By Stephanie Arenas
British heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne released his first ever full-length solo album “Ordinary Man” in 10 years following the disbandment of Black Sabbath in 2017 and Parkinson’s revelation.
“Ordinary Man” is Osbourne’s twelfth solo record and was released on Feb. 21 as a follow-up to his 2010 album “Scream”.
As a means to promote the album, Osbourne held a meet and greet over at Amoeba Hollywood on the day of the release. Thousands of fans young and old lined up as early as 6 p.m. the day before the signing was to take place in order to have a better chance of meeting the Prince of Darkness himself.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been a fan of Ozzy since 1987,” said Cynthia Brown, a 50-year-old woman who flew in from New York. “When I found out he had Parkinson’s, I knew I had to come down because I may never get another chance like this to meet him.”
In an interview with Good Morning America on Jan. 21. Osbourne revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease since February 2019. Since then, fans have been having concerns regarding his health especially after the cancellation of his 2020 North American tour due to needing to recover from various health issues.
The album’s title track depicts references of illness, death and leaving a mark in the world. Many fans have since pointed out similarities towards the route Osbourne’s album has taken and the death of David Bowie.
In January 2016, Bowie released his final music video “Lazarus” which, much like “Ordinary Man”, depicted references to dying and being in heaven. Three days later, Bowie died after an 18-month battle with liver cancer.
“I had no idea he was so ill,” Osbourne said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “He was such a talented guy […] He was one of the greats.”
Although, Osbourne has since claimed that he is not leaving anytime soon, many fans still have their concerns.
“I saw Black Sabbath live at Madison Square Garden back in 2016 and I noticed Ozzy was hunched back and limping all over the stage and I wasn’t the only one to notice,” Brown said. “On the car ride home, my son who was 17 at the time said that Ozzy looked really ill the whole concert.”
Even after these events, fans all over the world have given Osbourne an overwhelming amount of support regarding his health as well as his new album release. As of March 2020, “Ordinary Man” is the number one rock album in the world.
“[The fans] are my air,” Osbourne said in his interview with Good Morning America, “I feel better that I’ve owned up to the fact that I have a case of Parkinson’s and I just hope they hang on and they’re there for me because I need them.”
If you are interested in learning more and donating to Parkinson’s disease survivors like Ozzy Osbourne, go to www.parkinson.org for more information as well as calling their helpline 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).