Ozzy Osbourne has issued, via his official Facebook-page, the following statement:
“This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans. As you may all know, four years ago, this month, I had a major accident, where I damaged my spine.
My one and only purpose during this time has been to get back on stage. My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak.
I am honestly humbled by the way you’ve all patiently held onto your tickets for all this time, but in all good conscience, I have now come to the realization that I’m not physically capable of doing my upcoming European/UK tour dates, as I know I couldn’t deal with the travel required. Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really FUCKS ME UP, more than you will ever know.
Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way. My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country.
I want to thank my family……my band…….my crew……my longtime friends, Judas Priest, and of course, my fans for their endless dedication, loyalty, and support, and for giving me the life that I never ever dreamed I would have.
I love you all…”
Ticket refunds are available at point of purchase.
OZZY OSBOURNE and his longtime friend and colleague Lemmy Kilmister of MOTÖRHEAD are reunited one last time in the new animated clip for their mash-up duet of “Hellraiser.” The clip is an homage to their decades-long friendship. Produced by Hey Beautiful Jerk and directed by Mark Szumski and Gina Niespodziani, the video opens with OZZY and Lemmy hanging out at the infamous Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset Blvd. (Lemmy’s unofficial second home) surrounded by friends. The two are transported from a calm day playing video games in the bar to a post-apocalyptic world where they battle evil forces before ultimately returning to the bar, where they pick up their video game as if nothing had occurred. Watch the clip here.
“I’m so glad we were able to honor my dear friend Lemmy with this duet and now the video,” OZZY says. “We immortalized him with a clip of the two of us being together, hanging out and getting into some trouble as we so often did.”
The never-before-released “Hellraiser” mash-up with Ozzy and Lemmy was recently included on the digital 30th anniversary release of OZZY’s classic album No More Tears, released September 17 via Sony. In addition, “Hellraiser” will be issued as a stand-alone release on OZZY’s birthday, December 3. The special 10” black vinyl single features three versions of the song: the classic original OZZY track with MOTÖRHEAD’s version of the same song as the B-side. It is available for pre-order here.
Jimmy Kay and Perrin Wolfson of Canada’s The Metal Voicespoke to guitar virtuoso Chris Impellitteri of Impellitteri under lock down at his home in California on April 11 2020.
Impellitteri spoke about possibly touring North America, being asked by Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne to join the band in the 80’s and his guest appearance on the new studio Alcatrazz album (featuring Graham Bonnet) plus a whole lot more.
Watch here:
Some excerpts from the 60 minute chat
Have you even been asked to join an established band in your career?
“Yes I have been offered multiple times to join big bands, I am not going to say who they are, cause some of the guitar players still exist in those bands. If I was to join an established band I have to recognize that I would need to be happy playing covers because really that is what you are doing is playing someone else’s creations. There is nothing wrong with that but for me I like to be able to express myself as an artist.”
Tell us about the time you were in discussions to join Ozzy’s band
“This was long time ago even before Zakk Wylde. Forgive me if I get my years confused cause it was so long ago, maybe it was 1986-87 and I think Jake E Lee was still in the band. I was living in Hollywood and one of my roommate said you have to listen to this message on the answering machine. I played the message and it was Sharon Osbourne. Sharon basically said her and Ozzy were checking me out and wanted to know if I was interested in playing guitar for Ozzy. I remember thinking about it and at the time we had signed to Relativity Records and Sony to do the album ‘Stand In Line’ ( with Graham Bonnet). I wanted to do join Ozzy because Randy Rhoads was such a hero of mine. I remember they called me a few more times, I probably talked to them five or six times but I knew that legally speaking I had a deal with Relativity Records so I couldn’t go much further with it and that was the end of it. The reality is who knows how serious they really were because after 5-6 conversations it didn’t go anywhere and the Jake E Lee thing kept going. I don’t want to exaggerate the story too much let’s just say they had an interest in me. I think the whole thing was initiated by some A and R guy on Atlantic records who was friends with the Osbournes, who turned them onto me. As a guitar player I am flattered to have even been called and obviously they saw something and there was intent but I don’t know how serious it was.”
Would you join Ozzy today if you were asked
“I guess the answer would be yes but I would want to do a record like Diary of a Madman but would the Osbournes allow it? I listened to Ozzy’s newest record, Ozzy sounds great, a lot of the record sounds pro tooled. I listen to the album as a guitar player and I’m sorry it doesn’t do a lot for me. It’s good music don’t get me wrong . With someone like me I’m hard headed. Let’s pretend Ozzy called me again and if he would allow me to do another record like Diary of a Madman or Blizzard I would join in a heartbeat.”
