Ozzy Osbourne's most shocking moments
Drug and alcohol use often fuelled manic behaviour in front of his adoring audiences, and also his most crazed moments in between shows.
These are some of the most memorable and infamous moments from the hell-raising life of the late heavy metal pioneer.
The Alamo
In 1982, Osbourne was wearing one of his wife's dresses for a photoshoot close to The Alamo in Texas, the site of a heroic sacrifice by the Texan troops against the invading Mexicans.
The rock star drunkenly relieved himself on a cenotaph commemorating the dead, later donating thousands to the group which maintains The Alamo.
A post shared by Ozzy Osbourne (@ozzyosbourne)
In the midst of an alcohol and drug haze, Osbourne said that he set about slaughtering 17 cats with a shotgun.
The rocker said he was found by his wife under a piano, armed with a knife in one hand and a shotgun in the other.
Ants
Osbourne toured with Motley Crue in the 1980s, and it was during this time that he is rumoured to have shocked his fellow rockers after 'spotting' a line of ants.
Bassist Nikki Sixx claimed that Osbourne took a straw and, as if snorting cocaine, hoovered the line of ants up his nose.
Bats
In 1982, Osbourne was on stage at a gig in Des Moines, Iowa, during a US tour.
A fan threw a bat on stage, and in the frenzy of performance Osbourne – believing it to be rubber – bit its head off. There remains debate as to whether the bat was alive or dead when it was thrown on stage.
Happy National Bat Day 🦇 https://t.co/bqcygv0BII pic.twitter.com/zrqJafayA8
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) April 17, 2025
Doves
Osbourne had history with the decapitation of winged creatures, beginning with an incident which stunned CBS Records executives.
Celebrating a new album in 1981, the Black Country-born rock star was intending to release two doves in a symbolic act at the record label. Instead, he grabbed a dove and bit its head off, before being thrown out of the building.
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The Guardian
a minute ago
- The Guardian
For a Brummie like me, Ozzy Osbourne's voice mattered
In the olden days, you could listen over and again to your musical heroes do their thing, yet go for years without hearing them speak. The songs themselves gave few clues to the real accents of the singers. Singing seemed to iron out regional vowel sounds so that, in song, everyone sounded the same – rather American. I was aware that both Slade and (half of) Led Zeppelin were from the same neck of the woods as me, but I struggled to pick up any trace of Walsall in Noddy Holder's singing voice or any hint of West Bromwich in Robert Plant's. It was years before I heard either of them talking properly in their own proper Black Country accents. I loved it. I'm talking about the 1970s here, when there were fewer radio or television interviews, and very little in the way of what came to be known as reality shows. Even when the 70s turned into the 80s and I was old enough to go to concerts, the spoken words of British frontmen and women, when they found something to say between songs, sounded at best neutral and at worst mid-Atlantic. Over the years, with all the touring or living in the States, their original English accents could even desert them completely. I never saw Black Sabbath live, but I suspect Ozzy Osbourne, even as he addressed the crowd through a mouthful of bat's head in Iowa, sounded as Brummie as could be. From the beginning to the end, while speaking if not singing, he talked like a bloke from Birmingham should talk. You could take the man out of Aston, but this man's accent never left the place. For me, this was always important, even though Ozzy's accent made mine sound as posh as a minor royal's. If you get chance, have a look at Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm, a film about the studio in Monmouthshire. Fifty years after Black Sabbath first went there, you'll hear Ozzy talking about it in the same accent he'd have had back then. 'We'd never been in a studio; we'd never been on a farm. So everything was new. You'd come and see a cow in a field, you know. We were from the streets of Aston – the only thing we ever saw was a police horse. It was brilliant.'
Glasgow Times
3 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Lewis Capaldi spotted with celebrity pals on tourist boat
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South Wales Argus
3 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Ozzy Osbourne put Birmingham on the map and never forgot his roots, says mayor
The Black Sabbath star, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, died at the age of 76 on Tuesday. Mr Iqbal met the founding members of the heavy metal band – formed in the city in 1968 – when they were presented with the freedom of Birmingham in June. He told the PA news agency: 'He (Osbourne) was very important and he was a proud Brummie. He loved the city. He will be much missed, I think, and he was loved by so many people in the city. 'I think he put Birmingham, and especially Aston, on the world map. He's done so much for the city and we honoured him with the freedom of the city as well, which we were grateful that he came (to) and received about six weeks ago.' Terence 'Geezer' Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Osbourne were all recognised for their significance to the cultural and musical identity of Birmingham and as pioneers of heavy metal in the city and beyond. Mr Iqbal said: 'For me, personally, to meet him was the greatest honour for me… very humble guy, very down-to-earth guy. He spent, I think, a couple of hours in the council house just talking about Aston, Aston Villa Football Club, the people of Birmingham. Floral tributes are left by the Sabbath Wall on Navigation Street in Birmingham, following the death of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne aged 76 (Jacob King/PA) 'We presented him with the scrolls and he spoke as well for a couple of minutes on that day, and the thing I love about him is that at the end of everything he said, he always said, 'Birmingham forever'. And he never forgot his roots, where he came from.' The lord mayor also said he spoke to fans queueing up to sign a book of condolences, which was opened by a Birmingham museum hosting an exhibition dedicated to Osbourne. 'It's already a long queue people. I'm sure over the weekend there'll be hundreds of more people coming to sign the book', he said. Speaking about plans to honour Osbourne, he added: 'Myself and the council will probably have a meeting around this subject and we will decide at a later date what we're going to be doing. 'I'm sure there's definitely going to be something, I'm not sure what that's going to be looking like at the moment but we will definitely do something.' Richard Parker, mayor of the West Midlands, said he was 'very, very thankful' that Black Sabbath were given the freedom of Birmingham and that their final concert at Villa Park happened when it did. Speaking at the Black Sabbath mural in the city on Wednesday, Mr Parker said: 'I was very fortunate to attend both events and I was just struck by the sense of goodwill and a sense of pride that he gave us all. 'I was just struck by how humble he and members of the band were and I just remember how much it meant to them. 'In retrospect, I think we're just very, very thankful that those two events happened when they did.' He added: 'The fact that (Osbourne) came down here and wanted to play their final gig here meant a lot, and there was hardly a conversation he had that didn't mention where he came from and how much this city meant to him.' Osbourne, who grew up in Aston, played a farewell gig at Villa Park on July 5 which saw him reunite with his Black Sabbath bandmates. Among the bands performing were Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N'Roses, and there were messages of thanks from other celebrities, including Jack Black, Ricky Gervais and Dolly Parton.
