Judas Priest's Rob Halford Weighs In On Ozzy Osbourne's Decision To Retire

Judas Priest's tour plans got flipped upside down when Ozzy Osbourne announced he was retiring from touring last month, canceling all remaining shows, including those with the metal icons. But Rob Halford doesn't hold any animosity toward the Prince of Darkness. In fact, he thinks retirement was the right choice.

“I can only reinforce what all of Ozzy’s fans, including us in Judas Priest, have said to him though, which is that he has done so much for all of us in rock and metal," the singer told Metal Hammer. "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.”

“It was terrible for him to have to make that important – and, to be honest, right – decision. He made the right call," Halford added. "I don’t think he wanted to put himself through a thing where it’s like ‘Okay, we’ll have a go’ then have to cancel after a couple of shows. 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!”

Last week, Osbourne clarified his comments. “So, if I can ever get back to where I can tour again, fine,” he said before explaining, “If I get OK today. If the doctor said to me today, ‘Oh, you can tour.’ It would take another six months to get it together, you know? The only thing I’ve got that keeps me going is making records. But I can’t do that forever. I gotta get out there.”