Ozzy Osbourne’s health issues and upcoming final show with Black Sabbath will be chronicled in an upcoming feature-length documentary. The programme will explore how his world screeched to a halt in 2019 after his fall at home, the impact of his Parkinson’s diagnosis and the role music continues to play in his life.
Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, which began filming in early 2022 during the rocker’s recording sessions for his thirteenth studio album, is set to air on Paramount+ later this year. Osbourne said: “The last six years have been full of some of the worst times I’ve been through.
“There’s been times when I thought my number was up, but making music and making two albums saved me. I’d have gone nuts without music.”. In 2020, Osbourne revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and he paused touring “for now” in 2023 after extensive spinal surgery.
He had a fall at home in 2019 which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003, stopping his No More Tours 2 shows from going ahead in Europe and the UK. The tour had previously been rescheduled several times because of illness, the Covid pandemic and logistical issues.
He released his twelfth studio album Ordinary Man in 2020, followed by Patient Number 9 in 2022, which went to number three and two in the UK charts respectively. The 76-year-old singer is set to reunite with all his original Black Sabbath bandmates for his final performance on July 5 billed as The Back To The Beginning show.
The all-day event at Villa Park in Birmingham, the city where the heavy rock pioneers formed in 1968, will also feature sets by a host of major metal bands including Metallica, Slayer and Alice In Chains. Osbourne added: “My fans have supported me for so many years, and I really want to thank them and say a proper goodbye to them. That is what the Villa Park show is about.”.
The documentary is billed as an “honest, warm and deeply personal portrait of one of the greatest rock stars of all time” which “peers behind Ozzy’s public persona”. Directed by Bafta winner Tania Alexander, the documentary will span from the recordings sessions of Osbourne’s album in 2022 to his final show in July.
Alongside featuring the rocker, his wife Sharon and their children, it will include contributions from those close to him including Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi and Billy Idol. TV star Sharon said: “This film is an honest account of what has happened to Ozzy during the last few years.
“It shows how hard things have been for him and the courage he has shown while dealing with a number of serious health issues, including Parkinson’s. “It’s about the reality of his life now. We have worked with a production team we trust and have allowed them the freedom to tell the story openly. We hope that story will inspire people that are facing similar issues to Ozzy.”.
Black Sabbath’s story began in Birmingham where Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward were looking to escape a life of factory work, and their first major break came when their eponymous debut album in 1970 made the UK top 10 and paved the way for a string of hit records.
They went on to become one of the most influential and successful metal bands of all time, selling more than 75 million albums worldwide. Osbourne rose to further fame alongside his wife Sharon – who he married in 1982 and with whom he has three children, Aimee, Jack and Kelly – through their reality TV series The Osbournes.
“Ozzy is forever woven into Paramount’s brand DNA, especially his history with MTV – Headbanger’s Ball in the 80s, Battle for Ozzfest and of course The Osbournes,” said Bruce Gillmer, president of music at Paramount and chief content officer of music at Paramount+.
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