Ozzy Osbourne may have played his final show last weekend, but that doesn’t mean the Prince of Darkness is going gentle into that good night. The rock icon announced a new memoir on Thursday (July 10), Last Rites. According to a release from publisher Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group the book, due out on Oct. 7, is the “shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Osbourne’s descent into hell.”
The follow-up to Ozzy’s 2009 memoir I Am Ozzy will cover the various health crises the 76-year-old metal god has endured over the past few years, including the Parkinson’s diagnosis that contributed to him announcing his retirement from touring.
“At the age of sixty-nine, Ozzy Osbourne was on a triumphant farewell tour, playing to sold-out arenas and rave reviews all around the world. Then disaster,” reads the release announcing the book. “In a matter of just a few weeks, he went from being hospitalized with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour – and all public life – as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down.”
In his own signature no-nonsense style, Osbourne was defiant about his desire to keep rocking, despite his challenges. “People say to me, ‘if you could do it all again, knowing what you know now, would you change anything?’ I’m like, ‘f–k no.’ If I’d been clean and sober, I wouldn’t be Ozzy. If I’d done normal, sensible things, I wouldn’t be Ozzy,” he said. “Look, if it ends tomorrow, I can’t complain. I’ve been all around the world. Seen a lot of things. I’ve done good… and I’ve done bad. But right now, I’m not ready to go anywhere.”
In addition to chronicling Osbourne’s health issues, the book promises to reflect on his life and career, including his turbulent marriage to wife/manager Sharon Osbourne, his hell-raising times with fellow rock rebels Slash, AC/DC’s Bon Scott, late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and late Who drummer Keith Moon, as well as “the harrowing final moments he spent with Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister, all alongside his reflections on the triumphant Back to the Beginning concert, streamed around the world, where Ozzy reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates for the final time and raised millions for charity.”
The book’s announcement comes a week after Osbourne and his original Black Sabbath bandmates took the stage with a galaxy of stars who paid homage to the singer and his legacy in his native Birmingham, England. Among the bands who performed at the once-in-a-lifetime gig were Mastodon, Anthrax, Lamb of God, Alice in Chains, Gojira, Pantera, Tool, Slayer, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and a supergroup featuring members of the Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more.
In addition to the book, Osbourne announced that he’s auctioning off a handful of abstract paintings he created with chimpanzees to benefit the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida that helps rescue chimpanzees from animal testing labs and zoos.
“I’ve never sold my paintings. But these abstract collaborations I did with ape artists from @SaveTheChimps are now available at Omega Auctions to raise funds for the sanctuary,” Osbourne wrote in an Instagram post in which he posed — holding a banana, naturally — with some of the colorful canvases. “Each signed painting is named for one of my songs, and there are only five, so bid now for your favorite! Auction closes July 17.” Click here to bid on the canvases.
Check out the Last Rites trailer and chimp painting announcement below.
