Post by Tom Ferguson / Redsky

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Rest In Peace to Ozzy Osbourne, an absolute insane person I never thought would die. Ozzy is most famous in NEPA for a concert that never happened.

A newspaper clipping from the Scranton Times-Tribune in late 1982, announcing a bunch of concerts in the new year, including an Ozzy Osbourne concert scheduled for February 12, 1983, at the Scranton Catholic Youth Center.

jul 22, 2025, 7:37 pm • 0 0

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The announced show sold out its 4,000 tickets in like a day. And, a few days later, rumors began swirling that the show was going to be canceled. Apparently the reverend in charge of the CYC at the time had never heard of Ozzy?

A newspaper clipping from The Citizens’ Voice in Wilkes-Barre, PA, with the headline “Is Scranton Ready for Ozzy Osbourne?”, dated January 26, 1983.

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Allegedly, aside from his “ties” to satanic worship, the Diocese of Scranton was getting inundated with threats of protests outside the venue if Ozzy came to town. It was enough that they eventually canceled the show, two weeks before it was set to happen.

A newspaper clipping from The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre with the headline “Scranton may ban concert by controversial rock star,” in reference to the ill-fated Ozzy Osbourne concert scheduled for February. This article ran on January 26, 1983.

A newspaper clipping from The Citizens’ Voice in Wilkes-Barre, PA, with the headline “Diocese Says ‘No’ to Ozzy,” referencing the Diocese of Scranton officially canceling the upcoming Ozzy Osbourne concert scheduled for February 12, 1983. This article ran on January 27, 1983.

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The reaction was mixed. The kids that got tickets were obviously upset, and there were a few letters to the editor that went so far as to say we are a communist state and free speech was being suppressed. And there were lots of other letters of adults reveling in taking away a rock concert.

An article from the Scranton Times-Tribune with the headline “Let Ozzy Perform, Students Say,” accompanied by a photo of two Scranton Tech HS students holding a ticket for the canceled Ozzy Osbourne concert scheduled for February 12, 1983 at the Scranton CYC. The article ran on January 27, 1983.

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Ultimately, the promoter took the CYC to court, and it made it to the PA Supreme Court, but the injunction to prevent the show from being canceled never came, and the show never happened. Ozzy eventually made it to Scranton, playing Montage a handful of times, including 1996.

A newspaper clipping of an article from The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, PA, with the headline “Ozzy’s ‘Crazy Train’ thunders through Montage,” which was a review of the Ozzy Osbourne concert that happened on June 22, 1996, at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain. It was Ozzy’s first appearance in Scranton since his 1983 concert was canceled.

jul 22, 2025, 7:37 pm • 0 0 • view

Anyway, here’s “Bark at the Moon,” where Ozzy is excellent on the vocals and Jake E. Lee has one of my favorite guitar performances. The solo is obviously very good, but man, this riff goes hard. Rest In Peace to Ozzy Osbourne. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LplP...

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