Is Ozzy Osbourne Retiring? Everything the Rocker Has Said About His Final Shows
The iconic musician has been open with the public about his ongoing Parkinson’s Disease battle in recent years. Amid his ongoing health matters, here is what to know about Ozzy’s plans to retire.
Ozzy Osbourne, 75, is a household name for music lovers. From his time with Black Sabbath to his solo career, it’s no surprise that decades later Ozzy still has a strong fan base. The now 75-year-old has an impressive Grammy Awards list with a total of five wins and 12 nominations. However, aside from his successful career in heavy metal music, Ozzy has also claimed his fame with his A-lister family and former reality show.
The “Crazy Train” singer has been married to his wife, Sharon Osbourne, since 1982 and together they have welcomed three children. Additionally, Ozzy is a proud father to three other kids from prior relationships. Most recently, he gushed over Sharon during a January 2024 episode of their podcast, The Osbournes Podcast. Following the recent episode, below is everything to know about the future of Ozzy’s career amid his ongoing health issues.
Is Ozzy Osbourne Retiring?
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
Sharon sparked speculation that her husband has plans to retire after she made comments about his final shows during her Cut The Crap tour in January 2024. The 71-year-old confirmed that Ozzy has two farewell shows planned in Birmingham, UK amid his health battles. “He won’t tour again but we are planning on doing two more shows to say goodbye as he feels like ‘I have never said goodbye to my fans and I want to say goodbye properly,’” she said, per Rolling Stone UK.
At the time, she also assured Ozzy’s fans that his voice is still “perfect” despite his health troubles. “We will do it in Aston Villa where Ozzy is from. His voice is still absolutely perfect,” Sharon explained. “And all the time he has been off he still does his singing lessons so his voice is perfect. And he can joke yeah. He has all these melodies in his head. Even if you don’t like his music you can’t not like Ozzy, he just draws you in.” Despite the confirmation of the goodbye shows, an official date has not been announced.
Ozzy Osbourne’s Health
Ozzy’s final shows announcement comes amid his battle with Parkinson’s disease and more. The Grammy-winner and his wife revealed his battle with Parkinson’s at the top of 2020. Additionally, Ozzy suffered a fall in 2019 that re-injured a prior back injury he had from 2003. Ozzy opened up to Rolling Stone UK in 2023 about his back surgery and seemingly hinted at his retirement.
“It’s really knocked me about,” he said at the time. “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 fucking 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***** up.”
What Ozzy Osbourne Has Said About His Career
The 2024 announcement from Sharon is not the first time that Ozzy’s retirement has been brought up. In fact, the took to X (Twitter) in January 2023 to confirm that his touring days were behind him. “My one and only purpose has been to get back on stage,” Ozzy explained in regards to his back injuries. “My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) treatment, my body is still physically weak.”
Ozzy was set to begin touring Europe and the UK in May 2023, however, he admitted that he could no longer perform. “Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way,” he added in the same tweet. “My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country.” He also admitted that the somber news f**** me up, more than you will ever know.”
Most recently, Ozzy admitted to Rolling Stone UK that he has “at best” another decade of life left in him. “I don’t fear dying, but I don’t want to have a long, painful and miserable existence,” he told the mag in 2023. “I like the idea that if you have a terminal illness, you can go to a place in Switzerland and get it done quickly. I saw my father die of cancer.”
He even joked about Sharon’s efforts to keep him healthy. “But look, I said to Sharon that I’d smoked a joint recently and she said, ‘What are you doing that for! It’ll f****** kill you!’ I said, ‘How long do you want me to f****** live for?!’ At best, I’ve got ten years left and when you’re older, time picks up speed,” Ozzy said. “Me and Sharon had our 41st wedding anniversary recently, and that’s just unbelievable to me!”