Nearly two months after getting major neck and back surgery, Ozzy Osbourne, 73, made his first on-stage appearance on Monday, August 8. The legendary rocker performed at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in England with his former Black Sabbath bandmate, Tony Iommi, 74. Ozzy put on an incredible performance with Tony that made the crowd go absolutely wild. Yep, Ozzy’s back!
In a YouTube video taken of the performance, Ozzy and Tony tackled one of their band’s most popular songs of all time, that being the 1970 hit “Paranoid.” Ozzy dressed in his usual all-black attire, including a heavy jacket with a shirt underneath. The icon also donned dark makeup including eyeshadow that enhanced his rockstar persona. Ozzy’s son, Jack Osbourne, 36, celebrated his dad’s return to the stage on Instagram. Jack proudly shared photos from Ozzy’s performance, writing, “Dad and @tonyiommi closed out the #commonwealthgames2022🇬🇧tonight! 🤘👊.”
Ozzy’s career has been affected by his health issues, especially in the past few months. In May, he was photographed using a cane to walk and mentioned his mobility issues in an interview that month. “I can’t walk properly these days,” he told Classic Rock .“I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road.” He was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, and prior to that, he beat pneumonia and had a rough fall at home as he was healing that forced him to cancel his 2019 tour, titled No More Tours 2.
On June 13, Ozzy had a major operation on his neck and his back. His wife Sharon Osbourne, 69, said beforehand that the surgery, which supposedly removed and realigned pins in his neck and back, would “determine the rest of his life.” Luckily, the operation was a success and Ozzy left the hospital one day later, with Sharon by his side. Ozzy finally spoke out on June 15 and confirmed that he was “recuperating comfortably” at home. He also thanked his fans for their “thoughts, prayers and well wishes” during his recovery.