Ozzy Osbourne is up in the gym, working on his fitness.
The “Crazy Train” rocker is gearing up to perform with Black Sabbath at the band’s final reunion concert in July, and music producer Andrew Watt opened up about how Osbourne is getting ready in a new interview on The Howard Stern Show.
“He’s okay,” said Watt, who worked on Osbourne’s last two albums amid the health setbacks faced by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, including Parkinson’s disease and complications from a 2019 fall.
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“His body is not doing what he wants it to do all the time, but I talked to him a couple days ago, and he’s starting to get in the gym again a little bit by little to get himself ready for this last concert,” continued Watt, who will perform alongside Osbourne at the July 5 show in Birmingham’s Villa Park.
“He’s the real-life Iron Man, and nothing’s happened to his voice,” said the producer of Osbourne. “His voice is, you know, as good as it’s ever been.”
Earlier this month, the Grammy-winning rock legend spoke about the upcoming concert on the SiriusXM channel Ozzy’s Boneyard and revealed he won’t perform a full set with Black Sabbath.
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“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them,” he said, per Billboard. “I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable.”
“I am trying to get back on my feet,” Osbourne continued. “When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
His wife, Sharon, recently told The Sun that Ozzy can no longer walk because of Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2003. “He’s very happy to be coming back and very emotional about this,” she said.
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“Parkinson’s is a progressive disease. It’s not something you can stabilize. It affects different parts of the body and it’s affected his legs,” Sharon, 72, continued. “But his voice is as good as it’s ever been.”
In addition to Black Sabbath, other performers set to take the stage at the concert include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax and Mastodon.
Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Korn’s Jonathan Davis, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Wolfgang Van Halen and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello will also form a supergroup for the concert.
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The proceeds from the reunion concert will benefit Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice. Tickets are on sale now via Live Nation.
On Feb. 25, Paramount+ announced No Escape from Now, a new documentary set to focus on “Ozzy’s public persona to reveal the devastating setbacks he has faced since his fateful fall in 2019.”
The documentary is set to release via Paramount+ later this year.