Ozzy Osbourne Says He's 'Gotta Get Back on That Stage' Following Health Woes: 'I Ain't Gonna Stop'

Musician Ozzy Osbourne performs during half-time of the NFL game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills
Musician Ozzy Osbourne performs during half-time of the NFL game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills
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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne isn't throwing in the towel on live performances.

The Black Sabbath rocker, 74, opened up to Yahoo Entertainment this week about his upcoming spring/summer 2023 tour dates, and how he isn't planning on letting any recent health concerns derail those plans.

"I just wanna get back on that stage. I've gotta get back on that stage. It's driving me nuts, not being able to," Osbourne told the publication. "I can't relax. I've always gotta be doing something."

"I mean, I could say let's call it a day, but I can't stop," he continued. "There's nothing like a good gig, and there's nothing like a bad gig — because a bad gig makes you wanna do a good gig, better than before! A great gig is better than any sex or drug. There's nothing to compare it to."

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The rocker — who just celebrated his birthday on Dec. 3 — has powered through after a 2019 fall that aggravated a previous neck and back injury, has undergone two more procedures since, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and now uses a cane. "I can remember when I was 69 and thinking, 'I wonder when I'll start to feel old, when I'll start to feel everything?' And suddenly, when I turned 70, the floodgates opened. It was one thing after the other," Osbourne told Yahoo. "This is the longest time I've been sick in my life."

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The Prince of Darkness will soon embark on a 19-date stretch, starting in May and wrapping in June, with an opening stint in Finland. He'll touch down everywhere from Spain to Germany to London on the tour. And just as he told PEOPLE in September, he's determined to get back out there despite what's been going on personally.

"It's where I belong," Osbourne said. "The relationship I have with my audience is the biggest love affair of my life."

"I am determined to get back on stage even if I have to be nailed to a board and wheeled on," he later added. "Survival is my legacy."

Ozzy Osbourne performs during the closing ceremony for the Commonwealth Games
Ozzy Osbourne performs during the closing ceremony for the Commonwealth Games

As Osbourne explained to Yahoo, "It's not a job, what I do. It's a passion. I don't have to get up at 7 in the morning to trudge through the day to go to work. It's a pretty good life. … So, considering all the things I'd gotten away with over the years, I can't really complain."

"Even today, when I think of some of the things that I've done, I shiver, you know? Because I could have been dead," he said. "You name it, I've been there, I've done it, and I've survived. It eventually caught me and bit me on the butt, but it ain't killed me. And I ain't gonna stop."

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Elsewhere in his interview with PEOPLE, Osbourne expressed that he still feels "young at heart," but is embracing his role as a grandfather along with wife Sharon, whom he met in 1982.

The Osbournes have three kids — Aimee, 39, Kelly, 37, and Jack, 36 — and they, too, have some of their own! Jack shares daughters Pearl, 10, Andy, 7, and Minnie, 4, with his ex-wife Lisa Stelly. His fourth, Maple, with his fiancée Aree Gearhart, arrived in July. Kelly also recently welcomed her first child, a son, with partner Sid Wilson of Slipknot.

"It fascinates me that every time I see the girls, they've learnt something else," Osbourne says. "They're adorable."

Even now, over five decades into his career, Osbourne is seeing love from fans over his most recent project, his September LP Patient Number 9. The album earned him Grammy nods for best metal performance, best rock performance, best rock album, and best rock song ahead of the February ceremony.