Ozzy Osbourne cancels North American tour to seek more Parkinson's treatment

Heavy-metal godfather Ozzy Osbourne has canceled the North American leg of his upcoming concert tour in order to pursue more medical treatment for his Parkinson's disease. The dates had included a June 22 stop at Madison Square Garden. The European leg remains unchanged.

"I'm so thankful that everyone has been patient because I've had a [expletive] year," the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, 71, said in a statement Monday. He said he was unable to be seen by an unnamed, previously announced medical professional in Switzerland "for treatment until April and the treatment takes six-eight weeks."

The British rocker — who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and manager, "The Talk" co-host Sharon Osbourne — added, "I don't want to start a tour and then cancel shows at the last minute, as it's just not fair to the fans. I'd rather they get a refund now and when I do the North American tour down the road, everyone who bought a ticket for these shows will be the first ones in line to purchase tickets at that time."

Refunds of both ticket prices and fees are available at the original point of purchase, the statement said. Current ticket-holders for the North American leg of Osbourne's "No More Tours 2" will have first access to tickets for any replacement tour.

This leg had been scheduled to run from May 27 to July 31. The European leg remains set to begin Oct. 23 in Newcastle, England, through Dec. 7 in Helsinki, Finland.

After issuing the statement, Osbourne discussed his heath and the tour decision on the Monday-night edition of his SiriuxXM radio program, "Ozzy's Boneyard." On Thursday, he had held a listening party in Hollywood for "Ordinary Man," his first album since 2010's “Scream," due out Feb. 13. That date also marked the 50th anniversary of his former band Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album, a milestone in the development of heavy metal.

On "Good Morning America" last month, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne had confirmed long-standing speculation that he had the progressive nervous-system disorder Parkinson's disease. Sharon Osbourne specified her husband had the second of five stages, noting, "It's not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination, but it does affect certain nerves in your body. And it's, like, you have a good day, a good day and then a really bad day." She has not commented publicly on the tour announcement.