Ozzy – 'The Last Four Years Have Been Very Difficult for Me'

Ozzy Osbourne offered extended comment on his forthcoming album Patient Number 9 after its haunting title track emerged on Friday (June 24). The rocker shared a new interview where he touched on his recent difficulties — including contracting COVID-19 this spring — among discussion about the album.

That includes the 73-year-old rocker and "Prince of Darkness" praising the effort's collaborators such as Jeff Beck, Zakk Wylde and Tony Iommi, his former Black Sabbath bandmate. Osbourne also said making the album helped take his mind off his problems.

Read the interview near the bottom of this post.

Osbourne teased the Jeff Beck-assisted "Patient Number 9" earlier in the week. Its parent album, Osbourne's 13th solo studio effort and his first since 2020's Ordinary Man, arrives in September. Osbourne revealed he'd completed the album earlier this year.

The lyrics of "Patient Number 9" dramatize the plight of a mental hospital patient. Last year, Osbourne said it was written about Sharon Osbourne, the media personality who's his longtime wife and manager. ("There's one [song] called 'Patient Number 9,'" Ozzy said on his radio show Ozzy's Boneyard, per Metal Injection. "It's one we wrote about Sharon and I.") The song was written by Ozzy with producer Andrew Watt, Metallica's Robert Trujillo, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith and Ali Tamposi.

Last week, Sharon said Ozzy was "on the road to recovery" after his recent neck and spine surgery. Ozzy also shared a recuperative message. The musician's injuries stem from a 2003 ATV accident that required previous surgery. Ozzy tested positive for COVID in April. Subsequently, so did Sharon.

Patient Number 9 is out Sept. 9. Pre-order it here. Read the full Ozzy interview below.

Ozzy Osbourne on Patient Number 9

Q: This is your first album to be released after the pandemic. What was going through your mind during the early days of the pandemic and are any of those feelings reflected in these songs?

OZZY: Well, I was vaccinated and boosted and I still caught COVID in the end. My last album (Ordinary Man) was released just a few weeks before the pandemic started, and I was just about getting ready to go into the studio to work on this new one when the world shut down. It's no secret that the last four years have been very difficult for me but making this album took my mind off of my problems."

Q: The album features some players with whom have history. What was it like to be reunited with Tony Iommi musically?

OZZY: It was really great working with Tony. He's the riff master. No one can touch him in that respect. I only wish we had these songs for Black Sabbath's 13 album.

Q: Zakk contributes a lot on this album — how was the decision made to have him play since he didn't play on the last album?

OZZY: Zakk is part of my family and always will be. The album needed that weight that his playing provides. He just came in and really sorted things out.

Q: Tell us about the first single, "Patient Number 9," which features Jeff Beck. What do you feel he has contributed to the song?

OZZY: The song is about a mental institution. Having someone like Jeff Beck play on my album is just incredible, a total honor. There's no other guitar player that plays like him and his solo on "Patient Number 9" is just jaw-dropping.

Ozzy Osbourne, "Patient Number 9" Music Video