Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary ‘Prince of Darkness’, became infamous for a moment in 1982 when he bit the head off what he believed was a rubber bat during a concert in Des Moines. It turned out to be real, and likely dead. Though stories have varied over the years, including from Ozzy himself, most accounts agree the bat was already dead when a fan threw it on stage.
The bizarre incident came during a tour where Ozzy regularly hurled raw meat into the crowd, and fans began tossing animal parts back. That night, a fan named Mark Neal claimed he brought the long-dead bat, which Ozzy mistook for a prop and bit into before realizing the truth.
It was not Ozzy’s first or last shocking stunt. Months earlier, he had reportedly bitten the heads off two doves during a CBS meeting — whether they were alive or dead depends on which version of the story Ozzy chose to tell.
These grotesque acts, whether exaggerated or not, cemented Ozzy’s wild image and fueled his rise as a solo icon. Though not every tale may be true, they contributed to his legacy as one of rock’s most outrageous showmen.
