Ozzy Osbourne has given a health update on Monday after announcing his final Black Sabbath gig will take place later this year.
The musician has undergone seven surgeries in the past five years, including a fourth spinal surgery in September 2023, and has been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2003.
Ahead of his final live performance in July, which will be a benefit concert in Birmingham, Ozzy gave an update on his health status and state of mind.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard, he said: ‘You know what, I go on about the way I can’t walk and I can’t do this, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all of my complaining, I’m still alive.’
He continued: ‘I may be moaning about how I can’t walk as well but as I look down the road, there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me, and they didn’t make it.’
‘I’m trying to get back on my feet.’
Ozzy Osbourne has given a health update on Monday after announcing his final Black Sabbath gig will take place later this year
The musician has undergone seven surgeries in the past five years, including a fourth spinal surgery in September 2023, and has been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2003; pictured in 2022
Host Billy Morrison added: ‘Ozzy, you are so much better than you were just a year ago.’
He replied: ‘Yeah, but the recovery is very slow. That f***ing surgeon. Plus the Parkinson’s. When you get up in the morning, you just jump outta bed. Oh I have to balance myself, you know? But you know, I’m not ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, as you say. I’m still actively doing things.’
It was revealed last week that his band is preparing to reunite for the first time in 20 years alongside a host of other big names.
The original line-up of heavy metal legends Black Sabbath will play together at a one-off concert in Birmingham, UK, this summer.
The show will take place on July 5 at the birthplace of the band and will feature Ozzy, 76, Tommy, bᴀssist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.
However, it came as an unexpected move as in a March 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, Ozzy admitted he wasn’t optimistic about being on stage again.
When quizzed on the possibility, he responded: ‘I would love to, but I can’t stand up right. Maybe I’ll do something one day. I miss it terribly.’
The star was then asked if he would consider doing ‘ a short set if inducted into the Rock Hall,’ to which he responded: ‘Maybe. We’ll see.’
Ahead of his final live performance in July, which will be a benefit concert in Birmingham, Ozzy gave an update on his health status and state of mind
He said: ‘You know what, I go on about the way I can’t walk and I can’t do this, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all of my complaining, I’m still alive’; pictured with Sharon in 2017
‘When you get up in the morning, you just jump outta bed. Oh I have to balance myself, you know? But you know, I’m not ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, as you say. I’m still actively doing things’; pictured 1993
The British musician was diagnosed with a mild form of Parkinson’s disease in 2003, however he only went public with the condition in 2020.
However, Ozzy has said that his biggest struggles are due to a fall which he suffered in 2019 which caused metal rods in his back to dislodge.
The rods had been put there following a quad bike accident at his Buckinghamshire home in 2003.
He told Rolling Stone UK magazine: ‘The second surgery went drastically wrong and 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*ing rod in my spine.
‘They found a tumour 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*ed up.’
The Prince of Darkness also said how he has ‘ten tears left’ to live as he recalled a disagreed with his wife over smoking cannabis.
Ozzy’s wife Sharon was at the announcement of the new show at Birmingham’s Villa Park, the concert venue, on Wednesday alongside the band’s guitarist Tony Iommi.
Sharon proudly held up a Villa football shirt with Ozzy’s name on the back as she posed pitchside.
Black Sabbath pictured in the 70s – L-R: (back) Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, (front) Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne – posed, group sH๏τ
The British musician was diagnosed with a mild form of Parkinson’s disease in 2003, however he only went public with the condition in 2020 (pictured 2014)
The group pioneered heavy metal music in the early 1970s with hits such as War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man.
Since their last gig together in 2005, Black Sabbath has played in partial reunions but never in their original line-up.
Sharon, who shares three children with the star, has also admitted the show will be a testing experience for the star.
She told The Sun: ‘He’s very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease.
‘It’s not something you can stabilise. It affects different parts of the body and it’s affected his legs. But his voice is as good as it’s ever been.’
Profits from the show will be shared equally between the charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, with the Parkinson’s charity being selected by Sharon and Ozzy.
What is Parkinson’s ?
Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative condition. The illness effects the nerve cells in the brain that control movement.
Over time the symptoms gradually get worse. It can cause symptoms related to movement as well as pain, depression and loss of smell.
Most people who get Parkinson’s are over 60, but one in ten are under 50 and it affects more men than women.
What causes the symptoms?
Nerve cells in the brain send messages to the rest of out body to control our movements. This is done using chemicals called neurotransmitters.
An area of the brain called the substantia nigra produces one of the neurotransmitters that controls movement: dopamine. But in 70 to 80 per cent of people with Parkinson’s these dopamine producing cells deteriorate and die.
The loss of dopamine-producing neurons results in low levels of dopamine in the part of the brain that controls movement and balance.
Source: Parkinson’s Europe
