Animal rights group PETA pay unexpected tribute to bat-biter Ozzy Osbourne
The Black Sabbath rocker, who died aged 76 on Tuesday (22.07.25), notoriously bit the head off of a bat during a concert in Iowa in 1982 but has been remembered fondly by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for the "gentle side" he showed to creatures after teaming up with organisation to campaign against the declawing of cats.
PETA posted on its website and social media channels: "Ozzy Osbourne was a legend and a provocateur, but PETA will remember the 'Prince of Darkness' most fondly for the gentle side he showed to animals - most recently cats, by using his fame to decry painful, crippling declawing mutilations.
"Ozzy may have been the singer, but his wife, Sharon, and their daughter, Kelly, were of one voice when it meant protecting animals.
"Ozzy will be missed by animal advocates the world over."
The Crazy Train artist joined forces with PETA in 2020 to speak out on the declawing of felines and featured in an advertising campaign feature his bloodied hands with the tagline: "It's an amputation. Not a manicure."
Ozzy said at the time: "Amputating a cat's toes is twisted and wrong. If your couch is more important to you than your cat's health and happiness, you don't deserve to have an animal! Get cats a scratching post - don't mutilate them for life."
The rocker claimed in his 2010 autobiography I Am Ozzy that he chomped down on the bat's head as he was convinced that it was just a rubber toy throw on stage by a rowdy audience during his Diary of a Madman Tour.
Osbourne wrote: "Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid. Then the head in my mouth twitched.
"Somebody threw a bat. I just thought it was a rubber bat. And I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I bit into it.
"Oh no, it's real. It was a real live bat."
However, Ozzy told the BBC in 2006 that the bat wasn't alive when it was thrown on stage.
He recalled: "This bat comes on. I thought it was one of them Halloween joke bats because it had some string around its neck.
"I bite into it, and I look to my left and Sharon was going (gesturing no).
"And I'm like, what you talking about? She (says), 'It's a real dead bat.' And I'm... I know now!"
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The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Birmingham farewells Ozzy Osbourne in style
Thousands of heavy metal fans have lined the streets of Birmingham for the funeral procession of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who died earlier this month aged 76. The cortege of the singer known as the "Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" was driven through his home city in central England before a private funeral on Wednesday. It stopped at a bench dedicated to the musical pioneers and Osbourne's wife Sharon and their family looked at some of the thousands of flowers and tributes left by fans. The family waved and made peace signs to the crowd. "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi," some fans screamed as the hearse arrived. Osbourne had said he did not want his funeral to be a "mope-fest" and celebration was mixed with sadness on the streets, with a New Orleans-style brass band leading the procession. The hearse carrying Osbourne's coffin passed the star's childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, about 12.45pm on its route into Birmingham city centre. Graham Croucher, a 58-year-old train driver from Northampton, said Osbourne was an "absolute legend". "He was the soundtrack particularly to my life growing up," he said. "Black Sabbath are the originators of heavy metal and made such great music. And he dared to be different because he was different." Since Osbourne's death was announced, fans have made pilgrimages to sites around Birmingham, which has embraced its reputation as the birthplace of heavy metal. "Ozzy was more than a music legend - he was a son of Birmingham," the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Zafar Iqbal said. "We know how much this moment will mean to his fans." Earlier in July, Osbourne played a final concert in the city where a star-studded line-up featuring Metallica, Slayer, Tool and Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Black Sabbath's legacy. Black Sabbath hits Paranoid, War Pigs and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath made Osbourne a star in the early 1970s and his antics on stage, most famously biting the head off a bat, extended his fame far beyond metal music. In 2002, he won new fans when he starred in US reality TV show The Osbournes with Sharon and two of his children, Jack and Kelly. He died on July 22. No cause of death was given but the star had disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2020. with AP and PA Thousands of heavy metal fans have lined the streets of Birmingham for the funeral procession of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who died earlier this