Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne and his family are leaving the United States for good — and according to a recent interview, their reasons have more to do with social and political issues than they do with the aging rocker’s recent health concerns.
Osbourne recently returned to Birmingham, England, for a performance that a series of health scares nearly derailed any possible returns to the stage — and he spoke with The Observer about everything from his health to his plans to move back to the United Kingdom.
Tea with Ozzy Osbourne: ‘I’ve sung that song for 55 years. I’m not going to forget the words’ https://t.co/gh9tL9HYWv
— The Guardian (@guardian) August 28, 2022
“Since I had my [first neck] surgery and everything got f***ed up, it’s been three or four years since I’ve performed,” Osbourne said just days after the show. “And I was thinking it’ll never happen again. But that show’s given me a bit of hope.”
He had initially turned the show down after several surgeries and other health scares — but when things were looking up, he had made a last minute decision to give it a whirl.
“They called six days before the gig and said: ‘Do you think Ozzy could do it now?'” Sharon Osbourne recalled. “And I said to him: ‘Can you do it?’ He said yeah, and that was it. Six days, turned it around, booked the flight, got everybody together.”
Ozzy’s recollection of the conversation was slightly more colorful than that of his wife: “I said to Sharon: ‘I can’t f***ing perform.’ She said: ‘Are you sure?’ And I thought about it, and I thought: ‘F*** it, I’m gonna go for it.’ It’s one song – and I’ve sung it every f***ing night for the last 55 years, so it’s not like I’m going to forget the f***ing words!”
The couple then addressed their reasons for making a permanent move back to the U.K., citing mass shootings and political division in their adoptive home: the United States.
“I knew people would think that. It’s not. It’s just time. America has changed so drastically. It isn’t the United States of America at all. Nothing’s united about it. It’s a very weird place to live right now,” Sharon explained.
“Everything’s f***ing ridiculous there. I’m fed up with people getting killed every day. God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert … It’s f***ing crazy,” Ozzy added. “And I don’t want to die in America. I don’t want to be buried in f***ing Forest Lawn. I’m English. I want to be back. But saying that, if my wife said we’ve got to go and live in Timbuktu, I’ll go. But, no, it’s just time for me to come home.”