"The strange thing is that you are alive."
That was what his family doctor told him a couple of decades ago.
And instead of taking life easy, Ozzy Osbourne has since visited the hospital frequently: a fall on an
ATV
that broke his clavicle, seven broken ribs, pneumonia, another accident that damaged his spine. .. After canceling up to four times his tour
No More Tours 2
(where he was scheduled to perform with Judas Priest on May 10 in Madrid), Ozzy Osbourne (Birmingham, England, 74 years old) has decided to retire permanently from touring.
Today, Wednesday, he has published a statement that begins like this: "This is probably one of the most difficult things that I have had to share with my faithful followers."
And he continues: “As you all know, four years ago I had a serious accident in which I damaged my spine.
My only purpose during this time has been to return to the stage.
My voice is fine.
However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physiotherapy sessions and, most recently, an innovative treatment, my body is still physically weak.”
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The musician acknowledges in the text that he is not "physically prepared to travel".
"I never would have imagined that my touring days would end like this," he says.
The craziest singer in the history of
heavy metal
(also the most charismatic) will no longer go on stage around the world.
In the letter, he hopes to be able to see it live, although right now it is a remote possibility: "My team is looking for ideas to be able to act without having to travel from city to city and from country to country."
This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to share with my loyal fans… pic.twitter.com/aXGw3fjImo
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) February 1, 2023
In September 2022, Osbourne released his latest work,
Patient Number 9
, an excellent album with the collaboration of Eric Clapton, Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses), Robert Trujillo (Metallica) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
He also puts Jeff Beck's guitar in one of his last recordings, since he passed away on January 11.
Another of the guest stars on the album is Tony Iommi, his partner from the days of Black Sabbath, the group where Osbourne began his career.
Osbourne, who always replaced the vocal power (he is not, for example, Rob Halford, from Judas Priest) with a very personal tone, was a fundamental part in the creation of
heavy metal
;
already solo he contributed fundamentally to the rise of hard rock in the eighties with albums like
Blizzard of Ozz
or
Diary of a Madman;
and re-emerged in the 2000s as a television star and reality
TV pioneer
with
The Osbournes
.
Since the eighties he was always accompanied by the keen businesswoman Sharon Osbourne, his wife, his
manager
and his savior: she was the one who rescued him from drug addiction and alcoholism that led his doctor to tell him: "The strange thing is that you are alive."
The singer, like other great rockers with a rogue life (Keith Richards is one), always took his addictions with humor, leaving phrases celebrated by his followers like this: “After rehabilitation I took reform very seriously .
I lost a lot of weight.
And I went to a plastic surgeon to have 44 of the 45 double chins I had removed.
All he did was open a little hole, put in a vacuum cleaner and extract all the fat.
It was great.
Although I must admit that if I did it, it was, in part, to be treated with Demerol, which seemed to me the best drug that exists”.