Ozzy Osbourne announced the release of a plush toy to mark the anniversary of the time he bit the head off a bat on stage.

The former Black Sabbath frontman created a rock legend in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 20, 1982, when a bat was thrown at him from the crowd. Assuming it was fake, he put it in his mouth and tore its head off – at which point he discovered it was real, and alive.

“Today marks the 37th Anniversary since I bit a head off a f*cking bat,” he tweeted. “Celebrate with this commemorative plush with detachable head.” The 12-inch-tall item, which is on sale for $40, is described as a “web exclusive” with the explanation: “Bring the legendary moment in rock history to life with this soft toy plush bat, featuring the Ozzy Osbourne logo and a velcro detachable head.”

In his 2009 memoir I Am Ozzy, he said of the famed incident: “Immediately… 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.” The bat, fighting for its life, managed to bite him too, meaning Osbourne required treatment against the possibility of rabies.

Last month, Osbourne, 70, reflected on his ‘70s and ‘80s era of excess, saying he was bewildered as to why he’d thought being drunk and on drugs was so much fun. “I now think, ‘How did I think going into a bar and getting smashed and doing all that cocaine was fun?’” he said. “I have come to think that if, right now, you had a gun, a bag of cocaine and a gallon of booze and you said, ‘Take your pick,’ I’d pick up the gun. It’s not worth it.” He reported: “I’m just enjoying life now to the fullest. I don’t drink alcohol anymore. I don’t smoke tobacco. I don’t use drugs. … I’m doing good right now.”

 

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