Ozzy Osbourne's wild moment: When singer bit off a bat’s head on stage

Ozzy Osbourne is no more. The Grammy-winning Prince of Darkness died at the age of 76 at his home on July 22. Osbourne passed away just weeks after performing with his band, Black Sabbath, in England. A pioneer of heavy metal music, Osbourne ruled the music world in the 1980s. But beyond his powerful beats and stage presence, he was known for his bizarre and shocking onstage moments. Among the most infamous was the time he bit off a bat’s head during a concert, one of the most shocking moment of the concert history.

When Ozzy Osbourne Bit Off a Bat's Head On Stage

The shocking incident took place on January 20, 1982, during Osbourne’s solo tour promoting his second album, Diary of a Madman. While performing at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa, a 17-year-old fan named Mark Neal threw a live bat onto the stage. Thinking for a rubber toy, Osbourne picked it up and bit off its head. After the concert, he was rushed to a local hospital where he received rabies shots.

However, there are different versions of the story. The boy, who threw the bat, says that the mammal was dead.

In his 2009 memoir, I am Ozzy, the rocker recalled the whole event, “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.”

“I didn’t just go and eat a . . . bat, did I?” he added.

Speaking about it in the 2020 documentary The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, the singer explained, “I thought it was a rubber bat. I picked it up, put it in my mouth, crunched down, bit into it, being the clown that I am.”

But when speaking to BBC, he said that bat was dead already. "This bat comes on. I thought it was one of them Hallowe'en joke bats 'cos it had some string around its neck," he said, via Mirror. "I bite into it, and I look to my left and Sharon [his wife] was going. And I'm like, what you talking about? She [says], 'it's a dead real bat'. And I'm... I know now!"

But the question here is, why would someone throw a bat at a singer? The answer is retaliation. Osbourne started a bizarre tradition of throwing pieces of raw meat at concertgoers during his performances. As this became well-known, the audience began bringing their own items to throw in response.

Ozzy Osbourne dead

The iconic Ozzy Osbourne is dead. The rock legend breathed his last on Tuesday at the age of 76 years. He died weeks after reuniting with his band Black Sabbath for a farewell concert.

The news of his death was announced by his family late. "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. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis," read the full statement.