] yet and I am much too proud to have the first show that I do in nearly five years be half-assed,” he wrote in a statement.
Ozzy Osbourne had announced his retirement from touring in February, calling off his scheduled European and UK tour dates in the process. Later that month, however, he said that he hoped to return to the stage at some point in the future.