Sharon Osbourne shares health update on hubby Ozzy before last Black Sabbath gig
Sharon Osbourne has given a concerning update on her husband Ozzy's health as Black Sabbath gears up for their final performance at Villa Park today.
The band, widely recognised as the pioneers of heavy metal music, could be performing for the last time due to 76 year old Ozzy's deteriorating health.
Sharon, who also manages Ozzy, had previously told him that his 2019 tour would be his swansong.
This was particularly pertinent as he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease midway through the tour.
Ozzy attributed an intermittent numbness in his leg to years of drug abuse and excessive drinking, reports Birmingham Live.
The European leg of the tour was postponed to allow Ozzy to recuperate at home. However, disaster struck when Ozzy "stupidly" decided to try "diving into bed".
The rockstar hadn't turned his light on and mistakenly thought he knew where his bed was, resulting in him crashing onto the floor.
According to Sharon, this accident exacerbated an old quadbike injury that Ozzy sustained in 2003.
He was rushed to intensive care and informed that he would need surgery or risk becoming paraplegic.
Ozzy described it as the "worst f***ing surgery you can imagine" and now regrets not seeking a second opinion on his injuries.
The operation involved placing two metal plates on either side of Ozzy's spine, but the screws soon became loose, causing lesions and bone fragments.
"They still haven't found out the damage, it's so intricate," Sharon Osbourne revealed about her husband Ozzy's health struggles. She shared that they found another surgeon who worked to remove all of the metal from Ozzy's spine.
She continued: "Five operations later, it just f***ed his body. It was torturous for him: Parkinson's and damage to his spine. It's just been horrendous."
Despite his health issues, Ozzy has remained active in his career. He released the critically-acclaimed album Ordinary Man in 2020 and followed it up with Patient Number 9 in 2022.
In 2022, he performed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham alongside his Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi. However, the legendary frontman had to have a bracket supporting his back throughout the performance.
Known for his wild on-stage antics, including biting the head off a bat, Ozzy admitted he was at his lowest, "praying to die in his sleep" when Sharon suggested reuniting the original Sabbath line-up for a final gig. She also wanted to bring together bands that had been inspired by them.
Ozzy and Tony formed Black Sabbath along with drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler in 1968. Some of the biggest names in rock, including Guns 'n' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer, Alice in Chains, and Van Halen, signed up to play the gig, having been inspired by Sabbath.
With Metallica, Rage Against the Machine and members of Judas Priest joining the billing, the all-day show has been hailed by some as the greatest ever heavy metal line-up of all time.
When discussing their upcoming performance, Sabbath members had mixed expectations. Tony Iommi joked that Ozzy Osbourne will probably be "sitting on a throne," while Ozzy himself predicted it might just be a "couple of songs" from both the band and his solo ventures.
Ozzy admitted, while he's tempted to use the phrase "never say never", this concert signifies the curtain call for a career that has stretched over fifty years of touring. Sharon Osbourne added lightheartedly that the couple plans to "get some ponies and chickens" and settle into a peaceful retirement in their Buckinghamshire home post-tour.
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'We were meant to be together, looking back, we were meant to be.' He gushed: 'Sharon is like my soulmate, sometimes I love her, sometimes I don't love her, sometimes I'm angry with her, sometimes I'm crazy about her, sometimes I'm very jealous of her, sometimes I want to f**king kill her. 'But through it all, at the end of the day, I love her more than anything in the world. I couldn't live without her, I wouldn't want to live without her. My love for her is bigger than it's ever been, we've had a rocky road.' The couple have had many marital difficulties over the years from infidelity to illness but remained together through it all, with Ozzy praising his wife for staying by his side through his health woes. 'These last five years have been hell and I've been a pain in the arse trying to recover but my family have been so f**king wonderful,' he said last year. 'My wife has worked her arse off trying to help me get back on my feet, and my kids have been great as well.' Ozzy underwent seven surgeries over the past five years, including a fourth spinal operation in 2023, and had battled Parkinson's disease since 2003 - though he only publicly revealed his diagnosis in 2020. Ozzy and Sharon tied the knot on July 4, 1982, in Hawaii and welcomed three children during their marriage - Aimee, 41, Kelly, 40, and Jack, 39. They documented their family life throughout the 2000s on their reality TV show, The Osbournes, though their eldest daughter Aimee chose not to feature on the series. Ozzy supported Sharon through her battle with colon cancer in July 2002, when she underwent surgery to remove a large portion of her colon. Thankfully, Sharon was given the all-clear and has remained cancer free ever since, though she underwent a preventative double mastectomy after learning a genetic mutation raised her risk of developing the disease. But one of the couple's most trying moments in their marriage was when Sharon discovered Ozzy had been having an affair with his hair stylist Michelle Pugh in 2016. The distraught music manager struggled to cope with the devastating news and it drove her to take a drug overdose before she walked out on their decades-long marriage. However, she publicly forgave him months later, admitting she was still in love with him and couldn't imagine her life without him, so was working to rebuild their trust. Ozzy later shared his deep regret for cheating on his wife and voiced his sadness over almost losing her because of his 'outrageous' actions. 'I've done some pretty outrageous things in my life. I regret cheating on my wife. I don't do it anymore,' he told British GQ. 'I got my reality check and I'm lucky she didn't leave me. I'm not proud of that. I was pissed off with myself. But I broke her heart.' In Ozzy's final years of life, Sharon remained steadfastly by his side and nursed him through several major health issues, including his Parkinson's struggles. Sharon appeared by his side at his Back To The Beginning concert on July 5, which saw Ozzy take to the stage for one last time for his farewell show. It was also the last time that Ozzy performed with his Black Sabbath bandmates since 2005, with thousands of fans flocking to Birmingham's Villa Park for the concert. Ozzy had planned to keep recording music after retiring from live performing, but less than three weeks after his last show, his family announced the sad news of his death, sending the music world into mourning. In a statement on Tuesday July 22, his family said: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.'
