Ozzy Osbourne to undergo operation that will “determine the rest of his life”
The health update came from Sharon Osbourne, who is flying to Los Angeles ahead of the procedure
By Nick Reilly
Ozzy Osbourne is preparing to undergo a “very major operation” next week that will “determine the rest of his life”, his wife Sharon has confirmed.
The Black Sabbath frontman has been plagued by health issues over the last few years and confirmed his Parkinson’s diagnosis back in January 2020.
Speaking on UK chat show The Talk, Sharon explained that she would be flying to Los Angeles this weekend to be with Ozzy as he undergoes the unspecified procedure.
“[Ozzy] has a very major operation on Monday, and I have to be there,” she said. “It’s really going to determine the rest of his life.”
While the nature of the operation is yet to be revealed, Ozzy revealed last month that he is waiting for neck surgery because he “can’t walk properly these days”.
The neck issue, he told Classic Rock , stems from a major quad bike accident he experienced in 2003.
“I’m just waiting on some more surgery on my neck,” he said. “I can’t walk properly these days. 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.”
Asked if he thinks about his death, Ozzy said: “At fucking 73, I’ve done pretty well. I don’t plan on going anywhere, but my time’s going to come.”
Last month, Osbourne confirmed his new album will come out in September.
The former Black Sabbath frontman released his 12th studio effort, ‘Ordinary Man’, back in February 2020. In December 2021, Osbourne’s producer and guitarist Andrew Watt confirmed that the singer and his band were “about halfway through” recording its follow-up.
Osbourne has since contracted COVID-19, but in a recent interview on ‘The Graham Norton Radio Show’, Sharon confirmed that he was now doing “really, really good”.
“He’s finished another album which is coming out in September. And there we are,” she told Norton.
“He’s busy in the studio. He still does all his writing and singing, and it keeps him really happy… He’ll never stop singing and writing. We’ve built him a big studio here [at their house in the UK], so he can do it all at home. And he can’t wait to come back, to be honest with you.”
Speaking to Metal Hammer in 2021, Osbourne explained that his as-yet-untitled 13th record would be “similar in tone” to ‘Ordinary Man’ but said he “can’t describe it completely”.
“I’ve not heard it for a while because it keeps going over to the next person to add their parts – we’re fucking around with it all the time,” he told the outlet.