Ozzy retire? Nah, he will rock on: pal
OZZY OSBOURNE will never stop rocking — even though wife Sharon expects him to hang up his microphone after next year. That’s according to one of Ozzy’s closest friends, who’s performed with the heavy metal star, and doubts he’ll retire.
Rudy Sarzo,
66, played bass guitar alongside the hell-raiser and has remained close to the “Flying High Again” singer.
Ozzy and his band Black Sabbath finished their “The End Tour,” billed as a farewell, earlier this year.
But now, under Sharon’s guidance, he’s working on a solo album before a tour.
However, Rudy believes that after that, Ozzy just may reunite with Sabbath — who ended their 40-year career on Feb. 4 in their home city of Birmingham, England.
“Ozzy, he can never stop being Ozzy. He’s got to go out there and tour, you know, be himself,” Sarzo said at the premiere of the documentary “Hired Gun: Out of the Shadows, Into the Spotlight.” “I cannot imagine him sitting at home, watching TV. That’s impossible. I saw him recently with Black Sabbath and he sounded amazing.”
He continued: “Ozzy is just a unique performer. He has this energy that so few people in the world possess. That just doesn’t go away… He has a certain spirit that is very rare and unique.”
But Ozzy, who turns 69 in December, is on his final run according Sharon, who has managed him for four decades. Last year, she announced that Ozzy will likely retire before he hits 70.
Sarzo, who’s been sober for more than 20 years, admits that Ozzy was his drinking buddy when they were on tour together.
“Everything that ever happened to me (when getting drunk) happened when I was with Ozzy,” Sarzo chuckled.
His colorful life is one of the subjects of “Hired Gun,” a documentary that highlights the lives of musicians who are hired to play for artists like Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Steely Dan and Bon Jovi.