30 Year Anniversary of ‘The Bat’ Incident

(Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

On this day in 1982, Ozzy Osbourne did something at a Des Moines, Iowa concert that the world of Rock N’ Roll would never forget.

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What Ozzy did that night in Des Moines would go down in Rock N’ Roll folklore as one of the most grotesque acts ever performed on stage.

While on the road for his Night of the Living Dead Tour promoting his album Diary of a Madman in 1982, Ozzy finished off his performances by tossing raw meat into the audience.

By the end of the tour, the audience caught wind of the act and started to return the favor.

30 years ago today, somebody brought a bat to the Des Moines concert and threw it onstage. Blinded by the bright lights of the concert, the bat laid motionless on the stage.

Ozzy, thinking it was a fake rubber bat, put the bat’s head to his mouth and CHOMP. The rest was history.

Ozzy recalled after biting into the bat, “Immediately something felt wrong. Very wrong.”

He was rushed to a nearby hospital to get a rabies shot as public outcry of the incident spread nationwide.

His concerts were banned in select cities across the country, even Las Vegas, to which Ozzy claimed “Has to be the most decadent city in the world.”