Ozzy Osbourne Postpones European Tour Once More, Citing Recovery From Surgery

Balazs Mohai / MTI via AP – Ozzy Osbourne
Budapestarena, Budapest, Hungary

Ozzy Osbourne assures fans he’s “not dying,” but says his recovery from a fall earlier this year and subsequent surgery is forcing him to push back his European dates once again.

The European excursion is part of Ozzy’s farewell tour “No More Tours II.”

The former Black Sabbath frontman underwent surgery in March after falling in his Los Angeles home and aggravating injuries from a 2003 ATV accident. That incident caused him to postpone all of his 2019 tour dates to 2020, just months after pushing back U.K. and European dates because of a severe upper-respiratory infection that turned into pneumonia.

Now his European dates are once again in the air. The Oct. 9 video announcement from Ozzy doesn’t say when the new gigs will take place. Dates were booked from late January through mid-March, with stops including 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 3; Manchester Arena; and The O2 in London, as well as shows in Germany, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

The Prince of Darkness says the North American dates are still on. Those shows kick off May 27 at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.

“As you probably know, at the beginning of this year I had a bad fall and I screwed up all the vertebrae in my neck and had to have surgery. I have a lot more nuts and bolts in my neck now than my car,” Ozzy says. “I’m not dying, I am recovering, it’s just taking a little bit longer than everyone thought it would. I’m bored stiff of being stuck in a fucking bed all day. I can’t wait to get off my ass and get going again. You’re just going to have to be a bit more patient.”

I’m not retiring. When I do come back on the American tour I want to be 100% ready to come out and knock your fucking socks off. … One thing to the fans – I sincerely thank you for your patience, your loyalty, I love you. Now will you let me fuck off and let me get better?”

Ozzy also reminded fans of his upcoming album on the way and thanked his band, crew, Live Nation and tourmate Judas Priest.

“No More Tours II” began in April 2018. Reports submitted to Pollstar’s Boxoffice department for the excursion include Oct. 4, 2018, at Usana Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City, which sold 18,415 tickets and grossed $923,636.