Rock music is in mourning. Ozzy Osbourne has died at the age of 76, leaving behind an indelible musical legacy and a collection of anecdotes that defy reality. None more iconic than the infamous incident in 1982 that cemented his place in history as the definitive “Madman.”
Today, July 22, 2025, the world said goodbye to John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne. The voice of Black Sabbath and one of heavy metal’s most successful solo careers has been silenced. But as his music resonates, it is impossible not to remember the wildest, most grotesque, and legendary chapter of his life: the night he bit the head off a bat on stage in Des Moines, Iowa.
The story has been told a thousand times, becoming a Rock & Roll myth. But what really happened that winter night in 1982? Was it a premeditated act or the most bizarre accident in concert history?
Is it true that Ozzy Osbourne bit a bat?
The scene took place on January 20, 1982, at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Ozzy was at the peak of his solo career with the “Diary of a Madman” tour. His concerts were a chaotic display of raw energy, and it was customary for fans to throw all kinds of objects onto the stage, from crosses to toys.
According to Osbourne himself in his memoir, “I Am Ozzy,” he saw a fan throw what he thought was a rubber bat. On impulse, to keep up with the show and his “madman” persona, he picked it up and, as a joke, put it in his mouth to bite it. That’s when he felt the crunch of bones and the warm, gruesome taste of blood. The bat was real.
How did a bat end up in Ozzy’s mouth? The truth behind the myth
The animal had supposedly been brought to the concert by a 17-year-old named Mark Neal, who claimed that the bat was already dead when he threw it on stage. Regardless of its condition, the result was the same: a theater full of stunned fans and Ozzy Osbourne who had just unwittingly starred in rock’s most infamous act.
What happened after the concert? The painful price of legend
The show didn’t end there; the real drama began when he left the stage. Security immediately took him to Broadlawns Medical Center, where panic gripped the doctors. The main concern was rabies, a disease that is almost always fatal if not treated in time.
