Rob Halford Understands Why Ozzy Cancelled Tour
Ozzy made us all sad, and also reminded us all of our own mortality, when he had to cancel his European tour last month, and mentioned that his touring days might be coming to an end. He was met with support and understanding—and Rob Halford is someone who probably understands better than most.
The Judas Priest living legend is 71, and in an interview with Metal Hammer, he mentioned:
“It was terrible for him to have to make that important—and, to be honest, right—decision. He made the right call. I don’t think he wanted to put himself through a thing where it’s, like, ‘OK, we’ll have a go,’ then have to cancel after a couple of shows… “
“I can only reinforce what all of Ozzy’s fans, including us in Judas Priest, have said to him… which is that he has done so much for all of us in rock and metal. He’s done so much for his fans, and we all know how bad he feels about having to cancel because he lives for those fans. You can see that every time he goes onstage; he’s beaming and connecting with everybody… Even though there’s a lot of love for him and a lot of care and understanding, I’ve seen what the British metal maniacs have been saying, and it’s exactly how I feel, too: put your feet up; you’ve earned it.”
However, while we all understand why Ozzy might need to step back, he’s still pushing forward and claims he wants to tour someday again, just not right now.
In an interview with SiriusXM Ozzy says, “Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way. My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country. So, if I can ever get back to where I can tour again, fine. But right now, if you said to me, ‘Can you go on the road in a month?’ I couldn’t say yes. I mean, if I could tour, I’d tour. But right now, I can’t book tours because right now, I don’t think I could pull them off.”
Of course, even if he isn’t able to tour again or any time soon, to say there are a lot of achievements under his belt would be an understatement. In addition to all his solo work and his work with Black Sabbath, he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Birmingham Walk of Stars. He has received a Global Icon Award from the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2014, and, as we all remember, had a stint as a reality TV star with The Osbournes.
And alongside this career, which is impressive by any celebrity’s measure of fame, he is also an underground icon, his work with Black Sabbath having inspired both the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that took metal in the modern direction that informed today’s sound, as well as doom as a subgenre.
