Ozzy Osbourne spent a decade believing Eric Clapton hated him

Ozzy Osbourne spent a decade thinking he was hated by Eric Clapton.

The 73-year-old rocker has always been a huge fan of the legendary guitarist, but Ozzy thought he’d made a terrible first impression when they met at the International Rock Awards in New York City in 1989, when Ozzy posed for a photo alongside Grace Jones and Clapton.

The music icon – who posed with his eyes bulging and his mouth wide open – explained: ‘I was having my photo taken with Grace Jones and all of a sudden Eric was there. I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to think I’m a total d*******’.

‘I didn’t realise he’d also just come out of rehab and was freaking out as much as me.’

Ozzy was asked to do the pose by a nearby cameraman. But he quickly became paranoid about what Clapton would think of him.

The former Black Sabbath frontman – who has battled drug and alcohol abuse – told The Sun newspaper: ‘Reluctantly, I did the look. And I immediately became possessed with the thought that Eric Clapton must hate me.’

However, a decade later, the iconic stars were reunited at a support group in the US. And Ozzy eventually realised that the Tears In Heaven hitmaker didn’t hate him at all.

He recalled being at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in the (San Fernando) Valley in LA when he looked over his shoulder and saw Eric.

He explained that he has just spent ten years saying to himself that Eric thought he was the ‘biggest d*** on the planet’.

At the end of the first meeting he fled as soon as he could before Eric saw him but three weeks later at another meeting Eric came right over to him and said: ‘Ozzy! It’s good to see you’.

They had a chat where Ozzy realised he was a ‘nice guy’ and that it had just been his ‘paranoia’ making him think he hated him. 

It comes after earlier this week Ozzy revealed he was told he could be paralysed for life after undergoing his first spinal surgery in 2019.

The Black Sabbath hitmaker returned to the stage this week in his hometown of Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony – just two months after ‘life-altering surgery.’

Ozzy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, and that same year suffered a horror fall that aggravated a neck injury from his 2003 quad bike accident.

The injury triggered previous nerve damage from his quad bike accident 17 years ago, where he fractured eight ribs and a vertebra in his neck on his English country estate. 

He underwent spinal surgery which left him with 15 screws in his back, nerve pain in his neck, back, shoulders and arms, and the star fearing getting ‘bolts in his neck.’

Speaking to The Sun about the aftermath of his first operation, he said: ‘I was told, ‘You’ve got a good chance of being paralysed for the rest of your life’. ‘You just don’t expect the surgeon to be a f*****g butcher. I was left in agony.’

Discussing the impact his health woes had on his beloved wife Sharon, 69, he said:  ‘Never have I been laid up so bad for so long. It’s been breaking Sharon’s heart to see me like this but I will get back on tour if it f*****g kills me.’

Ozzy last tour show was in December 2018, where he performed at Ozzfest in Inglewood as part of farewell tour, No More Tours II. 

Further legs of the tour were cancelled in 2019 and 2019 due to his health and the pandemic. The tour is set to resume in 2023. 

This year, the rock icon has had two operations, the most recent of which took place in June, with Ozzy saying: ‘Thank God I found the right surgeon who knows how to deal with spinal problems. He had to cut nerves and you have to take f*****g nerve-pain pills, but I am getting better.’

Ozzy added that he is undergoing physiotherapy to ensure he gets back to peak fitness as he works on his 13th studio album.

The star added that his doctor had informed him he had the ‘mildest ever’ form of Parkin 2 – a form of Parkinson’s disease – and revealed he doesn’t shake at all. 

The star praised his wife and children, including pregnant daughter Kelly, for getting him to call producer Andrew Watt, who worked on his last two albums.

A delighted Ozzy wowed his fans as he returned to the stage at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium on Monday with the star saying ‘it doesn’t get any better than that.’   

It comes after Ozzy was discharged from a Los Angeles hospital in June after undergoing what Sharon called ‘a major operation’ that would ‘determine the rest of his life’.

Ozzy hasn’t performed since November 28 2020 in Germany due to being in recovery.           

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at Comic-Con in San Diego, he said of his health: ‘I like to see people, you know. That’s been the hardest thing of the past three years, because I’ve been trying to recover from my surgery.’

Revealing he is on the mend, he added: ‘I’m getting there. It’s a slow climb back, you know?’   

Ozzy said after undergoing the operation in June: ‘I am now home from the hospital recuperating comfortably.

‘I am definitely feeling the love and support from all my fans and send everyone a big thank you for their thoughts, prayers and well wishes during my recovery.’

His wife Sharon, 69, shared a message to her Twitter account the day after the surgery to thank her fans for sending their best wishes to the singer.

She also made a point of writing: ‘Ozzy is doing well and on the road to recovery!’ 

Source: | Dailymail.co.uk