In the wake of his Parkinson's diagnosis, Ozzy has canceled his upcoming North American tour dates.
It's been one hell of a year for Ozzy Osbourne. On the one hand, the Prince Of Darkness has been preparing for the release his new album Ordinary Man, complete with a title track featuring Elton John. On the other, he also revealed he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after already having rescheduled his 2019 No More Tours II. Now, Ozzy has announced that he'll be canceling his North American tour dates to work on his health.
"I'm so thankful that everyone has been patient because I've had a shit year," said Ozzy in a statement released tonight. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to get to Switzerland for treatment until April and the treatment takes six-eight weeks.
"I don't want to start a tour and then cancel shows at the last minute," he continued, "as it's just not fair to the fans. I'd rather they get a refund now and when I do the North American tour down the road, everyone who bought a ticket for these shows will be the first ones in line to purchase tickets at that time."
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Whether or not these cancellations extend to his European and UK dates this autumn with Judas Priest remains to be seen. In any event, all refunds, including fees, will be returned directly to the credit card used via the original point of purchase, and those ticketholders who purchased No More Tours 2 tickets will have first access to tickets when the next tour is announced.
Obviously, no one can fault Ozzy for this, even if it is a bummer -- hell, that Ozzy was first diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2003 shows just how dedicated he's been to entertaining those who adore him. Ozzy's health should be his fans' #1 priority, and we hope that he gets the treatment he needs while spending time with his loved ones. Everyone at Kerrang! wishes him all the best.
Ozzy’s new album Ordinary Man is due out on February 21. For the record, the following dates have been canceled:
May
27 Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena
29 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center
31 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union
June
2 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
4 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
6 Hershey, PA Hershey Park Stadium
11 Pittsburgh, PA KeyBank Pavilion
13 Bangor, ME Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
16 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
18 Hamilton, ON First Ontario Centre
20 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
22 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena
24 St Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
26 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
28 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
July
1 Milwaukee, WI Amer. Family Ins. Amp — Summerfest
3 St Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
7 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
9 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
11 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
15 Portland, OR Moda Center
17 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
23 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
25 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
29 San Diego, CA North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
31 Las Vegas, CA MGM Grand Garden Arena
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