month aged 76. The cortege of the singer known as the "Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" was driven through his home city in central England before a private funeral on Wednesday. It stopped at a bench dedicated to the musical pioneers and Osbourne's wife Sharon and their family looked at some of the thousands of flowers and tributes left by fans. The family waved and made peace signs to the crowd. "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi," some fans screamed as the hearse arrived. Osbourne had said he did not want his funeral to be a "mope-fest" and celebration was mixed with sadness on the streets, with a New Orleans-style brass band leading the procession. The hearse carrying Osbourne's coffin passed the star's childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, about 12.45pm on its route into Birmingham city centre. Graham Croucher, a 58-year-old train driver from Northampton, said Osbourne was an "absolute legend". "He was the soundtrack particularly to my life growing up," he said. "Black Sabbath are the originators of heavy metal and made such great music. And he dared to be different because he was different." Since Osbourne's death was announced, fans have made pilgrimages to sites around Birmingham, which has embraced its reputation as the birthplace of heavy metal. "Ozzy was more than a music legend - he was a son of Birmingham," the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Zafar Iqbal said. "We know how much this moment will mean to his fans." Earlier in July, Osbourne played a final concert in the city where a star-studded line-up featuring Metallica, Slayer, Tool and Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Black Sabbath's legacy. Black Sabbath hits Paranoid, War Pigs and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath made Osbourne a star in the early 1970s and his antics on stage, most famously biting the head off a bat, extended his fame far beyond metal music. In 2002, he won new fans when he starred in US reality TV show The Osbournes with Sharon and two of his children, Jack and Kelly. He died on July 22. No cause of death was given but the star had disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2020. with AP and PA Thousands of heavy metal fans have lined the streets of Birmingham for the funeral procession of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who died earlier this month aged 76. The cortege of the singer known as the "Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" was driven through his home city in central England before a private funeral on Wednesday. It stopped at a bench dedicated to the musical pioneers and Osbourne's wife Sharon and their family looked at some of the thousands of flowers and tributes left by fans. The family waved and made peace signs to the crowd. "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi," some fans screamed as the hearse arrived. Osbourne had said he did not want his funeral to be a "mope-fest" and celebration was mixed with sadness on the streets, with a New Orleans-style brass band leading the procession. The hearse carrying Osbourne's coffin passed the star's childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, about 12.45pm on its route into Birmingham city centre. Graham Croucher, a 58-year-old train driver from Northampton, said Osbourne was an "absolute legend". "He was the soundtrack particularly to my life growing up," he said. "Black Sabbath are the originators of heavy metal and made such great music. And he dared to be different because he was different." Since Osbourne's death was announced, fans have made pilgrimages to sites around Birmingham, which has embraced its reputation as the birthplace of heavy metal. "Ozzy was more than a music legend - he was a son of Birmingham," the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Zafar Iqbal said. "We know how much this moment will mean to his fans." Earlier in July, Osbourne played a final concert in the city where a star-studded line-up featuring Metallica, Slayer, Tool and Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Black Sabbath's legacy. Black Sabbath hits Paranoid, War Pigs and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath made Osbourne a star in the early 1970s and his antics on stage, most famously biting the head off a bat, extended his fame far beyond metal music. In 2002, he won new fans when he starred in US reality TV show The Osbournes with Sharon and two of his children, Jack and Kelly. He died on July 22. No cause of death was given but the star had disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2020. with AP and PA Thousands of heavy metal fans have lined the streets of Birmingham for the funeral procession of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who died earlier this month aged 76. The cortege of the singer known as the "Prince of Darkness" and the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" was driven through