As famous stars age, they are often faced with the question of whether they consider retiring at some point. As a 73-year-old musician, Ozzy Osbourne also can’t escape this inquiry. His long-time musical partner Zakk Wylde humorously addressed this issue by drawing a parallel between Ozzy and Keith Richards during a recent chat with Metal Hammer.
“With Ozzy, I always think of when they asked Keith Richards years ago, ‘Do you plan on retiring?'” said Zakk Wylde, resembling Ozzy to the Rolling Stones icon Keith Richards, who has been on stage for years despite his health issues. “He goes, ‘Retire? From what?’ If you like going to the coffee shop and reading a good book, why would you retire from that? As a musician, if there’s nothing stopping you from physically going out and doing what you love, why should you give that up?”
Agreeing with what Wylde said, Ozzy Osbourne chimed in and let the fans know that he has no plan of retiring because he has a strong desire to perform as long as he can. “It’s f*cking killing me, man. Sitting on my arse makes the ‘poor-me’s come on, but that’s not what I’m about. I’m about doing gigs – it’s in my bones, and if I have another year like this, I’ll go out in a f*cking wheelchair.”
Ozzy Osbourne has been dealing with various serious health problems since the early 2000s, which started with his quad biking accident. A serious surgery, Parkinson’s diagnosis, a potentially deadly staph infection, pneumonia, mobility injuries following his fall inside his Los Angeles home, and his recent COVID-19 diagnosis were just some of his health issues. However, none of them could discourage the heavy metal singer from performing for his fans.
It looks like Ozzy Osbourne is very determined to get back out on the road and hit the stage again. His ongoing No More Tours II had to be postponed twice due to the singer’s health issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, despite all the mishaps, the Prince of Darkness will continue touring in May 2023. The European leg of his tour is scheduled to begin in Finland on May 3, 2023, and end in England on June 14.
