Ozzy Osbourne demanded to be served a curry despite dining in an Italian restaurant.

The Black Sabbath rocker was with his wife, Sharon, and other friends at London's upmarket C branch of the Cipriani restaurant chain, but wasn't keen on their fancy European menu, so repeatedly asked for his favourite Indian preparation until the restaurant obliged and dispatched a waiter to pick up a takeaway.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''Ozzy was completely unfazed by the situation, and insisted he was in the mood for a curry.

''Sharon and [friend] Louis Walsh kept telling him he should just have a nice bowl of pasta or something, but he wouldn't budge.

''He wanted a curry and, as far as he was concerned, that was the end of it. Obviously staff were keen to keep their high-profile guests happy, so waiters were dispatched to a nearby curry house in Mayfair and ordered a takeaway for Ozzy.

''They rushed it back and served it up - still warm - on C-branded plates as the rest of the table were served their dinners. Ozzy was delighted.''

Ozzy is certainly in a different position from when he was first touring with Black Sabbath in the early 70s, as back then the band used to go hungry because they didn't know how to order food in other languages.

Bass player Geezer Butler has said: ''It was f***ing horrible. We were literally starving. Sometimes I'd cry because I'd be so hungry. You couldn't afford the petrol to go for just one show so you had to stay there [Europe] for two or three weeks.''