Just weeks after his iconic farewell performance at Villa Park, Ozzy Osbourne, 76, passed away.
Founding father of heavy metal, Ozzy Osbourne was as famed for his wild antics on stage to his hedonist behaviour off it. The Black Sabbath singer became renowned for his controversial live shows and his chaotic personal life. Drug and alcohol use often fuelled manic behaviour in front of his adoring audiences, and also his most crazed moments in between shows.
Following the tragic passing of the Black Sabbath legend, here are some of the most infamous and memorable moments from the late heavy metal pioneer’s harrowing life.
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.
Cats
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.
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.
affairs and sex addiction
He joked that the key to his marriage was to “don’t get caught with your mistress,” as he said in an interview with the music magazine Rolling Stone in 2017.
He is credited with telling Rolling Stone, “I’m lucky she didn’t walk out when I was a crazy f*****.” I’ve been sober and clean for five years, and I’ve come to terms with who I was. I mean, I still have some control over it, but I’m still crazy.
Osbourne continued, “I’m not proud of all that s*** when I said, “Don’t get caught by your missus.” I shocked my wife and my family, and I felt deeply ashamed for it. I’m in love with my wife, and it made me realize how stupid I’ve always been.
He later told The Times: “I’m in a f****** rock band, aren’t I? I’m in a f****** rock band, aren’t I” in 2016, revealing that he was going through “intense therapy” for a “sex addiction” that nearly ended his marriage.
He and Sharon exchanged new vows in Las Vegas in 2017.
Source: Mirror
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