Ozzy Osbourne has opened up about his determination to keep touring, despite being held back by a litany of health complications in recent years.

Osbourne recently gave his first live performance in over three years during a surprise appearance at the closing ceremony for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Following his performance – which he delivered with the assistance of a back brace – Osbourne has said in a new interview with People that he’s felt a newfound eagerness to return to the touring lifestyle.

“It’s where I belong,” he told the publication, noting that “the relationship I have with my audience is the biggest love affair of my life”. Addressing his recent health issues, Osbourne described his battle with Parkinson’s as “a nightmare”, saying: “That’s the only thing that reminds me I’m getting older: things going wrong and not working anymore. But I still feel young at heart.”

The former Black Sabbath frontman declared he has no plans to retire anytime soon, telling People that he’s “determined to get back on stage even if I have to be nailed to a board and wheeled on”, because “survival is my legacy”.

Osbourne pointed to his performance of ‘Paranoid’ alongside Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi at the Commonwealth Games as an example of his legacy coming full circle. “The games were a quarter of a mile away from the school that I went to growing up,” he said, “and as we drove past it, I thought, ‘If somebody would have told me I’d be doing this up the road so many years later, I would’ve never believed them’. My life has been incredible with the things that have happened to me – both good and bad.”

Osbourne publicly shared his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2019 after keeping it secret for over 15 years, following years of various health issues and major surgeries needed to keep him active. The most recent of those was undertaken back in July – an operation on his neck that was said to “determine the rest of his life”.

The surgery was successful, and Osbourne thanked fans for “their thoughts, prayers and well-wishes” upon being discharged from hospital. The following month, during an appearance at Comic-Con, Osbourne said his recovery was a “slow climb back”. Osbourne’s 13th solo album, ‘Patient Number 9’, was released last Friday (September 9) – the day after he performed at the NFL season opening.

In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: “At 73 years old and battling with his health, you might not expect Osbourne to keep that bar particularly high. But, for the most part, ‘Patient Number 9’ does just that – it’s a fizzing piece of hard-rock magic.”

Osbourne’s long-postponed farewell tour, ‘No More Tours 2’, is scheduled to resume next year.