Stryper’s Oz Fox has shared an update on his health, three months after being released from the hospital following his recent brain surgery. The procedure kept him from joining the band’s spring 2024 ‘To Hell With The Amps’ acoustic tour.
On August 29, Oz went live on Facebook with his wife, Annie Lobert, to talk about his condition. As it appears, he is hopeful that he will be returning to the band soon.
“I am preparing, getting things together, because I’m going to rehearse,” Fox said in the live stream. “So I just thought maybe I’d let you know that I am planning to be out with the [the rest of the Stryper] boys [on the band’s 40th-anniversary tour starting in early September]. We’re still planning, so it’s just still kind of in the works, but I’m feeling a lot better. I finished my chemotherapy and radiation… Well, the chemo and radiation together, and then I have more I’m taking later. But I did finish radiation, not last Monday, but the Monday before.”
“So since that’s all done, it looks like I’m feeling pretty good. My doctors didn’t know if I would be feeling well at the end of it all. And I am feeling really good. So that’s a big plus,” he added.
Stryper announced in May that Fox wouldn’t be able to tour with the band as he needed brain surgery.
“In light of this news, we have had to make some tough decisions as we gear up for our first acoustic tour – ‘To Hell with the Amps.’ It is with a heavy heart that we share that Oz will not be able to join us on this run,” they wrote in a social media post. They also announced the new guitarist: “We know this isn’t ideal, as news came well after we booked the tour, but with Oz’s blessing, we’ve invited Will Doughty to join us – he will be playing keyboards and adding harmonies to the mix.”
The rocker had his first seizure in August 2018 while performing with Sin City Sinners at Harrah’s in Las Vegas. Over the next two and a half years, two tumors—one near his ear and the other at the back of his brain—began to grow. He then had brain surgery in March 2021 to treat the tumors.
Stryper’s 40th-anniversary tour will celebrate both classic hits and fan favorites from their recent era. It features outfit changes and a fresh new show production. In most cities, it will be a two-set ‘evening with’ style performance.