Ozzy Osbourne says working with Post Malone and making a new album saved him after his recent health scare left him thinking he was "dying".
Ozzy Osbourne
The 'Paranoid' hitmaker has fought with pneumonia and suffered a nasty fall - which resulted in him having 15 metal rods placed in his spine, and was made worse as the tumble aggravated an old injury he suffered during his infamous 2003 quad bike accident - in the past year.
And the 70-year-old rocker has admitted that if it wasn't for the 24-year-old rapper asking him to appear on their hit single 'Take What You Want', and him subsequently making a new solo record with the rapper's producer Andrew Watt, he would still be sofa-bound and "lying in [his] own self-pity".
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Ozzy said: "I've made a new album and it's helped get me back on track.
"I was just lying in my own self-pity for months. It's the greatest album I've done."
Ozzy had no idea who the 'Wow' hitmaker was until he asked him to feature on the track, but said recording the new songs with Andrew for his first LP since 2010's 'Scream' got him back on his feet.
He continued: "I'd never even heard of this kid.
"He wanted me to sing on his song 'Take What You Want', so I did and then one thing led to another.
"I started recording a new album with Post Malone's producer Andrew Watt.
"It's only nine tracks but it was a catalyst to get me to where I am today."
Ozzy also admitted he felt like he was "dying" until the new music got him "off [his] a**e".
He added: "If it wasn't for making this record I would still be on traction, thinking, 'I'm going to be lying here for ever'.
"I've missed music so badly.
"My fans are so loyal and so good.
'Up until making the album I thought I was dying. But that got me off my a**e."
The 'Crazy Train' rocker also confessed he's "out of touch" with how the music industry works these days and struggles to get his head around streaming, and he quipped that he thought Spotify was a skin condition.
He said: "This is my first recording in a studio for ten years, so I do feel a bit out of touch.
Music goes straight online these days and that's quicker than it takes me to write a text. It's all about downloads and streaming now. What the f*** does that mean? What's Spotify? I thought it was a skin problem where you woke up spotified.
"The album was all finished in four weeks. I said to Sharon that I didn't feel like I'd made an album because we haven't ended up screaming at each other."
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