While speaking to Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show this past Monday (February 24th), Andrew Watt – who produced Ozzy’s last two studio albums – recalled working with the legendary musician.
“Ozzy, he could sing one vocal as a lead vocal, and you’re, like, ‘Okay, this is cool.’ And maybe it’s got so much emotion, but it’s not perfect. Then he doubles it, his voice, where he literally sings over himself in the exact same way. And all of a sudden, it’s, like Ozzy Osbourne,” Watt said. “He’s done it on every one of his vocals ever, and he’s the best at it I’ve ever seen. Even where he’s at now, and his health and everything, he steps up to a mic, sitting down, and sings and doubles his voice, and it’s uncanny. It just sounds like Ozzy Osbourne.”
Watt then addressed Ozzy’s health issues and how that may affect his performance at Black Sabbath’s final concert – which will take place in Birmingham, England this July.
“He’s okay. It’s just his body is not doing what he wants it to do all the time,” Watt explained. “But I talked to him a couple days ago, and he’s, like, starting to get in the gym again a little bit by little, get himself ready for this last concert. He is the real-life Iron Man. And nothing has happened to his voice — his voice is as good as it has ever been.”
Earlier this month, Ozzy announced that he and the original members of Black Sabbath would be reuniting for the first time in 20 years for what is being billed as his final ever show.
Ozzy hasn’t performed a full set since 2018, and revealed on his SiriusXM show “Ozzy Speaks” that due to his health he won’t be performing alongside Black Sabbath for the entirety of the concert. “I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath, but I am doing little bits and pieces with them. I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable,” he said.
The 76-year-old revealed in 2020 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In a recent interview, his wife Sharon Osbourne told The Sun that Ozzy’s battle with Parkinson’s has left him struggling to walk, but that his singing voice is “as good as ever.”