Can you tell us about writing and performing on the new Alcatrazz album with Graham Bonnet
“Graham Bonnet and Jimmy Waldo asked me if I would be interested in writing a song or two on their new Alcatrazz record, I said sure I love those guys. I owe so much to Graham he took us from cult status in Japan to what we have become today. I wrote a song, recorded the whole thing then Graham took the song to his studio and they basically built their parts around it and then they sent it to me and I heard it and it’s a cool track. The song is called ‘Born Innocent’ and it’s the title track of the new Alcatrazz album.”
What has been the bands success like in Japan over the years?
“We have definitely done really well in Japan, the records have sold well over 2 million over there. We have sold a lot of records there and have done a lot of tours. We go over there and we are on the cover of their magazines, we do their T.V. shows, it’s pretty surreal. Over there we compete with much bigger bands like Metallica, Ozzy whereas in the USA we are pretty much nobody, But in Japan we have been embraced and we have a very strong loyal following. But It’s not just Japan it’s Asia also that has really embraced the band. ”
When can we expect a North American tour?
” We have to do it, people tell us we are at our best live. Obviously we want to play for as many people as we can possibly can reach. In the North America I have a feeling we have a lot of people who want to see the band and I do want to bring Impellitteri to all the places in the US and Canada. Recently I got an offers to do a full North American tour and I did the math with our accountant and realized by the time I was done with the tour I would probably lose $50,000 dollars a month. I do want to play for all the supporters in North America and it will happen, we will figure this out.”
IMPELLITTERI’s latest album, “The Nature Of The Beast”, which was released in October 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl.
“The Nature Of The Beast” track listing:
01. Hypocrisy
02. Masquerade
03. Run For Your Life
04. Phantom Of The Opera
05. Gates Of Hell
06. Wonder World
07. Man Of War
08. Symptom Of The Universe (BLACK SABBATH cover)
09. Do You Think I’m Mad
10. Fire It Up
11. Kill The Beast
12. Shine On
Ozzy Osbourne has unveiled a video for the title track from his latest solo effort ‘Ordinary Man’, released via Epic on February 21, 2020. The song “Ordinary Man” features Elton John.
Watch the video here:
“Ordinary Man” features Ozzy’s friends and collaborators, including Elton John, Slash, Post Malone and Tom Morello. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, feat. producer Andrew Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) on bass and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on drums.
“Ordinary Man” tracklisting:
Straight To Hell
All My Life
Goodbye
Ordinary Man – feat. Elton John
Under The Graveyard
Eat Me
Today Is The End
Scary Little Green Men
Holy For Tonight
It’s A Raid – feat. Post Malone
Take What You Want – Post Malone feat. Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott
Today, February 21st, OZZY OSBOURNE is releasing his new “Ordinary Man” album via Epic Records. This marks Ozzy’s first new solo music in almost 10 years. Furthermore the new song “Scary Little Green Men” is out now, stream it below.
“Ordinary Man” features Ozzy’s friends and collaborators, including Elton John, Slash, Post Malone and Tom Morello. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, feat. producer Andrew Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) on bass and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on drums.
“Ordinary Man” tracklisting:
Straight To Hell
All My Life
Goodbye
Ordinary Man – feat. Elton John
Under The Graveyard
Eat Me
Today Is The End
Scary Little Green Men
Holy For Tonight
It’s A Raid – feat. Post Malone
Take What You Want – Post Malone feat. Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott
Today, January 21st, Ozzy Osbourne shocked the rock world by revealing his recent diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The news comes after a string of health woes throughout 2019 pushed back the singer’s tour dates across the world, issued Loudwire.com.
That’s what the legendary rocker revealed Tuesday morning in an interview on Good Morning America, speaking to host Robin Roberts. Ozzy’s new album Ordinary Man is due out next month, and the “Prince of Darkness” recently mounted an impressive comeback with “Under the Graveyard”.
Watch the exclusive Ozzy Osbourne interview by Robin Roberts for “Good Morning America”, at this location.
“It’s been terribly challenging for us all”, Osbourne told Roberts this week. “I did my last show New Year’s Eve at The Forum. Then I had a bad fall. I had to have surgery on my neck, which screwed all my nerves.”
The musician’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, added more about the Parkinson’s diagnosis. “It’s PRKN 2,” she said. “There’s so many different types of Parkinson’s; it’s not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination, but it does affect certain nerves in your body. And it’s — it’s like you have a good day, a good day, and then a really bad day.”
Ozzy received the diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease last February after he experienced a fall and underwent subsequent surgery. Now, the singer is taking both medication for Parkinson’s and nerve pain.
“I got a numbness down this arm for the surgery, my legs keep going cold,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s the Parkinson’s or what, you know, but that’s — see, that’s the problem. Because they cut nerves when they did the surgery. I’d never heard of nerve pain, and it’s a weird feeling.”