'Prague is...absolutely magnificent': Ozzy had a smashing good time in Czechia

Ozzy Osbourne, the pioneering frontman of Black Sabbath and a defining figure in heavy metal, died Tuesday at the age of 76. Over his decades-long career, Osbourne amassed legions of fans and a trove of wild anecdotes, including some from the Czech Republic, where both his music and his reputation for excess were on full display.

The British rocker performed in Prague five times, including two sold-out solo shows in 1995 at the Výstaviště Sports Hall for some 30,000 fans, just six years after the fall of communism.

A video diary released by MTV that year featured footage of Osbourne’s gigs in the Czech capital as well as commentary from the performer about the city: “Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been in in my life...it’s absolutely magnificent,” Osbourne can be heard saying.

He also commented on the audience, saying, “Some people had told me they [Czechs] wouldn't know how to react because it was all so new to them.” Afterward, the singer said he was told the crowd was atypically excited. The footage ends with scenes of Osbourne and his entourage touring Prague Castle and the Jewish Cemetery in Old Town.

Czech music publicist Petr Korál, who attended the concerts, recalled the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s signature stage antics, including pouring water on the audience with a bucket, a stunt that once led him to slip and fall onstage. “Despite that, he finished the concert just fine. Hats off to him,” Korál said.

A later visit in 2002 would produce one of the most infamous anecdotes from Osbourne’s touring years. After playing Ozzfest at Strahov Stadium, Osbourne and guitarist Zakk Wylde returned to their Prague hotel room at the Four Seasons along with bassist Robert Trujillo.

In a 2024 interview with Louder, Wylde described a long night of heavy drinking (“We must have spent two grand on beer that night”) that ended with a hotel television being ripped from the wall and thrown out of a sixth-floor window, reportedly at Osbourne’s suggestion, after remarking he had never done it before.

The damage to the room totaled (in 2002 values) over CZK 1.1 million (GBP 41,000), and the suite was out of service for 44 days. Wylde claimed he was billed CZK 284,000 (GBP 10,000) for the stunt, despite the actual cost of the TV being far less. “Me and Ozzy were always on the floor, laughing,” Wylde said. “That’s just how it was.”

Osbourne’s voice and performance style made him instantly recognizable, said Czech critic Ondřej Bezr. “He wasn’t technically exceptional, but the color and character of his voice were unmistakable,” he noted. “That is the alpha and omega of a singer’s success.”

The heavy metal godfather’s legacy in Czechia includes multiple pop culture footnotes. In 1985, Czech singer Marie Rottová covered Black Sabbath’s "She’s Gone” as Lásko, voníš deštěm" (Love Smells Like Rain). Jaromír Nohavica wrote the lyrics.

A character loosely inspired by him, Ozzák, appears in the Czech sitcom Comeback as a disheveled, rock-obsessed uncle and has became a cult favorite. The character, portrayed by Martin Dejdar, even inspired a Czech beer, and, recently, the opening of a certified Ozzák shop in Prague.

In early 2023, the singer canceled his European tour due to health issues related to Parkinson’s disease. A Prague show was included in the lineup and subsequently called off. Osbourne’s final live performance took place on July 5 to a crowd of 40,000 in the UK.

“His role in the history of popular music, not just rock music, is absolutely fundamental and almost inestimable. Black Sabbath influenced and still influences entire generations of rock bands,” said Korál.