OZZY OSBOURNE: 'I Didn't Plan On' Making A New Album

Ozzy Osbourne spoke to Guitar World magazine about his decision to make a full album with Andrew Watt after previously collaborating with the guitarist/producer on the Post Malone song "Take What You Want".

"The whole thing was an accident," Ozzy said. "I didn't plan on doing an album — I was in the middle of my farewell tour. And then I got that staph infection in my fucking finger. That was one. Combat that with pneumonia. I said, 'What the fuck?' But working with Andrew, it got me going. I was lying on my back for a fucking year. I'd been in so much fucking pain. This was the best medication to get me back in the game."

He added: "The way I looked at it, I’d been fucked up for the last year with the surgery I had on my neck and this fucking spinal problem. I was getting down and depressed. And doing what I do — music — it's the best tonic you can have. And for whatever reason, Andrew and I got on so well. So we went from making the Post Malone song to making an album. It was off the cuff, which is always the way I like to do it, because very often when you plan something, it doesn't work out. But it came together so quickly with Andrew."

Ozzy's new album, "Ordinary Man", came out in February. Recorded in Los Angeles, the LP features Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES ) on bass and Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) on drums. Beyond the core band, "Ordinary Man" features a who's-who of Ozzy friends and collaborators, including Elton John, Post Malone and Tom Morello.

The singer's wife and manager Sharon revealed in March that he was forced to cancel his trip to Switzerland to see a doctor who specializes in treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Ozzy was scheduled to travel this month for radical treatment to help him live with his progressive neurological condition. But Sharon said on "The Talk" that as movement around the world has become more restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ozzy had no choice but to call off the trip for now.

Ozzy had previously canceled his 2020 tour plans, even before the spread of the virus, in order to head overseas for treatment of his Parkinson's disease and other health issues.