When it comes to sheer debauchery and outrageous behaviour, prince of darkness come bumbling reality TV star Ozzy Osbourne is second to none.
Incidents where the Black Sabbath frontman has bitten the heads off of bats, snorted ants as others celebrities might snort cocaine, and flaunted his naked body at high society dinners are but a scant few notorious tales from the jittery musician’s sordid past.
But the lunacy of the singer’s drug-fuelled antics hit an all-time high in 1982. Stripped naked by doting partner Sharon in his San Antonio hotel in an attempt to bring to bring the inebriated rocker under control, Ozzy donned one of his partner’s frocks and fled into the midday sun. Stumbling around the unfamiliar Texan terrain, the disorientated star elected to ease his bladder on a nearby statute. Unfortunately for Osbourne, the decision to relieve himself at a popular tourist location during daylight hours was quick to attract the ire local authorities.
Over the years popular accounts have often exaggerated the exact location of Ozzy’s misdeed. The myth that Ozzy urinated on the walls of the Alamo itself, the site of a crucial battle between American and Mexican forces in 1836, is a fiction. The truth of the matter was that the star instead urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph, a 60ft statue erected in 1939 to commemorate the historic battle. Regardless of the precise location Ozzy’s actions saw the star arrested for public urination and intoxication. Quickly released on bond to perform later the same day Ozzy’s concert was marred by volleys of rocks and abuse from riotous fans.
The incident saw Osbourne literally ejected from town. Legally banned from returning to San Antonio for 10 years, the singer made amends in 1992 by donating $10,000 to charitable organisation The Daughters of the Republic of Texas which manages the sacred Alamo site.
Still determined to clear the record 30 years on, Ozzy has again returned to San Antonio last week with son Jack last week. Revisiting the historic monument Osbourne filmed a formal apology which will form part of a History Channel special on the historic site.
Ozzy’s media interactions have not always been the most compressible affairs, fans can hope that this new recent apology will go some way to making amends with his Texan counterparts.
Ozzy will be touching down in Australia with Black Sabbath, on their final ever world tour in April 2016. Full details here.
Read more: Five Horrendous Crimes Committed By Famous Musicians