Ozzy Osbourne has said he “can’t walk” in a new interview about Black Sabbath‘s final show, with his wife and manager Sharon assuring that his illness “doesn’t affect his voice”.
On Wednesday (February 5) it was confirmed that the legendary heavy metal band would be reuniting for one last gig at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham on Saturday July 5.
The concert will see the group’s most iconic line-up – comprising frontman Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – play live together for the first time in two decades.
Dubbed ‘Back To The Beginning’, the massive event is also set to play host to appearances from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Tom Morello, Alice In Chains, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst and many more.
Osbourne – who is living with Parkinson’s disease and has had various health issues in recent years, stemming from multiple surgeries – spoke about his current condition on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard this week.
“I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays For all my complaining, I’m still alive,” he said. “I may be moaning that I can’t walk, but I look down the road, and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”
However, when speaking to NME alongside Iommi at Villa Park this week, Sharon explained that her husband was doing “really great” at the moment. She told us that Ozzy was feeling “very emotional” about the final Sabbath show, and that it was “what he wants”.
“He wants to say thank you to everybody,” Sharon continued. “He didn’t have that chance because of his illness, but now he does have the chance.”
Speaking further about Ozzy’s health, she added: “He’s got Parkinson’s, which we all know, but he’s great and it doesn’t affect his voice.” Iommi then told NME that the Sabbath gig would “do him good”, explaining: “That’s what it’s all about: he wants to get out and do something.”
Sharon said: “He feels like he’s never had a chance to thank the fans; to say ‘thank you for this unbelievable life’.”
Meanwhile, she told The Sun: “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.”
Elsewhere in NME‘s interview, Sharon said that the concert would be “just about celebrating the old music that still lives on” rather than Black Sabbath releasing any new material.
“You get to a stage in your career where whatever you do just doesn’t stand up to what you did before,” she told NME. “To be able to rest on your laurels and stay, ‘People still love that and it’s still selling and we can’t do better than what we’ve done’, that’s enough.”
She also described the one-off date as “a celebration – of the genre and the pioneers who started it and passed it on to all these bands”. She said: “Usually this thing is done when you’re dead – so it’s nice that these guys can be alive to be appreciated!”
Discussing the star-studded line-up, Sharon commented: “Can you imagine the photo at the end of it with all of these guys together? One mass of icons together out here. That ending photo will be incredible and it will go down in history.”
All profits from Sabbath’s final show will go to charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice – a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa. Sharon told NME that these were “really great causes” to be helping.
The gig will also feature performances from Gojira, Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan, Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and KoRn. As well as playing live, former Rage Against The Machine member Morello will serve as musical director of the concert.
- Read More: Ozzy Osbourne: a rock’n’roll showman like no other
“He is so knowledgeable on all different genres of music, but especially Sabbath,” Sharon told NME of the guitarist’s involvement. He’s really passionate about everything he does and is such a great mate.
“He volunteered and the stuff that he’s managing to put together has been amazing. He’s going to take care of all the different bands that are playing together and arranging who does what song. It’s a huge undertaking, and he can manage it all.”
Read NME‘s full interview with Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi here. Tickets for ‘Black Sabbath – Back To The Beginning’ go on general sale at 10am GMT next Friday (February 14) –you’ll be able to buy yours here.
In other news, Sabbath members Iommi and Butler have both shared statements about the upcoming reunion on social media.
Sharon had previously revealed that Ozzy was planning “two more shows to say goodbye” before he fully retired. Around the same time, the Prince Of Darkness told fans he was going through a “slow recovery” process following spinal surgery.
This came after the frontman explained that he may have to “accept the fact” that a live comeback would not be possible due to issues such as his battle with Parkinson’s disease and recovery from multiple surgeries.
Last year, however, Ozzy said he would “jump at the chance” to play a final Black Sabbath show with co-founding drummer Bill Ward. Butler also hinted that he and Osbourne had already “agreed” to play one last concert together.
Then, in July, Ward responded to the rumours of him rejoining Sabbath for a farewell performance: “I’m in for playing some of everyone’s old favourites. Loved playing them then, I’d love to play them one last time.” Iommi posted a new photograph of him and Ward together in September.
Black Sabbath played the final show of their farewell tour back in 2017, wrapping up the trek in Birmingham.
But Ozzy recently admitted he was somewhat disappointed that the last date they played didn’t include Bill Ward. The drummer had parted ways with the band in 2012, due to what he claimed was an “unreasonable contract”.
Ozzy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist last October. The ceremony saw a star-studded cast of performers pay tribute to the legendary singer and his career.