his home city in central England before a private funeral on Wednesday. It stopped at a bench dedicated to the musical pioneers and Osbourne's wife Sharon and their family looked at some of the thousands of flowers and tributes left by fans. The family waved and made peace signs to the crowd. "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi," some fans screamed as the hearse arrived. Osbourne had said he did not want his funeral to be a "mope-fest" and celebration was mixed with sadness on the streets, with a New Orleans-style brass band leading the procession. The hearse carrying Osbourne's coffin passed the star's childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, about 12.45pm on its route into Birmingham city centre. Graham Croucher, a 58-year-old train driver from Northampton, said Osbourne was an "absolute legend". "He was the soundtrack particularly to my life growing up," he said. "Black Sabbath are the originators of heavy metal and made such great music. And he dared to be different because he was different." Since Osbourne's death was announced, fans have made pilgrimages to sites around Birmingham, which has embraced its reputation as the birthplace of heavy metal. "Ozzy was more than a music legend - he was a son of Birmingham," the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Zafar Iqbal said. "We know how much this moment will mean to his fans." Earlier in July, Osbourne played a final concert in the city where a star-studded line-up featuring Metallica, Slayer, Tool and Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Black Sabbath's legacy. Black Sabbath hits Paranoid, War Pigs and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath made Osbourne a star in the early 1970s and his antics on stage, most famously biting the head off a bat, extended his fame far beyond metal music. In 2002, he won new fans when he starred in US reality TV show The Osbournes with Sharon and two of his children, Jack and Kelly. He died on July 22. No cause of death was given but the star had disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2020. with AP and PA
West Australian
7 hours ago
- West Australian
THE WASHINGTON POST: Emotional scenes in Birmingham as fans and family honour metal icon Ozzy Osbourne
The headbangers threw flowers atop the black hearse, as a brass band played a cover of Iron Man. Thousands of mourners came out to watch the funeral procession. They chanted 'Ozzy!' and raised their hands in 'devil's horns' sign as his cortege rolled down Broad Street in Birmingham's city centre. The world last week lost Ozzy Osbourne, the front man of Black Sabbath, heavy metal founder and bat-munching TV dad. But Birmingham lost a native son, a 'Brummie lad' and 'working class hero' from the Aston neighbourhood, where parents toiled in the local factories as their kids learned to bang on drums and guitars. Amid the tribute, deeply moving moments unfolded as Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne and their children, Kelly and Jack, stepped forward to place roses atop the growing mound of flowers at the 'Black Sabbath Bench'. He was born John Michael Osbourne and died on July 22, at 76, of a variant of Parkinson's disease, likely not helped much by a once-wild lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. He performed - sitting on a black throne - in a farewell concert at Birmingham's Villa Park soccer stadium earlier this month. Because of the Emmy-winning MTV reality show, 'The Osbournes,' many Americans might remember him best as an economic migrant to Beverly Hills. But 90210 was not his forever home. He was buried Wednesday in England. Tracey Beebee, 60, a lifelong fan from an old coal mining village north of Birmingham, wept openly. 'At a time in my life when I didn't fit - when a lot of us didn't fit in - we had Ozzy,' Beebee said. 'All the odd people didn't feel so odd because we had Black Sabbath.' Black Sabbath is widely credited as a foundational heavy metal band, noted for its dark, heavy, loud blues rock-influenced sound, with lyrics about doom and destruction. 'No band is more influential on heavy music than Black Sabbath, - a truism we might even extend to the idea of heavy metal thinking,' wrote the Washington Post pop music critic Chris Richards in a recent appreciation, 'that is, a heightened state of youthful ennui and fomenting skepticism routinely dismissed throughout the pop culture of the '80s and '90s as loser juvenilia.' In Birmingham, England's second city, the metalheads waited quietly for the hearse to appear, with many mourners dressed in black jeans and leather vests, sporting old and new concert T-shirts, celebrating not only Black Sabbath but also their spawn, bands named Cannibal Corpse, Hell Storm and Slayer. Though some in the crowd discretely sucked down cans of beer, it was a kid-friendly celebration for the Prince of Darkness, who liked to describe himself as 'a family man.' In interviews here, ageing thrashers pointed at Gen Z fans and nodded appreciatively. 