The Incident: January 20, 1982 The events of January 20, 1982, have become legendary in rock folklore. During a performance at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa, a fan threw what appeared to be a rubber bat onto the stage. In a moment of impulsive showmanship, Ozzy Osbourne picked up the bat and bit its head off, only to discover that the bat was, in fact, real. Ozzy Osbourne, also known as the Prince of Darkness, has long cultivated a reputation for doing insane, disgusting, attention-grabbing things. One of the oldest stories about Ozzy Osbourne's borderline behavior involves him biting the head off a bat. Here's the truth about Ozzy's bat-biting. One of the most infamous tales in rock history took place when Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat in concert on Jan. 20, 1982. The truth behind Ozzy Osbourne’s bat incident (Picture: MediaPunch/Shutterstock) The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, died on July 22, just weeks after his last ever performance. Ozzy Osbourne: Inside the true story of the infamous bat biting incident One of the Black Sabbath singer's most notable moments was when he seemingly bit the head off of a live bat Matthew Moore Nearly three years before his family announced his death at age 76 on July 22, the Black Sabbath rocker reflected on a 1982 incident at his gig in Des Moines, Iowa — where he bit the head off a Ozzy Osbourne will forever be remembered as the Prince of Darkness — but even in death, his infamous 1982 bat-biting incident will be cemented in rock history. The Black Sabbath frontman died on Ozzy Osbourne's Prince of Darkness nickname was certainly not just because of his jet black looks on stage and all boiled down to once incident. The Black Sabbath icon pushed the limits during his Forty years ago tonight, Ozzy Osbourne inadvertently bit the head off a live bat, leading to rabies shots and countless headlines. Ozzy Osbourne, the famous Black Sabbath rocker who died on July 22, at 76, will always be remembered by his infamous 1982 black-biting incident. More than 40 years ago, Ozzy bit the head off a real bat. On January 20, 1982, Ozzy, during his Diary of a Madman tour at the Des Moines Veterans Memorial Did rock frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who has died at the age of 76, really bite the head off a live bat? Ozzy Osbourne’s infamous bat-biting incident still makes people ask, “Why on earth did he do that?” You might imagine some wild, planned stunt, but the real story involves a teenage fan, an unlucky bat and a very surprised rock star. We’re coming up on another anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne and The Bat Incident on January 20, and to commemorate the iconic and insane moment, let’s debunk a couple of myths about that 1982 The Aftermath and Legacy of the Bat Incident By October 1982, the auditorium directors changed their rules to ban concert performers from using live animals without management’s consent. When Ozzy returned to Iowa in 2007, he wrote, “No more bats. Love, Ozzy Osbourne,” on a poster at the venue. About six months after he talked about the incident on Letterman, Ozzy appeared on the USA It’s the most rock and roll story you could ever imagine. In January 1982, Ozzy Osbourne, the pioneer of heavy metal music, shocked, disgusted and terrified the world when he bit a bat’s head off during a concert. Now, as the world mourns his demise, we take a look back at this bizarre incident and how it unfolded Ozzy Osbourne biting the head off a bat live onstage in front of a stunned audience is perhaps most surprising because of how unsurprising it is; however, one must argue that the murder was committed in the name of performance. How did the Ozzy Osbourne bat-biting debacle become one of the greatest, most legendary tales in rock and metal? That's what we're here to explore! Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne died July 22 at 76. The rock legend left Des Moines "with bat taste in mouth" after a show in 1982. The truth about Ozzy Osbourne, Mark Neal, and the bat-biting incident was known from the beginning, but the mysterious lore of a live bat and an unknown fan ultimately triumphed in this game of The legendary late rocker Ozzy Osbourne was known for bizarre antics and wild acts, but his most infamous was biting off a dead bat's head in 1982.
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