Ozzy Osbourne doc to reveal “devastating setbacks” of rocker’s Parkinson’s and spinal surgeries

A new Ozzy Osbourne documentary has been announced, with the feature-length film set to discuss the health issues the metal legend has been facing in recent years.

• READ MORE: Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi tell us about Black Sabbath’s finale: “Usually this thing is done when you’re dead”

Echo Velvet, the BAFTA-winning production company, announced news of the documentary, titled Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, earlier today (February 25), and shared that it’s set to be available to stream on Paramount+ later this year.

The doc “peers behind Ozzy’s public persona to reveal the devastating setbacks he has faced since his fateful fall in 2019,” per an Instagram post from the company, which is producing it in partnership with MTV and the Osbourne family themselves. Tania Alexander, co-creator of Channel 4’s Gogglebox, will be serving as director.

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It goes behind the rocker’s persona, giving fans a look at how his life changed after a fall in 2019, the same year he had to postpone a solo farewell tour due to a bout of pneumonia and also received a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.

Osbourne said himself: “The last six years have been full of some of the worst times I’ve been through. There’s been times when I thought my number was up. But making music and making two albums saved me. I’d have gone nuts without music.”

His wife, Sharon, added: “This film is an honest account of what has happened to Ozzy during the last few years. It shows how hard things have been for him and the courage he has shown while dealing with a number of serious health issues, including Parkinson’s. It’s about the reality of his life now. We have worked with a production team we trust and have allowed them the freedom to tell the story openly. We hope that story will inspire people that are facing similar issues to Ozzy.”

Filming began in 2022, during the recording sessions for Osbourne’s solo album ‘Patient Number 9‘, and will continue filming into the summer this year as he prepares for Black Sabbath’s mammoth ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert at Birmingham’s Villa Park in 2025.

Announced on February 5, the gig is set to be the final concert for both Black Sabbath as a band and Osbourne himself, and it’ll be the singer’s first live performance in seven years. It’ll also be the first time since 2005 that the original Sabbath line-up of Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. Osbourne won’t be playing a full set with the band – rather, he’ll be getting involved with “little bits and pieces.”

Some of the biggest names in rock and metal have been announced for the show, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Tool and Alice In Chains, and proceeds will support Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Sharon told NME that her husband was feeling “very emotional” about the show, and that it’s “what he wants.” She said: “You can’t say goodbye. Look at what they leave – it’s a huge, great body of work that they’ve left for the world. As long as you’ve got that, it’s never goodbye. It’s there for eternity.

“He wants to say thank you to everybody. He didn’t have that chance because of his illness, but now he does have the chance.”

Guitarist Iommi, meanwhile, thanked all of the bands who’d agreed to perform and said: “It’s going to be quite the event to take in with everybody. I won’t be standing there all day, that’s for sure. It’s going to be great that they’re all up there for us.”

Tickets went on sale on February 14 and sold out within minutes, but you can find resale tickets here. If you can’t wait until then, however, Black Sabbath’s 2013 concert film ‘Live… Gathered In Their Masses’ is currently streaming for free on YouTube.

The post Ozzy Osbourne doc to reveal “devastating setbacks” of rocker’s Parkinson’s and spinal surgeries appeared first on NME.