What happened to Ozzy Osbourne? The end of his touring career, explained

Of rockstars who have become legends, few have seemed more invulnerable than Ozzy Osbourne. The English entertainer whose real name is John Michael Osbourne has done enough drugs to rattle the teeth out of an elephant, bit the head off of a bat, and been dubbed the “Prince of Darkness.” However, time comes for us all and recently the 74-year-old said his touring days have wrapped.

Yesterday, he revealed in a statement his health is just not where it needs to be for him to be on the stage to continue his farewell tour. The initial endeavor had been going on in 2019, but an accident damaged Osbourne’s spine and as a result he had to pause for surgery. He says his singing voice is fine, but, operations, stem cell treatments, physical therapy, and Cybernics Hybrid Assistive Limb Treatment — which augments motor functions with machinery — have not made a difference for him in any way.

Osbourne says those who were excited to see him on his European and U.K. tour dates will receive refunds, he has been humbled by those who have patiently waited and his team is looking into ways he can perform for people without having to travel. He has also been battling Parkinson’s disease, gave a surprise performance at the Commonwealth Games last year and, while things look grim, there have been other entertainers who thought retirement was at hand only for things to later work out in their favor again.

This is what happened with Brian Johnson of AC/DC when he was battling hearing loss, it happened to Rick Allen of Def Leopard when he lost his arm in an accident and needed a modified drum kit to continue playing and, so, there could be hope for Ozzy. The icon has been through it all, and, considering what he has overcome, it is possible this could just be another bump on his wildly long road.

Though, if not, he certainly leaves an incredible legacy in his wake. There was the infamous reality show, his autobiography, OzzFest, being banned from a city in Texas for a decade, and repeatedly being accused of making music which has inspired troubled people to do terrible things. In other words, he is pretty much the same as anyone else well-known within his genre. Certainly, a tremendous climb for a middle child who left school at 15 and once spent weeks in prison for not paying a fine.