Ozzy Osbourne won’t let his Parkinson’s disease stand in his way of performing in one more Black Sabbath concert.
“You wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong. You begin to think this is never going to end,” Ozzy, 76, told The Guardian in an interview published on Thursday, May 1, noting that wife Sharon Osbourne organized the concert to “give me a reason to get up in the morning.”
Ozzy, who confirmed in 2020 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, will perform with his former bandmates in July for the first time in 20 years.
“We’re only playing a couple of songs each. I don’t want people thinking, ‘We’re getting ripped off,’ because it’s just going to be … a sample,” he told the British newspaper. “You’re going to get a few songs each by Ozzy and Sabbath.”
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The one-time reunion concert will raise funds for charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorns Children’s Hospice.
Ozzy, for his part, is currently training to have the stamina to make it through the performance.
“I do weights [and] bike riding, I’ve got a guy living at my house who’s working with me,” Ozzy told The Guardian. “It’s tough. I’ve been laid up for such a long time. I’ve been lying on my back doing nothing and the first thing to go is your strength. It’s, like, starting all over again.”
He added, “I have problems walking. I also get blood pressure issues from blood clots on my legs. I’m used to doing two hours on stage, jumping and running around. I don’t think I’ll be doing much jumping or running around this time. I may be sitting down.”
The rocker has also been working with a vocal coach “four days a week.”
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Several of Ozzy’s bandmates are also eager to get back on stage with him.
“I’m cautious about saying, ‘Yeah! All in, he’s gonna do it,’” singer Maynard James Keenan told The Guardian. “I don’t know what kind of modern miracles we’ll come up with to get him on stage to do the songs, but this is gonna be a challenge for them. So, I’m honored to be a part of it, but I’m kinda preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.”
Ozzy, meanwhile, stressed that he will “do the best” that he can during the performance.
“All I can do is turn up,” he said.
