'I remember Ozzy missing a gig and it caused a riot'

Ozzy Osbourne died weeks after his farewell show at Villa Park on 5 July

It was 18 July 1988, and a crowd of heavy metal fans gathered at Nottingham's Rock City to witness the Prince of Darkness himself make an appearance.

Ozzy Osbourne - who died on Tuesday, just weeks after a hometown farewell show in Birmingham - was nearly a decade into a successful solo career which started after he was sacked from Black Sabbath.

The night was thick with hairspray and anticipation, but the notoriously hard-living singer then reported feeling unwell and the evening went downhill rapidly.

Ian Corcoran, who was there on the night, said: "The Ozzy Osbourne riot has since gone down in Rock City legend for all the wrong reasons."

Ozzy later performed a secret gig at Rock City in 1995

Now 58 and living in Lymm in Cheshire, Mr Corcoran said the now-iconic venue "was packed to the rafters and absolutely buzzing with anticipation before the gig".

"Ozzy was a major force in rock at that time so for him to be playing such a small venue was a major coup for the club," he said on his website, Music in the Attic.

While the dry ice poured out and the atmosphere built, Mr Corcoran said the crowd became anxious as the wait for Osbourne's arrival went on.

"Then came the Tannoy announcement that Ozzy was ill back at his hotel and wouldn't be performing that night," he said.

"Some fans (including us) thought it was part of the show and laughed along with the joke.

"Then the lights went up and it became obvious that the Prince of Darkness really wouldn't be gracing us with his presence.

"The place went up very quickly."

Luckily for Mr Corcoran, that night in Rock City was not his only opportunity to see Osbourne perform.

"I saw him at Donington [Monsters of Rock festival] in 84 and 86 and he was awesome," he said.

Ozzy Osbourne was not always known for turning up on time

Osbourne did return to Rock City - which now houses some of the ashes of his great friend Lemmy Kilmister - in 1995, when he played a secret show.

George Akins, managing director of DHP Family, which owns the venue, said the singer's agent contacted them ahead of a test for his new guitarist.

"We set up the show as part of our regular Friday rock night and about a 1,000 or so clubbers turned up and weren't sure why the stage had a full band setup," he said.

"At around 23:00 Ozzy came on stage and belted out a full set.

"The guitarist didn't get the gig going forward, but Ozzy came back a few months later referring to Rock City as being back home."

Mr Atkins said Ozzy "was really on form" at the gig, having avoided alcohol and warmed up by running around the venue and lifting some weights in his dressing room.

While efforts to alert the local press were unsuccessful - "I think they thought it was a hoax," he said - the event led to a continued relationship with a metal legend.

"Ozzy and Sharon were lovely and I ended up on their Christmas card list for many years," he said.

"Ozzy's legacy to metal and rock and roll is undeniable - I was lucky enough to work with him and his team a couple of times which will always have fond memories for me.

"He will be sorely missed, and I'm sure he's upsetting people wherever he is now."