Ozzy Osbourne has revealed the full extent of his health woes prior to his death at the age of 76 on July 22.
In his posthumously released memoir Last Rites, the Black Sabbath star detailed his numerous ailments and how he and wife Sharon pulled off his final gig.
Ozzy told how he and Sharon were originally planning to leave Los Angeles in December 2024, giving him seven months to prepare for Black Sabbath’s final show at Villa Park in Birmingham in July.
‘Instead my back went again. Then I got pneumonia, which is bad enough for a normal person, never mind someone with Parkinson’s. It kicked off my emphysema, causing one of my lungs to go down,’ he wrote in an extract published in The Sunday Times.
‘My doctor flat-out refused to operate on my back. He said I was too weak, that the recovery could kill me. But I didn’t want to hear it. Neither did Sharon.’
Eventually team at Cedars-Sinai hospital agreed to operate on him and filled the cracks in his vertebra with ‘this human cement stuff’.
Ozzy Osbourne has revealed the full extent of his health woes prior to his death at the age of 76 on July 22
Sharon had been planning his final Birmingham gig since the Commonwealth Games in 2022 but Ozzy was initially doubtful he would even make it to 2025
Ozzy’s ailments didn’t stop there however as he got sepsis soon after.
‘It really was touch and go,’ he wrote. ‘I mean, at my age, with Parkinson’s and blood clots and all the other s**t that’s going on, I had about as much chance of surviving a major sepsis infection as I did of winning the next season of Love Island.’
After two months of antibiotics and an IV drip, Ozzy managed to get past the sepsis but he then got pneumonia.
It was May before he and Sharon finally left for England, with their daughter Aimee and Ozzy’s nurse travelling with them.
Rehearsals for the Black Sabbath show began three weeks in advance.
Sharon had been planning it since the Commonwealth Games in 2022 but Ozzy was initially doubtful he would even make it to 2025.
The rock star described his wife as ‘unstoppable’ and said she was ‘determined’ to give Black Sabbath fans a final goodbye.
Ozzy initially worried his voice might not be up to the challenge of the show but his nerves vanished as soon as he got on stage and saw the crowd.
Ozzy told how he and Sharon were originally planning to leave Los Angeles in December 2024 but he got pneumonia followed by sepsis
It was May before he and Sharon finally left for England, with their daughter Aimee and Ozzy’s nurse travelling with them
More than 42,000 fans packed into the venue for the Back To The Beginning show, during which he told the crowd in his final speech: ‘You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
Meanwhile, Ozzy admitted he was ‘scared’ to move back home to the UK in a new clip for his highly anticipated BBC documentary.
Ozzy spoke with his daughter Kelly, 40, about returning to live in England after spending years in Los Angeles.
Sitting in the patio, Kelly asked him: ‘Are you excited to go back?’
‘I wouldn’t say I’m excited. I’m kind of scared to back,’ Ozzy replied.
‘I know what you mean,’ Kelly said.
‘I’m so used to being over here now but I’ve got to go back. I’ve got a house there and your mum said it’s beautiful,’ Ozzy said.
‘Oh my God dad, you’re going to love it so much. I’ve got to get ready and go to the airport. I’ll miss you,’ Kelly said before giving him a kiss.
Ozzy’s wife Sharon then discussed their move home, telling the camera: ‘It’s Ozzy’s decision whether he wants to spend the rest of his life there or here.
‘Home is where both of us are. As long as he’s with me, I’m alright.’
Ozzy then mused about the move, saying it would be a big change for him and Sharon to be living by themselves without their children close by.
‘We’re so used to running after the kids, we don’t know what it’s like to be with ourselves, to be with each other. You know what, I can’t wait till I’m there,’ he said.
BBC cameras had followed Ozzy and his wife Sharon as they prepared to leave America and return to the UK permanently before his passing.
The footage will be screened from October 2, with a new trailer showing Ozzy as he arrived back on British soil.
Also on the documentary, Ozzy told producers: ‘I’m so looking forward to an English summer.’
Sharon can then be heard telling the cameras: ‘I always told Ozzy, when you’re 70, we say goodbye [to America].’
