Ozzy Osbourne didn’t wake up on February 19, 1982 and decided to cause trouble that afternoon by pissing on a priceless national monument in San Antonio, Texas. He simply went about his business, partyed like a rock star, had a few too many drinks, and then hit the street in a dress that belonged to his future wife, Sharon Osbourne (she hid his clothes so he couldn’t go out) ) and emptied his full bladder at the nearest statue he could find.
Little did he know that he was standing in the city’s sacred 60-foot-high cenotaph, directly across from the Alamo building. Hell, he barely remembered where he was, much less where he was. Contrary to popular belief, Ozzy didn’t technically pee in the Alamo building itself, he peeed inside the Alamo Plaza and chose a pretty bad spot.
The memorial was built in 1939 by the Texas Centennial Commission. Because the remains lie elsewhere and local officials honor the dead who did not kindly respond to public desecration by urinating. After all, the Alamo was the site of his famous battle in 1836 during the state’s Revolutionary War, and the historic building epitomizes Texas pride.
Police arrested Ozzy, who spent part of the afternoon in a local jail on charges of public intoxication. He was released later that night on $40 bail and performed at the city’s Hemisfair Arena Convention Center.
The fine wasn’t a slap on the wrist, but Osborne was banned from playing in San Antonio until 1992, publicly apologized to the city, and donated $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. He maintains the Alamo grounds. The city forgave him and Osborne performed at the Freeman Coliseum on his two days, October 1st and his 2nd.
“We’ve all done things in our lives that we regret,” Ozzy said at the time. I hope this donation shows that I have grown.”
Osbourne’s little transgression in San Antonio became rock legend. Artists Jim Mendiola and Ruben Ortiz Torres created the art installation Fountain/Ozzy Visits the Alamo. This consisted of a life-size Ozzy with a motion detector that caused Ozzy to pee when a gallery-goer approached a wall. that. Osborne’s move may have prompted his 23-year-old Daniel He Athens, who lives in El Paso in February 2014, to mimic the act. He was arrested for “criminal mischief on a public monument or human burial site.”
On November 5, 2015, Osbourne returned to San Antonio with his son Jack to film an episode of the series for The History Channel. It was supposed to be a private event, but someone leaked the news that the Prince of Darkness was coming to their town, and over 100 people gathered on the grounds for Osborne’s arrival. visited local councilor Roberto Treviño.
“Certainly, as a city, we are very happy that he came to our great city and tried to apologize for the behavior of a less sober person,” Treviño said.
That’s (hopefully) the end of Ozzy’s crazy leak story.
Loudwire contributor Jon Wiederhorn, author of Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends and co-author of Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal, is the autobiography of Scott Ian. ‘I’m Man: The Story of That Man from Anthrax and Al Jurgensen’s Autobiography, Ministry: Al Jurgensen and the Lost Gospels by the Agnostic Front My Riot! Grit, Guts, and Glory.
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