In a twist of a tale that will surely leave heavy metal fans chuckling, Ozzy Osbourne once again has a bat problem.
The heavy metal Prince of Darkness is famous for several pieces of rock and roll lore, one of which is about the time he bit the head off a bat.
Back in 1981, Ozzy was touring in support of his Diary of a Madman album. The tour was called “Night of the Living Dead”. During the course of the night, Ozzy would throw pig intestines and calf livers into the audience. Audience members started bringing things to throw back onto the stage. One kid brought what he thought was a dead bat.
When the bat was thrown onto the stage, Ozzy thought it was rubber. He picked it up and bit off the head. Turns out, the thing was not only real, it was alive. Ozzy ended up getting rabies shots, and a metal legend was born.
Trouble was, this was a tale that Ozzy could not live down, and neither could his kids. On one episode of the show The Osbournes, daughter Kelly talks about how some kids she knows are constantly bugging her about her dad biting the head off a bat.
Now Ozzy has bat trouble again.
The singer has been planning to convert a barn on his English estate into a two-bedroom home. But it turns out there are bats living in the barn. And these bats are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010.
A District Council spokesman said that a survey of the site revealed that bats and owls were living there.
“Mr Osbourne cannot convert his listed building until satisfactory surveys and related mitigation, allowing the bats and owls to remain living on the site, is submitted. We must be satisfied measures have been put in place to protect the animals before planning permission can be considered.”
The bats will have to be relocated from the site in a humane fashion and in accordance with the law.
Image via Wikimedia Commons