Ozzy Osbourne will pause touring “for now” following extensive spinal surgery as he is “not physically capable” of the travel involved.
The 74-year-old former Black Sabbath singer, who had a fall at home in 2019 which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003, has stopped his No More Tours 2 from going ahead later this year in Europe and the UK.
Previously, the tour has been rescheduled several times over the last four years due on separate occasions to illness, the Covid pandemic and logistical issues.
Osbourne was set to begin his series of gigs on May 3 in Helsinki, Finland at the Hartwall Arena and end in the UK at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on June 14 after playing London, Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle.
However, he told his fans on Instagram on Wednesday: “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.”
Osbourne said his singing voice is “fine” but that, following three operations, stem cell treatments, physical therapy sessions, and cybernics (HAL) treatment, his body is “still weak”.
He added: “I am honestly humbled by the way you’ve all patiently held on to your tickets for all this time, but in all good conscience I have now come to the realisation 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.”
Osbourne also said: “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.”
He also thanked fans, crew, family and the band Judas Priest, who were going to join him on tour, “for their endless dedication, loyalty, and support”.
After the post, a spokesman for Osbourne told the PA news agency he is pausing touring “for now”.
Osbourne was first forced to reschedule the No More Tours 2 in 2019 due to recuperating from pneumonia and a fall.
In 2020, he revealed he was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and he cancelled his North American tour because of undergoing medical treatment.
A year later he announced he also had to pause his 2022 tour to 2023 “due to the ongoing uncertainty with full capacity events and travel logistics in much of Europe”.
Since 2019, Osbourne has performed at the 2019 American Music Awards in November, during the closing ceremony at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in August and an NFL game in the US in September 2022.
He was lead vocalist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath, which he formed in 1969 alongside guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.
The singer also starred in fly-on-the-wall TV show The Osbournes, which documented the family’s life in Los Angeles.
Last year, Osbourne said he and his 70-year-old wife, Sharon, who is a former judge on America’s Got Talent and The X Factor, would be moving from the US to their 120-year-old Grade II-listed property, Welders House, in Buckinghamshire.
The couple met when Sharon was 18 and they married on July 4 1982 in Hawaii.
They have three children together – Aimee, Jack and singer Kelly, who duetted with her father on the UK number one single Changes in 2003.
Osbourne’s last album, Patient Number 9, was released in September and reached number two in the UK charts.