Ozzy Osbourne’s doctors warned the singer not to play his Back to the Beginning show, but did so anyway, Sharon Osbourne has revealed.
The Prince of Darkness’ all-star retirement party brought the curtain down on his change-making career. He died just 17 days later, aged 76.
Tony Iommi has previously revealed he had uncertainties about the physical toll playing the show would have on Ozzy, and was shocked at his deteriorating health during rehearsals.
Sharon Osbourne’s recent comments, via Rolling Stone, underscore the guitarist’s pre-show concerns.
“We moved back to England, and we had a whole new team of doctors,” she explains. “His new doctors didn’t want to take doctor’s notes from America. They wanted to make their own assessment on him. He was in hospital for a week in England [after being in hospital in the US].
“After he came out of hospital, they asked for a meeting, and they came to our house,” she develops. “We had six different doctors and, like, a quarterback, because there were all of these specialists for the heart, for Parkinson’s, for his lungs…”
Ultimately, the team of experts – all concerned about various issues Ozzy was battling – suggested the inevitable.
“They advised us not to do the show,” Sharon says. “They said it would kill him. We were all together and Ozzy said, ‘It’s not an option. It’s what I want.’ He said, ‘I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way. This is what I want.’
“It was his wish, and we went through it. He said to me, ‘Another six months, what’s it going to do for me?’”
“He was very, very emotional,” Sharon acknowledges. “But you know what? It was beautiful too. It was amazing. How lucky was he to go out that way? I say he went out like a Viking.”
Meanwhile, Billy Morrison has said delivering a eulogy at Ozzy’s funeral was one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do, and Iommi has revealed what he said to him during their final phone call.
