Ozzy Osbourne retires mid-tour after injury: "I couldn't deal with the travel required"

Rocker Ozzy Osbourne has decided to retire mid-tour, cancelling all upcoming European and UK show dates from his No More Tours 2 tour.

No More Shows 2 began in 2018, touring through North America. It was intended to be the English heavy metal artist's last world tour - although more selective, less lengthy tours were still under consideration for the future.

In 2019, Osbourne made the decision to postpone the European dates of the tour, at the time citing illness. Now, the celebration of five decades as the self-styled Prince of Darkness has come to a premature end, with Osbourne announcing that the European and UK leg of the tour has definitively been cancelled.

Osbourne says that the decision is due to the spinal injury incurred four years ago, where a bad fall at home aggregated his neck injury from a 2003 quad bike accident. 2019 also saw Osbourne fight off pneumonia.

OZZY will postpone all his tour dates as he recovers from injury sustained while dealing with pneumonia. Ozzy fell at his Los Angeles home aggravating years-old injuries (from his 2003 ATV accident) that required surgery.

Shows will be rescheduled beginning in Feb 2020

— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) April 4, 2019

Since the accident, the singer has undergone a lot of treatment, including "three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment."

Yet the 74-year-old singer says, "My body is still physically weak."

The surgeries have not been without risk. After a spinal surgery in 2019 – which reportedly put Osbourne at risk of becoming paralysed – he affirmed that he was adamant he wanted to continue touring.

"I will get back on tour if it f*****g kills me," he said at the time.

The ex-Black Sabbath frontman also revealed his Parkinson's diagnosis in 2020. Depending on its severity, Parkinson's can cause uncontrollable movements and difficulties with coordination.

Today, Osbourne tweeted that the announcement was "probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to share with my loyal fans..."

"My one and only purpose during this time has been to get back on stage," he added. "My singing voice is fine."

This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans… pic.twitter.com/aXGw3fjImo

— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) February 1, 2023

“I am honestly humbled by the way you’ve all patiently held onto your tickets for all this time," Ossie said, "but in all good conscience, I have now come to the realisation that I’m not physically capable of doing my upcoming European/UK tour dates, as I know I couldn’t deal with the travel required."

Osbourne still expresses hope at performing in the future, minus the travel. He says that he and his team are "currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country."

Tickets for No More Tours 2 will be refundable at the point of purchase.