They're dropping like flies. First there was the For
Squirrels tragedy last fall, when the van they were riding in overturned,
leaving two of the members, and their road manager dead. Next the all but
indestructible Ozzie Osbourne was in a taxi cab accident on his way back from a
radio interview in Houston, Texas last week. The taxi he was riding in was
rear-ended, and Osbourne was knocked unconscious, and suffered severe whiplash.
He received doctor's orders to take-off at least two weeks to recuperate. The
invincible Osbourne would only consent to canceling one show--if only to show
the world that he isn't too old to rock and roll, despite the fact that he
dubbed his last tour the "farewell tour"--something he rues to this
day.
The on January 17, Gwen Mars were in a similar accident. They were
carefully wending their way through a Wyoming snowstorm in their mini-van,
pulling a U-Haul truck behind them which contained all their equipment. From
out of the near-white out conditions came a big semi that rear-ended the
U-Haul, at an incredible speed, considering the extreme weather conditions. The
Wyoming Highway patrol who came to the scene commented on how lucky Gwen Mars
was, telling the guys that had they not been pulling the U-Haul, they wouldn't
have been there to tell the story. Like Ozzy they too went to the hospital, but
were later released. They were forced to cancel only one show in Denver. The
next day they were able to round up another vehicle, and some rented equipment,
and were able to play their gig in
Phoenix.