'The young will keep the tradition alive,' said John Cooper, 69, a lifelong local Sabbath fan and retiree who spent his working life in a factory that made nuts and bolts. His friend, Baz Drew, 53, showed off a tattoo on his left arm. It featured a fading visage of Ozzy in his younger years, but underneath he had just added the dates marking the rocker's birth and death, '1948 to 2025.' 'He was from this place, he was this place,' Drew explained, which, in honesty, 'he might have described as a slum.' 'He remained a Brummie lad,' he said. 'He was humble. But he was huge.' Drew's friend, Chris Carpenter, 51, who works at a factory making Land Rovers, showed off his four fingers, which were also tattooed, to read 'O-Z-Z-Y.' 'He was bigger than the queen, really,' Carpenter said. The mourners agreed it was a travesty that Osbourne wasn't knighted by King Charles III, who was a fan of sorts. The British press revealed that the two exchanged correspondence over the years. Osbourne performed at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace in 2002, playing the Black Sabbath hit 'Paranoid.' In a less regal, if no less memorable, moment, during a solo performance in Des Moines on Jan. 20, 1982, Osbourne bit the head off of a bat. He later joked that the stunt would appear in his obituary. At one point Wednesday, the crowd grew silent as Ozzy's wife, Sharon Osbourne, and two of their children, Kelly and Jack, stepped out of a black car to place roses beside the mountain of flowers left on top of the 'Black Sabbath Bench' next to the 'Black Sabbath Bridge,' just down the road from the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which is featuring the exhibit 'Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero.' Osbourne and his band mates were from the Aston neighborhood. His dad was a toolmaker; his mum worked at an auto parts factory. The bassist for Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, was from down the road. The Butler family's home had been bombed by the Luftwaffe in World War II. The band's guitarist, Tony Iommi, lost the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his right hand at his job at a sheet metal plant. Osbourne was scheduled to be buried at a private ceremony. The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, said Osbourne put Birmingham 'on the map.' 'I think it was a fitting tribute to a legend who was a Brummie through and through,' Iqbal said. 'Like his final gig, he came back home and we were proud to have him.' David Winser, 20, was carrying a bouquet of red roses, with a handwritten note thanking Osbourne for all he meant to him, adding, 'Heroes get remembered and legends never die.' Winser plays guitar and has dreams, too, and a band. What's it called? 'Doesn't have a name yet,' he said. Along the curb, Mel Higgins, 21, a student, said her favorite Osbourne song was probably 'No More Tears' from 1991, which the singer once called 'a gift from God.' Asked how long she's been a fan, Higgins said, 'Since I was a baby.' 'My dad used to play Black Sabbath records all the time,' she said, adding that she was happy to celebrate the passing star. 'Because not really anybody famous is from Birmingham,' she said. © 2025 , The Washington Post
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Ozzy Osbourne's family breaks down as metal icon farewelled
The headbangers threw flowers atop the black hearse, as a brass band played a cover of Iron Man. Thousands of mourners came out to watch the funeral procession. They chanted 'Ozzy!' and raised their hands in 'devil's horns' sign as his cortege rolled down Broad Street in Birmingham's city centre. The world last week lost Ozzy Osbourne, the front man of Black Sabbath, heavy metal founder and bat-munching TV dad. But Birmingham lost a native son, a 'Brummie lad' and 'working class hero' from the Aston neighbourhood, where parents toiled in the local factories as their kids learned to bang on drums and guitars. If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Amid the tribute, deeply moving moments unfolded as Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne and their children, Kelly and Jack, stepped forward to place roses atop the growing mound of flowers at the 'Black Sabbath Bench'. The family of Ozzy Osbourne: Jack, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne. Credit: Joe Giddens / PA If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. He was born John Michael Osbourne and died on July 22, at 76, of a variant of Parkinson's disease, likely not helped much by a once-wild lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. He performed - sitting on a black throne - in a farewell concert at Birmingham's Villa Park soccer stadium earlier this month. Because of the Emmy-winning MTV reality show, 'The Osbournes,' many Americans might remember him best as an economic migrant to Beverly Hills. But 90210 was not his forever home. He was buried Wednesday in England. Tracey Beebee, 60, a lifelong fan from an old coal mining village north of Birmingham, wept openly. 