“There was an ambulance waiting for Ozzy. Sharon says, ‘He bit into a bat’”: Ozzy Osbourne’s ex-bassist remembers the infamous bat-biting incident

Ozzy Osbourne onstage in 1982 — (Image credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

Ozzy Osbourne’s former bassist has offered his perspective on the notorious night where the Prince Of Darkness bit into the head of a bat.

Talking in the new issue of Metal Hammer, Rudy Sarzo, who manned the low end in Osbourne’s solo band from 1981 to ’82, says he saw the now-infamous bat get thrown onto the stage at a Des Moines concert in 1982.

“The bat actually fell in front of me,” Sarzo tells us. “I saw this thing, and I looked at Ozzy and pointed at it with the headstock of my bass, and I just kept on headbanging.”

After the gig’s end, the singer’s wife/manager Sharon Osbourne informed the bassist about what had happened and said that Ozzy needed to go to the hospital.

Black Sabbath on the cover of Metal Hammer issue 402 — (Image credit: Future)

“There was an ambulance waiting for Ozzy,” he continues. “So I said to Sharon, ‘What happened?’ And she says, ‘Oh yeah, Ozzy bit into a bat, and we can’t find it because he spat it out into the pit. So they had to take him to [the] emergency [room].”

In an interview with David Letterman in 1982, Ozzy revealed that he had to get rabies shots after biting the bat. “I can assure you the rabies shots I went through afterwards aren’t fun,” he said (via Loudwire).

The Prince Of Darkness later claimed that he had to receive rabies shots for three weeks after the incident, as well. “Every night for the rest of the tour I had to find a doctor and get more rabies shots: One in each arse cheek, one in each thigh, one in each arm,” he said. “Every one hurt like a bastard.”

Ozzy, who retired from touring in 2023, will play his last-ever live show on Saturday, July 5. The singer will play his first set with the original Black Sabbath lineup – rounded out by guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – in almost 20 years and is also expected to perform a handful of solo songs.

The concert’s bill will be rounded out by a who’s-who of heavy metal royalty, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Slayer.

The new Hammer contains interviews with all four founding Sabbath members, as well as some of the musicians set to take part in the show this weekend and its musical director, Tom Morello.

Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.

Founded in 1983, Metal Hammer is the global home of all things heavy. We have breaking news, exclusive interviews with the biggest bands and names in metal, rock, hardcore, grunge and beyond, expert reviews of the lastest releases and unrivalled insider access to metal's most exciting new scenes and movements. No matter what you're into – be it heavy metal, punk, hardcore, grunge, alternative, goth, industrial, djent or the stuff so bizarre it defies classification – you'll find it all here, backed by the best writers in our game.

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