Sharon Osbourne has admitted she’s feeling ’emotional’ about husband Ozzy’s final gig but has said it’s time for the rock legend to ‘say goodnight’ to his fans as he battles Parkinson’s.
The musician, whose health has delayed he and wife Sharon’s move back to the UK, 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.
And it was revealed on Wednesday 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, bassist 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.
Sharon Osbourne has admitted she’s feeling ’emotional’ about husband Ozzy’s final gig but has said it’s time for the rock legend to ‘say goodnight’ to his fans as he battles Parkinson’s
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
On Thursday Sharon spoke on feeling ’emotional’ about the show in an interview with Radio X Classic Rock.
On how she feels about the upcoming gig she said: ‘Very emotional but very happy.
‘It’s time for Ozzy to say goodnight to everybody and what better way to do it than to do it surrounded by your friends, your family and back to the beginning, the place where he was born in Aston?’
Speaking of the star-studded line-up for the show which includes Metallica to Slayer, she added: ‘It’s heartwarming and to realise what great friends you’ve got.
‘And Ozzy is loved and by his peers and Sabbath. You know, Ozzy and Sabbath are loved and it’s fantastic.
‘It’s really a great feeling to think that all the years you’ve been in the industry and you’re still loved and relevant and, you know, people want to celebrate your body of work that you’ve done. And the fans, you know, it’s all about the fans too.’
Asked how he will be preparing for the show amid his health battles, she answered: ‘You know, Parkinson’s isn’t something that goes away. You have it forever. There’s no cure.
‘So he has battles with it where, you know, he has to work with the physical therapist every day. And, you know, he’s got to keep his muscles going, and he’s, you know, he’s. He’s fine. As fine as you can be with Parkinson’s, you know?’
Ozzy admitted he ‘can’t stand up right’ in a heartbreaking interview from less than a year ago – and fans are voicing concerns over the rocker’s health after he announced Black Sabbath’s final ever gig.
And it was revealed on Wednesday that his band is preparing to reunite for the first time in 20 years alongside a host of other big names
On how she feels about the upcoming gig Sharon said on Thursday: ‘Very emotional but very happy’
Speaking of the star-studded line-up for the show which includes Metallica to Slayer, she added: ‘It’s heartwarming and to realise what great friends you’ve got’
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.’
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.
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Ozzy Osbourne, 76, announces final Black Sabbath gig as band reunite for first time in 20 years
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.
‘[Sharon] said, ‘What are you doing that for! It’ll f****** kill you!’ I said, ‘How long do you want me to f****** live for?!”.
Going on to say: ‘At best, I’ve got ten years left and when you’re older, time picks up speed. Me and Sharon had our 41st wedding anniversary recently, and that’s just unbelievable to me!’.
Sharon, who shares three children with the star, described her husband’s numerous surgeries as ‘five years of heartache’.
‘I’ve just felt so helpless and so bad for Ozzy, to see him going through the pain. He’s gone through all these operations and the whole thing has felt like a nightmare’.
She continued: ‘He hasn’t lost his sense of humour, but I look at my husband, and he’s here while everyone else is out on the road. This is the longest time he hasn’t ever worked for. Being at home for so long has been so foreign to him’.
Ozzy also explained his previous devastation of being unable to do one last gig for his fans, after being forced to cancel his tour in 2023.
‘That’s one of the things I’ve been the most fucking pissed off at: I never got the chance to say goodbye or thank you’.
Before adding: ‘That’s my goal to work to. To do those shows. 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.’
Black Sabbath pictured in the 70s – L-R: (back) Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, (front) Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne – posed, group shot
Sharon, who shares three children with the star, has described her husband’s numerous surgeries as ‘five years of heartache’ (pictured 2017)
In October 2024, the Black Sabbath star joked: ‘I’m nearly f***ing dead!’ as he opened up about his health issues and the complication that causes him the most issues.
In an interview with The Sun, Ozzy revealed he hasn’t walked properly since he underwent a surgery after his fall in 2019.
The star went into more details as he revealed he tripped during a bathroom visit in the night and fell over and landed wrong.
He explained: ‘I went to the doctor’s and you assume everybody knows what they’re doing. My son Jack has a video of me going into surgery, saying, ‘I’ll see you in a few minutes’. I haven’t walked properly since.’
Ozzy confessed he believes too much blame for his predicament has been placed on his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
He argued: ‘I mean, when I came off the quad bike in 2003, I still did tours and I had Parkinson’s back then. It was THAT f*****g surgery.’
Sharon and Ozzy’s move back to the UK was delayed for months due to his various health struggles.
On a July 2023 episode of The Osbournes, which co-stars the couple’s kids Kelly and Jack Osbourne, Sharon said, ‘It just seems that every time we’re set to go [back to England], something happens with Ozzy’s health.’
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)
‘We’ll get there,’ Sharon said, adding, ‘We wanna go back so bad, but we’ll get there. Won’t we, Ozzy?’
The pair first announced their plans to relocate overseas, where they’re from, in August 2022 – and they finally became a reality in November 2023.
While many fans of the band are ecstatic and anxiously waiting to be able to try and get their hands on tickets, some have highlighted concerns over whether Ozzy will be well enough to perform.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, concerned fans said: ‘Wonder if this will really happened! Ozzy’s health hasn’t been that great! I hope so, though! Sure sounds cool!’;
‘The big question is will Ozzy make it to that stage? Hopefully they will make arrangements that make it easier and safe for him to perform with his health issues,’;
‘I hate to be that guy, but there’s no chance this actually happens right? Ozzy hasn’t performed in years due to his health and canceled multiple appearances/shows. Line-up is insane though lol,’;
‘Not that long ago, Ozzy barely could give an acceptance speech on the Rock And Roll HOF, while being seated. Really hoping that his health and condition improved since then. But that being said, hardly feasible that Ozzy will be in singing condition,’;
‘Considering Ozzy and Geezer’s health I fear this will end up being incredibly sad to go watch, I can’t see how Ozzy will be able to do a set at all,’;
‘Wondering how long Sabbath will play for with that amount of bands and with Ozzy’s health.’
Meanwhile readers echoed their sentiments as they said: ‘How can he do it? He has Parkinson’s both his movements and voice will be seriously impeded. Good luck to them but I think there will be a lot of backing support from sound engineers and singers,’;
‘Went to see them in Birmingham when the original line up got back together. What a fantastic night. Not sure if Oz can perform as he did back then, but if Jagger can still do it, why not.?’;
‘It wasn’t that long ago Sharon said her and Ozzy wanted to live back in the UK because of the Gun violence in America but said he wasn’t well enough to travel,sounds like a miracle has happened so let’s see if they come back now he seems healthier.’
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.
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.
Ozzy’s wife Sharon Osbourne 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.