Earlier this year, it was announced that Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne would be taking the stage together for the last time, performing in their hometown of Birmingham, UK this July. Due to Osbourne’s ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease, this show is also being billed as his last ever performance.
While Osbourne recently revealed that he is “in heavy training” for the concert, in a new interview with Loudwire Nights, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan said it may be a struggle for Osbourne to perform at all.
“I think for me, seeing Ozzy moving around at [the Rock Hall ceremony], the idea of him playing a show at all, if we’re being honest, the conversation about going to do the song was like, ‘We’ll have this conversation, but, ahh… I don’t know that this [concert] gonna happen,’” he said.
“And even now, I’m cautious about saying, ‘Yeah! All in, he’s gonna do it.’ Because man, I don’t know what kind of modern miracles we’ll come up with to get him on stage to do the songs, but this is gonna be a challenge for them. So, I’m honored to be a part of it, but I’m kinda preparing for the worst – but hoping for the best, as they say.”
This comes shortly after Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale made a similar statement about Osbourne and the uncertainty around whether or not he’ll actually perform due to his health.
“So, according to [the event’s musical director] Tom Morello, that is in the works, but we’re going to have to wait,” Hale said in an interview with Audacy Music when asked about the possibility of performing a song with Osbourne at the event. “[Tom] said, ‘You’re going to have to be patient with the confirmation for that.’”
“Because of Ozzy’s health and everything, we’re going to have to see pretty much on the day whether Ozzy’s to be singing or how much Ozzy’s going to be singing and willing to do,” she explained.
When the event was originally announced in February, it was initially thought Osbourne would be playing alongside his bandmates for a full set. However, a little over a week later, the musician revealed that he will only be joining the band for select portions of the show.
“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them. I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable,” he admitted on his Ozzy Speaks show on SiriusXM.
