Ozzy Osbourne, the founding father of heavy metal, was as famed for his wild antics on stage as his hedonistic behaviour off it. The Black Sabbath singer became renowned for his controversial live shows and chaotic personal life, often fuelled by drug and alcohol use.
In 1982, Osbourne was wearing one of his wife's dresses for a photoshoot near The Alamo in Texas. The rock star drunkenly relieved himself on a cenotaph commemorating the dead, later donating thousands to the group that maintains The Alamo.
In the midst of an alcohol and drug haze, Osbourne claimed he slaughtered 17 cats with a shotgun. He said his wife found him under a piano, armed with a knife in one hand and a shotgun in the other.
During a tour with Motley Crue in the 1980s, bassist Nikki Sixx claimed that Osbourne took a straw and, as if snorting cocaine, hoovered a line of ants up his nose.
In 1982, a fan threw a bat on stage during a gig in Des Moines, Iowa. In the frenzy of performance, Osbourne—believing it to be rubber—bit its head off. He had history with decapitation of winged creatures; in 1981, he grabbed a dove intended for a symbolic release and bit its head off, resulting in him being thrown out of the building.
Osbourne also spoke of his infidelity, joking in 2017 that the secret to his marriage was "don't get caught with your mistress." He later expressed regret, saying, "I upset my wife and I upset my family... I love my wife, and it made me realise what a f****** idiot I've been."
