Published: July 30, 2025
Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
In one of his rawest interviews, the Prince of Darkness opened up about Parkinson’s disease, the fragility of life, and why he feared death more when he was young. His words still echo with truth and power.
“Do I ever think about when my time’s gonna come? Yeah, I think about it. But I don’t worry about it.” Ozzy Osbourne, 2020
There are moments in rock history that transcend the music, moments when the myth becomes man. In early 2020, during one of his first public conversations after revealing his Parkinson’s diagnosis, Ozzy Osbourne offered the world a glimpse behind the curtain. What emerged was not the bat-biting madman or reality TV icon, but a fragile, fearless soul confronting mortality with the kind of honesty that silences a room.
The interview, published by Kerrang! magazine in the UK, marked a rare and poignant shift. Ozzy had undergone major neck surgery to fix an old injury aggravated in 2019, and the diagnosis of PRKN 2 Parkinson’s, a form that affects the nerves, had just been made public. The man who had spent over five decades living loud was now learning how to walk again, and yet, his spirit remained unbroken.
“I won’t be here in another 15 years or whatever. Not that long, I don’t think. But I don’t dwell on it. It’s gonna happen to us all.”
This wasn’t a cry for help. It wasn’t even sadness. It was Ozzy Osbourne doing what he has always done best: speaking his truth. Only now, that truth had aged, deepened, and turned inward.
“Am I happy now? No. I haven’t got my health. But I’m still here.”
For an artist like Ozzy, music has never been just a career, it's survival. After the diagnosis, he returned to the studio and recorded Ordinary Man (2020), his first solo album in a decade. The process, he admitted, was therapeutic.
“Honestly, making this album was the best medicine I could have had. I was doing something. Something I love.”
The record features collaborations with Elton John, Slash, Duff McKagan, and Chad Smith, and its lyrical content dances with mortality, vulnerability, and resilience. The title track, featuring Elton, became an emotional centerpiece:
“Yes, I’ve been a bad guy / Been higher than the blue sky / And the truth is I don’t wanna die an ordinary man.”
At the 2020 Grammy Awards, a visibly frail but determined Ozzy walked the red carpet with his daughter Kelly. He spoke of his desire to continue the No More Tours 2 trek, health permitting and of the physical therapy he endured five days a week.“I’m trying. I’m doing the best I can. Neck surgery is not easy.”
Kelly echoed the sentiment:
“Seeing how far Dad has come this year and just this past week has been incredible. I think coming out and telling his truth lifted a weight off his shoulders.”
His wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, later clarified on Good Morning America that Ozzy’s condition was manageable.
“It’s not a death sentence. But it does affect the nerves in your body. You’ll have good days and bad days.”
Two years later, in 2022, Ozzy returned with a vengeance through Patient Number 9, a Grammy-winning album featuring guitar legends like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Zakk Wylde, and Tony Iommi. It was another testament to his willpower, creativity, and refusal to be silenced by age or illness.
But by 2023, after years of health battles and a series of canceled tour dates, Ozzy made a bittersweet announcement: “My touring days have ended.”
Still, even in retirement, he remains more alive than many active artists. He continues to appear in interviews, podcasts, and special events, never losing the sharp wit, humor, and rebel soul that made him an icon.
Ozzy’s words from 2020 hit harder today than ever: “I used to fear death more when I was younger than I do now. I just try to enjoy things as much as I can even though that’s fucking hard sometimes.”
In a world that often worships youth and hides from aging, Ozzy Osbourne embraced it all the pain, the wisdom, the laughter, and the end. And in doing so, he gave us something far more valuable than another hit record: perspective.
Because sometimes, the most rock ’n’ roll thing you can do… is look death in the eye and not flinch.
