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With his first U.S. performance in two years coming up Thursday (September 8), Ozzy Osbourne is looking ahead to an eventual return to form, following years of severe health issues.
The Prince of Darkness is slated to be the halftime performer at the NFL season opener between the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. Ozzy reunited onstage with fellow Black Sabbath cofounder Tony Iommi last month in Birmingham to perform "Paranoid" — that was his first public performance since a brief appearance at the 2019 American Music Awards.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who has undergone three neck surgeries since early-2019, tells Kerrang! that he's certain he will be able to perform a full concert again one day; it's his sole focus.
"I am going to put 110 percent into getting myself out there," Ozzy said. "Time is my most valuable asset now. I'm 73. I don't think I'll be here in another 25 years. I've got a goal: the goal is to get back onstage. I had my last surgery in June, I can't have any more. So whatever I make of it is entirely up to me now. Even if I manage one show, then fall over, [I'll have done it]. But I know that I'm going to carry on. I know I can beat it. I know that I can get back onstage. It's just that I've got to get off my butt and go for it."
Ozzy, who is also managing Parkinson's disease as well, said last month that he was undeterred by his slow progress because he vividly remembers the "agony" he was in after his neck injury in 2019.