Metal militia turn out for €560k Ozzy auction

HEAVY metal fans are not usually seen making bids at a high-end auctions, but they turned out in numbers to snatch up a coat with embroidered bats, sneakers with skulls on them and other items put up for sale by Ozzy Osbourne.

Bidders came from as far as Germany to try to buy belongings from the Beverly Hills mansion formerly owned by the rocker and former star of The Osbournes reality show.

Items featured on Osbournes’ hit MTV show were the most popular, according to Mr Julien, whose company, Julien’s Auctions, ran the charity sale. The bat coat sold for £1,650 (€2,300), the skull trainers brought in £1,300 (€1,800), and a pair of Ozzy’s trademark round glasses went for £2,600 (€3,600).

Mr Julien said the “Ozzy factor” made ordinary items command big-ticket prices. An oversized coffee cup that Osbourne often clutched while the cameras rolled sold for £800 (€1,200).

The auction brought in £400,000 (€560,000) — more than twice the amount Mr Julien predicted. All proceeds go to The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Programme at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.