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Washington Post
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
That time Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat
On a cold January night in 1982, thousands of heavy metal fans streamed into a Des Moines auditorium for what radio DJs promised would be the concert of the year. Ozzy Osbourne, the former lead singer of British band Black Sabbath, was about to rock. The mood was festively macabre. Posters for the 'Diary of a Madman Tour' showed Osbourne in his Prince of Darkness alter ego — complete with devil horns — and warned attendees that eating before the concert was 'not recommended.' But no one knew just how stomach churning the performance would prove, or how it would become synonymous with the oddball musician, who died July 22 at the age of 76. In the 1980s, Ozzy concerts were often raucous events, with crowds tossing rubber snakes or cockroaches onstage and the then-33-year-old singer firing stuff back, including raw meat from a catapult. So when a teenage boy in the Des Moines crowd that evening tossed something small and dark toward the tenor, it wasn't surprising that Osbourne picked it up. It was a bat. 'Obviously a toy,' Osbourne recalled thinking in his memoir. The singer held it up to the lights, bared his teeth to the crowd's delight and did what he usually did with rubber toys thrown onstage: He bit it. 'Immediately though, something felt wrong,' he wrote. 'Very wrong. For a start, my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid, with the worst aftertaste you could ever imagine. I could feel it staining my teeth and running down my chin. Then the head in my mouth twitched.' The animal was not, in fact, a toy, but rather a real bat that local 17-year-old Mark Neal had smuggled into the concert in a baggy inside his coat. 'It really freaked me out,' Neal told the Des Moines Register at the time. 'I won't get in any trouble for admitting this, will I?' In his memoir, Osbourne says he spat out the head and looked over to his future wife, Sharon, who screamed that the bat was real. 'Next thing I knew I was in a wheelchair, being rushed into an emergency room,' he wrote. 'Meanwhile, a doctor was saying to Sharon, 'Yes, Miss Arden, the bat was alive. It was probably stunned from being at a rock concert, but it was definitely alive. There's a good chance Mr. Osbourne now has rabies.' The incident made national headlines, with some skepticism over whether it was real or just another one of Osbourne's antics. 'You have to understand this is what's called 'shock rock' and the kids love it,' Rick Freiberg, in charge of bookings at the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center and Arena, told the Des Moines Tribune, which later merged with the Register. 'It's all illusion.' Then again, Freiberg had reason to play down the controversy: Osbourne was due to play at his arena a few days later. 'Everyone thought I'd bitten the head of a bat on purpose, instead of it being a simple misunderstanding,' Osbourne wrote. 'For a while, I was worried we might be closed down, and a couple of venues did go ahead and ban us. The fans didn't help, either. After they heard about the bat, they started bringing even crazier stuff to the gigs. Going onstage was like being at a butchers' convention.' Osbourne had previous experience decapitating animals, however. Just a year earlier, the singer — who was using drugs and alcohol heavily at the time — had bitten the head off a dove during a meeting with CBS Records in what he said was a response to the label's tepid attitude toward his album. That incident — which, unlike the Des Moines controversy, appears to have been captured on camera — helped spur Neal to toss the bat onstage in the first place, he told the Register. Whether intentional or not, the bat bite became emblematic of Osbourne's growing brand. Decades later, it remains one of the most memorable things about his long and odd career. Osbourne once complained that he would be getting questions about the bat until he died — and beyond, according to the Register. 'And then they'll dig me up and ask me again,' he said.
Newsweek
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Photos of Ozzy Osbourne: A Look Back on Heavy Metal Icon's Life
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal pioneer who fronted Black Sabbath, shocked and entertained audiences for decades and became an unlikely reality TV star, died Tuesday at 76. His family said he passed away surrounded by loved ones after years of declining health. "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning," the family said. "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time." Black Sabbath's Lineup in 1970: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne Black Sabbath's Lineup in 1970: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England, he grew up in poverty and was restless. After quitting school at 15 and spending time in jail for petty theft, he turned to music. In 1969, he joined guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward to form Black Sabbath, a band that would invent the sound and attitude of heavy metal. Ozzy Osbourne during a photo shoot for the "Blizzard of Ozz" album cover in June 1980. Ozzy Osbourne during a photo shoot for the "Blizzard of Ozz" album cover in June 1980. Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images Black Sabbath's 1970 debut and its follow-up, Paranoid, redefined rock. With songs like "Iron Man," "War Pigs" and the title track, the band paired dark, heavy riffs with lyrics that spoke to alienation and chaos. Fame came quickly, but so did chaos. Osbourne's drug and alcohol abuse worsened, and in 1979, his bandmates fired him. He rebounded with Blizzard of Ozz, his first solo album, which sold millions and gave the world "Crazy Train." His partnership with guitarist Randy Rhoads pushed his music forward until Rhoads was killed in a 1982 plane crash. Ozzy Osbourne performs during the Los Angeles stop of the the Diary Of A Madman Tour on December 31, 1981. Ozzy Osbourne performs during the Los Angeles stop of the the Diary Of A Madman Tour on December 31, 1981. AP Photo © Kevin Estrada / Media Punch /IPX His solo career was marked by commercial success and constant controversy. Infamous incidents, including biting the heads off a dove and a bat, became the stuff of legend. Ozzy Osbourne performs at the Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium in 1982, where he famously bit the head off a bat during the show. Ozzy Osbourne performs at the Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium in 1982, where he famously bit the head off a bat during the 1982, he married Sharon Arden. Together, they raised five children and built a family empire. By the end of the decade, Osbourne was headlining festivals around the world, including a high-profile set at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in 1989, during the final years of the Cold War. Ozzy Osbourne performs at the Moscow Music Peace Festival 1989 at Luzhniki Stadium in August 1989. Ozzy Osbourne performs at the Moscow Music Peace Festival 1989 at Luzhniki Stadium in August 1989. Photo by Koh Hasebe/Photos from the late 1980s and 1990s revealed a more private side of Osbourne at home in Beverly Hills with his family, by the pool, or posing for the camera. In 1996, he launched Ozzfest, a touring festival that introduced a younger generation to heavy metal. Six years later, The Osbournes premiered on MTV. The reality show portrayed him as confused, funny and endearing—a far cry from his stage persona—and won an Emmy. Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and their children Jack and Kelly are shown in this undated photo promoting "The Osbournes." Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and their children Jack and Kelly are shown in this undated photo promoting "The Osbournes." Photo by Michael Yarish/MTV/Getty Images Even as his health deteriorated, he continued to record and perform. His late-career albums, Ordinary Man and Patient Number 9, earned Grammy nominations and featured collaborations with rock legends. In 2024, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, appearing on stage alongside Jack Black and others. (L-R) Jack Black and Ozzy Osbourne onstage at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony on October 19, 2024. (L-R) Jack Black and Ozzy Osbourne onstage at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony on October 19, 2024. Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Earlier this month, he reunited with Black Sabbath for a farewell concert in Birmingham, sitting on a black throne before thousands of fans. For more than 50 years, Osbourne embodied heavy metal. His life was loud, chaotic and deeply human, a mix of horror and humor that made him one of rock's most enduring figures. Ozzy Osbourne sings from a throne at his last-ever live performance on July 5, 2025, in Birmingham, England. Ozzy Osbourne sings from a throne at his last-ever live performance on July 5, 2025, in Birmingham, England. Mercury Studios/Associated Press "I've been a bad guy, been higher than the blue sky," he once sang. "And the truth is I don't wanna die an ordinary man."
