Ozzy Osbourne feared his health problems were "never going to end".

The 'Paranoid' hitmaker - who has battled pneumonia and a lingering infection in recent years, had neck and spinal issues, which were exacerbated by a 2019 fall, as well as Parkinson's disease - is preparing for Black Sabbath's farewell concert in Birmingham, England, this summer and he admitted the all-star gig was conceived by his wife, Sharon Osbourne, so that he had "something to give [him] a reason to get up in the morning".

He added to The Guardian newspaper: "You wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong. You begin to think this is never going to end."

The 76-year-old rocker has thrown himself into preparing for the 'Back To The Beginning' show at Villa Parkon 5 July, and has a trainer living with him to get him back to fitness, while a vocal coach visits several times a week.

He said: "I do weights, bike riding, I've got a guy living at my house who's working with me. It's tough - I've been laid up for such a long time. I've been lying on my back doing nothing and the first thing to go is your strength. It's like starting all over again. I've got a vocal coach coming round four days a week to keep my voice going. I have problems walking. I also get blood pressure issues, from blood clots on my legs."

Ozzy warned fans not to expect the sort of energetic performance he'd have undertaken in previous years.

He added: "I'm used to doing two hours on stage, jumping and running around. I don't think I'll be doing much jumping or running around this time. I may be sitting down."

But the veteran musician is determined to do his best.

He said: "I'll be there, and I'll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up...

"We're only playing a couple of songs each. I don't want people thinking 'we're getting ripped off', because it's just going to be … what's the word? … a sample, you're going to get a few songs each by Ozzy and Sabbath."