Ozzy bat beer ban bid

A US brewer has been prevented from continuing to sell a beer named Ozzy, after Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne’s legal eagles stepped in.

Baltimore firm The Brewer’s Art had been distributing a pale ale featuring a logo which mimics the singer’s ‘Ozzy’ knuckle tattoo, and the can was adorned with images of bats – including some with their heads missing.

Brewery boss Tom Creegan has reported that he received a cease-and-desist order from Osbourne’s representatives, and that the beer will no longer be sold.

Meanwhile, ex-Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, who spent much of his career working with Ronnie James Dio, has said Sabbath took on a different character when the late frontman took over from Ozzy.

Appice tells Mars Attacks: “It’s two different bands – it’s two different sounds. There’s a tie between them: you can hear Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler’s style and personality – but the stuff done with Ronnie sounds different than the old Sabbath stuff.

“It became a different band, a little bit more musical. They could play more challenging stuff than what they did before.”

He describes Dio as “a musician-singer”, while Ozzy, he says, is more like a “singer-frontman”, and argues that both brought equally strong talents to the band.

“It’s very unusual,” Appice continues. “Same with Van Halen: with David Lee Roth it was a different band, then they got Sammy Hagar and became more musical, more mature. ‘We can try different things – we’ve got a different singer.’ It’s a different band with the same name.”

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.