Following the news od legendary Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne‘s death aged 76, we’re taking a look back at his life.
Over the course of his life, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ was at the centre of countless wild and crazy moments, from his time in the band to his family’s reality television show, The Osbournes.
From career highs to shocking controversies, Ozzy was known for his outrageous antics and unpredictable behaviour.
Here, we take a look back at Ozzy Osbourne’s top five wildest moments.
Biting the head off a bat
At a 1982 show in Des Moines, Iowa, someone in the audience threw a bat on stage. Thinking it was fake, Ozzy grabbed it and bit its head off during the performance.
To this day, nobody knows for certain whether the bat was alive or dead when it hit the stage, but the singer got a rabies injection as a precautionary measure.
Getting drunk at the White House
In 2002, at the height of their reality TV fame, the Osbourne family were invited to the White House as guests of President George W. Bush. Unsurprisingly, the visit was a disaster.
Ozzy made the most of the free bar and caused enough chaos that George was reportedly heard muttering, “This might have been a mistake.”
Relieving himself on the Alamo
During a 1982 photoshoot near the Alamo in Texas (a historical military site), Ozzy – dressed in one of his wife Sharon’s dresses and heavily intoxicated – urinated on a memorial honouring the fallen soldiers.
The incident caused outrage, and Ozzy later made amends by donating thousands of dollars to the organisation that maintains the site.
Admitting to having numerous affairs
In a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, Ozzy made a crude joke about marriage, saying the secret was, “don’t get caught with your mistress.” However, he quickly turned serious, reflecting on his past behaviour with regret.
“When I was a crazy f*****, I’m lucky she didn’t walk out,” he admitted, crediting five years of sobriety with helping him realise what an “idiot” he was.
He also acknowledged the pain his infidelity caused: “I upset my wife and I upset my family and I made a lot of shock and shame. I love my wife, and it made me realise what a f****** idiot I’ve been.”
Escaping a Satanic curse
In his autobiography I Am Ozzy, the singer revealed how occultists would approach the band after shows, inviting them to “black masses at Highgate Cemetery.” His response was typically blunt: “The only evil spirits I’m interested in are called whisky, vodka, and gin.”
When Satanists invited Black Sabbath to perform at Stonehenge, the band’s reply was very direct. “We told them to f*** off, so they said they’d put a curse on us,” Ozzy recalled.
And in the early 1970s, the hotel where Black Sabbath was staying was invaded by Satanists, with some camping out in front of Ozzy’s hotel room. To get rid of these fanatics, Ozzy blew out their candles and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to them.