'At a time in my life when I didn't fit - when a lot of us didn't fit in - we had Ozzy,' Beebee said. 'All the odd people didn't feel so odd because we had Black Sabbath.' Black Sabbath is widely credited as a foundational heavy metal band, noted for its dark, heavy, loud blues rock-influenced sound, with lyrics about doom and destruction. 'No band is more influential on heavy music than Black Sabbath, - a truism we might even extend to the idea of heavy metal thinking,' wrote the Washington Post pop music critic Chris Richards in a recent appreciation, 'that is, a heightened state of youthful ennui and fomenting skepticism routinely dismissed throughout the pop culture of the '80s and '90s as loser juvenilia.' In Birmingham, England's second city, the metalheads waited quietly for the hearse to appear, with many mourners dressed in black jeans and leather vests, sporting old and new concert T-shirts, celebrating not only Black Sabbath but also their spawn, bands named Cannibal Corpse, Hell Storm and Slayer. Though some in the crowd discretely sucked down cans of beer, it was a kid-friendly celebration for the Prince of Darkness, who liked to describe himself as 'a family man.' If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Sharon Osbourne lays flowers at the Black Sabbath Bridge bench on Broad Street in Birmingham. Credit: Jacob King / PA Sharon Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne lay flowers and view the messages. Credit: Jacob King / PA In interviews here, ageing thrashers pointed at Gen Z fans and nodded appreciatively. 'The young will keep the tradition alive,' said John Cooper, 69, a lifelong local Sabbath fan and retiree who spent his working life in a factory that made nuts and bolts. His friend, Baz Drew, 53, showed off a tattoo on his left arm. It featured a fading visage of Ozzy in his younger years, but underneath he had just added the dates marking the rocker's birth and death, '1948 to 2025.' 'He was from this place, he was this place,' Drew explained, which, in honesty, 'he might have described as a slum.' 'He remained a Brummie lad,' he said. 'He was humble. But he was huge.' Drew's friend, Chris Carpenter, 51, who works at a factory making Land Rovers, showed off his four fingers, which were also tattooed, to read 'O-Z-Z-Y.' 'He was bigger than the queen, really,' Carpenter said. The mourners agreed it was a travesty that Osbourne wasn't knighted by King Charles III, who was a fan of sorts. The British press revealed that the two exchanged correspondence over the years. Osbourne performed at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace in 2002, playing the Black Sabbath hit 'Paranoid.' In a less regal, if no less memorable, moment, during a solo performance in Des Moines on Jan. 20, 1982, Osbourne bit the head off of a bat. He later joked that the stunt would appear in his obituary. At one point Wednesday, the crowd grew silent as Ozzy's wife, Sharon Osbourne, and two of their children, Kelly and Jack, stepped out of a black car to place roses beside the mountain of flowers left on top of the 'Black Sabbath Bench' next to the 'Black Sabbath Bridge,' just down the road from the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which is featuring the exhibit 'Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero.' If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Osbourne and his band mates were from the Aston neighborhood. His dad was a toolmaker; his mum worked at an auto parts factory. The bassist for Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, was from down the road. The Butler family's home had been bombed by the Luftwaffe in World War II. The band's guitarist, Tony Iommi, lost the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his right hand at his job at a sheet metal plant. Osbourne was scheduled to be buried at a private ceremony. The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, said Osbourne put Birmingham 'on the map.' 'I think it was a fitting tribute to a legend who was a Brummie through and through,' Iqbal said. 'Like his final gig, he came back home and we were proud to have him.' David Winser, 20, was carrying a bouquet of red roses, with a handwritten note thanking Osbourne for all he meant to him, adding, 'Heroes get remembered and legends never die.' Winser plays guitar and has dreams, too, and a band. What's it called? 'Doesn't have a name yet,' he said. Along the curb, Mel Higgins, 21, a student, said her favorite Osbourne song was probably 'No More Tears' from 1991, which the singer once called 'a gift from God.' Asked how long she's been a fan, Higgins said, 'Since I was a baby.' 'My dad used to play Black Sabbath records all the time,' she said, adding that she was happy to celebrate the passing star. 'Because not really anybody famous is from Birmingham,' she said. © 2025 , The Washington Post
