“The strange thing is that you’re alive.” That’s what his family doctor told him a few decades ago. And rather than taking it easy on himself, Ozzy Osbourne has made frequent visits to the hospital since: a crash on an ATV that broke his collarbone, seven broken ribs, pneumonia, another accident that damaged his spine.. After canceling his No More Tours 2 tour four times (where he was due to perform with Judas Priest in Madrid on May 10) Ozzy Osbourne (Birmingham, England, age 74) has decided to retire from touring for good. today wednesday released a statement that begins: “It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans.” And he continues: “As you all know, four years ago I had a bad accident that damaged my spine. My only goal during that time was to return to the stage. My voice is fine. But after three surgeries, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions and most recently an innovative treatment, my body is still physically weak.”
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The musician admits in the text that he is “physically not ready to travel”. “I never thought my touring days would end like this,” he says. The craziest singer in heavy metal history (also the most charismatic) will no longer be performing anywhere in the world. In the letter, he puts aside hopes of seeing it live, although it’s currently a remote possibility: “My team is looking for ideas to be able to act without having to travel from city to city and country to country. “
In September 2022, Osbourne released his latest work, Patient Number 9, an excellent album collaborating with Eric Clapton, Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses), Robert Trujillo (Metallica) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Jeff Beck also puts his guitar in one of his last recordings since he passed away on January 11th. Another guest star on the album is Tony Iommi, his partner from the days of Black Sabbath, the group Osbourne started his career with.
Osbourne, who always replaced vocal power (he’s not Rob Halford, from Judas Priest, for example) with a very personal tone, was a fundamental part of the genesis of heavy metal; With albums like Blizzard of Ozz or Diary of a Madman he already made a fundamental contribution to the rise of hard rock in the eighties; and re-emerged as a television star and reality TV pioneer in the 2000s with The Osbournes.
Always with him since the 1980s was avid businesswoman Sharon Osbourne, his wife, his manager and his savior: it was she who rescued him from drug and alcohol addiction, which prompted his doctor to tell him: “The strange thing is that he lives you”. The singer, like other great rockers with a life of villainy (Keith Richards is one), always took his addiction with humor, leaving behind phrases celebrated by his followers like this: “After rehab, I took reform very seriously. I’ve lost a lot of weight. And I went to a plastic surgeon to have 44 of the 45 double chins removed. All he did was open a small hole, put a vacuum in it and suck out all the fat. It was great. Although I have to admit that I treated it partly with Demerol, which seemed to me to be the best drug there is.”
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