Ozzy Osbourne, 74, says he ‘should have died before loads of his rocker friends’ following his battle with alcoholism and drug addiction, as he asks: ‘Why am I the last man standing?’
Ozzy Osbourne has admitted he feels he should have died years before some of his late ‘drinking friends’ after a battle with drink and drugs.
The 74-year-old Black Sabbath star, who received the Rolling Stone UK Icon Award on Thursday evening, said he now wonders why he is still alive.
Ozzy discussed how he feels about outliving his friends, including Motorhead star Lemmy and UFO bassist Pete Way, who he performed with in the 1980s.
He said: ‘I’ve been thinking a lot while I’ve been laid up, and all my drinking partners, I’ve realized they’re all dead.
‘I should have been dead before a lot of them. Why am I the last man standing? Sometimes I look in the mirror and think, ‘Why on earth did you make it?’.
Opinion: Ozzy Osbourne has admitted he feels he should have died years earlier than some of his late ‘drinking friends’ after a battle with drink and drugs
Musings: The Black Sabbath star, 74, who received the Rolling Stone UK Icon Award on Thursday night, said he now wonders why he’s still alive (pictured in 2018)
‘I should have died a thousand times. I’ve had my stomach pumped god knows how many times.’
Ozzy, who has sold more than 100 million records during his illustrious career, announced his plans to retire from touring earlier this year.
The British musician was diagnosed with a mild form of Parkinson’s disease in 2003, but did not go public with the condition until 2020.
Ozzy has said his biggest struggles are due to a fall he suffered in 2019 that dislodged metal rods in his back.
The bars had been placed there after a quad bike accident at his home in Buckinghamshire in 2003.
He told Rolling Stone UK magazine: ‘The second operation went drastically wrong and left me virtually crippled.
‘I thought I would be able to start again after the second and third, but during the last one they put a rod in my spine.
‘They found a tumor in one of the vertebrae, so they had to dig all of that out too. It’s pretty heavy, man, and my balance is all messed up.”
Candid: Ozzy discussed how he feels about outliving his friends, including Motorhead star Lemmy and UFO bassist Pete Way, with whom he performed in the 1980s
Proud wife: On Thursday, Ozzy’s wife Sharon proudly accepted The Icon’s honorary trophy for her ailing husband at the Rolling Stone UK Awards at Camden Roundhouse in London
Thursday Ozzy’s wife Sharon proudly accepted the Icon honorary trophy for her sick husband at the Rolling Stone UK Awards at London’s Camden Roundhouse.
Ozzy was late to travel to the star-studded ceremony where the ‘Prince of Darkness’ was honored for his 55 years in the music industry.
The rock ‘n’ roll star rose to prominence in the 1970s as the lead singer of heavy metal band Black Sabbath and was due to give a speech at the ceremony.
A beaming Sharon gave a rousing speech on behalf of her husband before introducing a video message from the man himself.
Sharon, 71, said: ‘Sometimes I felt so helpless and so sorry for Ozzy. He had all these surgeries and it all felt like a nightmare.
“He hasn’t lost his sense of humor, but when I look at my husband, he’s here while everyone else is on the road.
“This is the longest time he hasn’t worked. Being home for so long has been so strange for him.”
Weak: Ozzy was late to travel to the star-studded ceremony where the ‘prince of darkness’ was honored for his 55 years in the music industry (pictured in February)