From biting a bat to sniffing ants , there's no shortage of crazy stories involving the legendary Ozzy Osbourne . Bruce Dickinson revealed another of the Prince of Darkness's wild escapades: the day the artist tried to convince the Iron Maiden to steal a taxi.
Bruce told the story on the talk show Clarkson , hosted by former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson . The show aired on television between 1998 and 2000. In one episode, the show's host asked the frontman (via Metal Hammer ): "You hung out with Ozzy Osbourne offstage, didn't you? It must have been chaotic."
Dickinson recounts that he was drunk and locked in his hotel room, but managed to escape through the window and went to the bar. “There was nobody there, so I sat down and thought, ‘When someone comes, they’d better drink.’ I ordered 50 beers and just sat there.”
“Oz comes in with his entourage and the first thing he said to me was, ‘I’ve stopped drinking. I’ve stopped.’”, at which point Ozzy sits down and orders “a double cognac”.
“He had a few beers and said to me, ‘Let’s steal a taxi.’ I asked, ‘How are you going to do that?’ He said, ‘You hail the taxi and I distract the driver – no, you distract him and I hit him in the head! Do you know how to drive?’ When I said yes, he said, ‘Great, I don’t.’” Ozzy added, “That’s okay, I’ve done it before.”
In the end, the plan didn't work: "I think someone overheard our conversation and ratted us out," Bruce concluded.
Watch the interview below:
Iron Maiden forgets feud with Ozzy and mourns his death.
Even though Maiden, especially Bruce, had a complicated relationship with the Osbournes, the band paid tribute to the icon in an Instagram post .
The problems began with the infamous incident at Ozzfest 2005 , when Sharon orchestrated an act of sabotage against Bruce Dickinson and company, including throwing eggs at them on stage.
Sharon also accused Bruce Dickinson of disrespect and envy towards Ozzy , claiming that he made derogatory comments about the artist's relevance and the reality show "The Osbournes" – Bruce is known for hating reality shows.
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