Ozzy Osbourne on returning to touring: ‘If I can perform again, I will’
The icon tells Rolling Stone UK that he has "just got to accept" that he may not be able to play live again.
Ozzy Osbourne has spoken to Rolling Stone UK about the potential of performing live again: “If I can perform again, I will,” he said.
At the start of the year, the icon cancelled UK gigs and announced his retirement from touring after undergoing spinal surgery in 2022 to treat an underlying issue that had continued to plagued him since a quad biking accident in 2003.
“Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way,” he said, adding: “Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really FUCKS ME UP, more than you will ever know.”
Osbourne is one of three cover stars for Rolling Stone UK’s new Awards Issue, and told us: “I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will. But it’s been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life. At the start of my illness, when I stopped touring, I was really pissed off with myself, the doctors, and the world. But as time has gone on, I’ve just gone, ‘Well, maybe I’ve just got to accept that fact.’
He added: “I’m not going to get up there and do a half-hearted Ozzy looking for sympathy. What’s the fucking point in that? I’m not going up there in a fucking wheelchair. I’ve seen Phil Collins perform recently, and he’s got virtually the same problems as me. He gets up there in a wheelchair! But I couldn’t do that.”
At last week’s first Rolling Stone UK Awards in collaboration with Rémy Martin at London’s Roundhouse, Osbourne won the Icon Award, supported by Visit West Hollywood.
Though Osbourne couldn’t attend the event on doctor’s orders, his wife Sharon picked up the award on his behalf and told the audience: “Thank you for constantly supporting him. Ozzy is what rock and roll is all about. He’s wild, he’s fabulous, he’s talented. He’s like a fucking uncaged animal, and I adore him.”
In a video message played on the night, Ozzy said: “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there tonight, only something cropped up and I just couldn’t make the flight. My wife’s gonna be there on my behalf and she’s great.The only one bit of advice is keep her away from the bar because she gets very rowdy when she has a few drinks!
“My success is just a dream come true. I’d like to thank Rolling Stone UK and all the readers for this wonderful award. This award means everything to me. I’m just so sad.”
Ozzy added: “I never ever thought I’d be a living icon, never thought I’d be doing this for more than a couple of years, but around 50 years on and I’m getting an award from Rolling Stone UK!
Ozzy is also one of three awards issue cover stars, alongside Daniel Kaluuya and Maisie Peters, with our feature hailing the star’s journey to becoming an icon. Read it in full here and order your copy here.
The first Rolling Stone UK Awards featured performances from The Last Dinner Party, Kenya Grace and Louis Tomlinson.
You can look back here for all our coverage of the Rolling Stone UK Awards.