When Ozzy Osbourne Bit the Head Off a Bat Planned or Staged? [Video]

On this day in 1982, more than 40 years after one of the most shocking moments in metal history, people still wonder, “Why did Ozzy Osbourne bite the head off a bat?” There’s a side to this story that many haven’t heard, shedding light on why a bat was thrown onstage during that infamous Ozzy Osbourne concert.

The notorious bat-biting event occurred at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa (now Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center) on January 20, 1982. It was during Ozzy’s “Diary of a Madman” tour, just weeks before guitarist Randy Rhoads tragically died in a plane crash.

Ozzy Osbourne’s Infamous Bat Incident

Ozzy Osbourne has shared his side of the event numerous times. He believed a fan had thrown a fake rubber bat onstage. It wasn’t until he bit into the flying creature that he realized it was real. Ozzy says he even felt the bat twitch in his mouth …