To commemorate one of the most infamous moments in Ozzy Osbourne‘s career – and one of the most notorious incidents in rock history – the singer has released a limited edition plush toy of a bat with a detachable head.
The 12″ doll is a bizarre tribute to the winged creature that met its demise thanks to Osbourne’s teeth on January 20th, 1982: On that date, during a concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a fan hurled the live bat at Osbourne’s feet; during Osbourne’s tour in support of Diary of a Madman, he’d gained a reputation for throwing animal parts at the audience, who in turn came armed with their own morbid ammunition, Rolling Stone wrote--
Osbourne picked up the still-alive bat and, as he wrote in his memoir I Am Ozzy, “Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start, my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid, with the worst aftertaste you could ever imagine. I could feel it staining my teeth and running down my chin. Then the head in my mouth twitched. Oh fuck me, I thought. I didn’t just go and eat a fucking bat, did I?” Osbourne had to get a rabies shot after the incident.
Despite the web exclusive plush doll’s $40 price, the first batch of toys have already sold out; fans can preorder the Ozzy Osbourne Plush Bat now at the singer’s webstore.