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Ozzy Osbourne -

The Prince of Darkness sounded pretty convincing when in 1992 he said that it was the end of the road for him. "I’ve been doing it for 25 years, and I want to go home. I’ve got a house I never see. I’ve got a car I never drive. I’ve got a family I never go home to," said Ozzy.

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Ozzy Osbourne -

But then in 1995 Ozzy Osbourne had enough of the quiet life and went back on tour. "Retirement sucked. It wasn’t too long before I started getting antsy and writing songs again," confessed the singer. Sadly, in early February 2023 he announced that due to health issues his touring days were now officially over.

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Nine Inch Nails -

Trent Reznor's band pulled the plug in 2009. "NIN as a touring live band or live band that’s on the road all the time is stopping," he said.

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Nine Inch Nails -

But then the creative juices started flowing, and it was time to hit the road once again. "I think I haven’t done everything I can do [...] I feel much more invigorated and inspired than I did when I said I didn’t want do it anymore," said the band's front man in 2013.

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Mötley Crüe -

Mötley Crüe announced their Final Tour in 2014. "Legally, we can’t play again. The only loophole is if all four band members agreed to do it, we could override our own contract," said bassist and songwriter Nikki Sixx.

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Mötley Crüe -

A few years later, this is exactly what happened. The band's movie 'The Dirt' came out on Netflix in 2019, which probably had something to do with it. The Crüe went back on the road in 2021.

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Judas Priest -

In 2011, the British metal band said they would no longer do world tours. "This is probably the last chance you’ll get to see Priest live," said guitarist Glenn Tipton.

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Judas Priest -

But two years later, Rob Halford and his band were back on the road. When asked about it, Tipton said, "We, uh, lied. [...] we just got so enthused with the new album and everything that we put some dates in, and we’ll see where it goes from there."

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Tina Turner -

In 2000, the singer called it quits, after performing for 44 years. "I really should hang up my dancing shoes," she said.

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Tina Turner -

But then the 50th anniversary of her career came along, and Tina Turner returned to the stage. "All of the acts of my time started to go out, all of my peers. It just seemed right I should go out now," she said in 2008.

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Meat Loaf -

The late music artist put on his farewell Last at Bat tour in 2013. But Meat Loaf went back on tour in 2015.

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Kiss -

In 2000, Gene Simmons declared that the band wanted "to go out in style with the people that put us here, the fans."

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Kiss -

But two years later and Kiss were back on tour. "People change their minds," said Paul Stanley, who added that he was not only doing the tour for both the fans and the money, but also for himself.

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The Who -

By 1982, the band had reached the top. According to Roger Daltrey, they couldn't "play any bigger stadiums to any more people." So they stopped touring altogether.

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The Who -

But then The Who's 25th anniversary prompted them to step back on stage. "We’re going to celebrate the fact that we’re still here," said Daltrey in 1989.

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Cher -

"If I come back in five years, I’d be driving around in one of those carts with the joy-sticks. This truly is it," said Cher in 2002.

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Cher -

But while she wasn't driving around in one of those carts, Cher did another 'farewell tour' called the Dressed to Kill Tour in 2014. Not to mention her Las Vegas residency in between.

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Barbra Streisand -

The singer said goodbye to touring in 2000 with a handful of exclusive shows named Timeless.

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Barbra Streisand -

Six years later, Barbra Streisand was back on tour. She continues to perform to this day.

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Frank Sinatra -

Frank Sinatra announced his retirement from life on the road in 1971, saying that there were lots of things that he wanted to do that he hadn't done before.

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Frank Sinatra -

Two years was how long his break lasted. "Don’t be surprised. If Bobby Riggs can come back, so can I. You may wonder why I gave it all up in the first place. It seemed like a very good idea at the time," he said in 1973.

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Black Sabbath -

Like the band's front man Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath also went on farewell tours that weren't. Their 1999 The Last Supper tour was supposedly their last one.

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Black Sabbath -

Until they came back in 2016 with yet another final tour, called The End.

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Elton John -

One night in 1977, Elton John decided on a whim to stop gigging. He announced that "there’s a lot more to me than playing on the road and this is the last one I’m going to do."

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Elton John -

It goes without saying that his decision didn't last long. Two years later, Elton John was back. When asked about it, he blamed the decision on the drugs he was taking at the time.

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LCD Soundsystem -

James Murphy made quite a statement back in 2011: "The thing I’m saying goodbye to is being a professional rock & roll artist. I don’t want to make albums and tour and make videos. I don’t want that to be my life anymore." Sounds pretty definitive, right? Well, not quite.

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LCD Soundsystem -

Fast forward to 2015 and the New York band was back on tour. Murphy was pretty apologetic about betraying fans, but nothing that a "overwhelmingly positive response" to their return wouldn't cure.

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Cream -

"I think the Cream reached its peak last year at San Francisco," announced Eric Clapton in 1968.

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Cream -

Cream's farewell did last a lot longer than other bands. To be more precise, 37 years. But they did step on stage again. "Given the fact that we were all still capable of playing together, I thought it would be a fitting tribute to ourselves while we still could," said Clapton.

Sources: (Rolling Stone) (Ultimate Classic Rock) (BBC)  

See also: Meet the successful artists who gave up touring

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