Ozzy Osbourne refuses to perform on stage in a wheelchair.
Ozzy Osbourne refuses to perform on stage in a wheelchair
The Black Sabbath frontman, due to turn 75 in December, has been struggling to recover from back surgeries and is battling a rare form of Parkinson’s that has forced him to repeatedly pull out of his scheduled gigs.
He told Rolling Stone about his refusal to get on stage while he’s suffering and frail: “I’m not going to get up there and do a half-hearted Ozzy looking for sympathy. “What’s the point in that? I’m not going up there in a 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.”
Phil, 72, has appeared on stage in a wheelchair after saying he can now barely hold a drumstick in the wake of a spinal injury he suffered in 2007.
Ozzy added to Rolling Stone he hates the feeling he hasn’t been able to have a proper goodbye with his fans during a concert as his illnesses forced him to abruptly pull out of a string of scheduled gigs.
But he still hopes to get well enough to mount farewell concerts.
He said: “That’s one of the things I’ve been the most (annoyed) at: I never got the chance to say goodbye or thank you.
“Because my fans are what it’s all about. If I can just do a few gigs… they’ve been loyal to me for years.
“They write to me, they know all about my dogs. It’s my extended family really, and they give us the lifestyle we have.
“For whatever reason, that’s my goal to work to. To do those shows. If it’s at Ozzfest or somewhere, or even a gig at the Roundhouse (in Camden, London.)
“If I can’t continue doing shows on a regular basis, I just want to be well enough to do one show where I can say, ‘Hi guys, thanks so much for my life.’ “That’s what I’m working towards, and if I drop down dead at the end of it, I’ll die a happy man.”
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