Ozzy moves on

Fans of reality TV star Ozzy Osbourne will be gutted today after it emerged that the heavy metal star will no longer be fronting the popular Ozzfest f

13:11 19 August 2005

Fans of reality TV star Ozzy Osbourne will be gutted today after it emerged that the heavy metal star will no longer be fronting the popular Ozzfest festival.

His band, Black Sabbath, have announced that they will no longer headline the heavy metal tour and after being the star of the show for the past ten years, Ozzy is convinced that the "Ozzfest's name and reputation has been established".

"It's time for me to move on and do other things," he added.

Ozzy became a global star with his eccentric performances with wife Sharon on reality TV show The Osbournes, which chronicled his bizarre family life.

But ill health has plagued the lead singer during this year's Black Sabbath tour, with a throat condition forcing him to reschedule the Wisconsin date from August 7th to September 10th.

Although the rescheduled date was set to be the final show of Ozzfest 2005, this has now been cancelled as some of the supporting acts could not play.

The tour's promoters stated: "It was best to cancel the show instead of mounting anything less than a spectacular event, as fans have come to expect from the festival over the course of ten years."

However, the ever-prolific metal legend is certainly not intending to take time out; he is currently searching for a new guitarist to collaborate with on his next solo album.

And earlier this week Ozzy told a US radio station exactly what he was looking for.

"I don't want to know if you can stand on your head and play it through your butt, or whatever - just give me a riff that'll make a kid want to go out and buy a guitar," he said.