New light has been shed on one of the most talked-about mysteries surrounding Ozzy Osbourne’s “Back To The Beginning” farewell concert, after Jack Osbourne offered fresh insight into the band that was reportedly removed from the lineup.
The heavy metal world has been speculating for months about the identity of the act that was uninvited from the historic all-star event after a dispute over money. The concert, which took place in Birmingham, UK, brought together some of the biggest names in rock and metal, with all participating artists agreeing to waive their standard performance fees. Proceeds from the show were donated to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, ultimately raising around $11 million through the event, its livestream, and a related auction.
The controversy first surfaced when Sharon Osbourne revealed that a band had been removed from the bill following a serious falling-out with their manager. At the time, she made it clear she was furious over the situation, telling Louder Sound: “It was probably the worst way I’ve felt in years. I don’t care what this person says about me… because I threw his band off the bill.”
She later doubled down in a Billboard interview in July 2025, promising that the identity of the act would eventually be revealed: “It’s not the time to make a profit. After the show I’ll let everybody know who it was. I think people will be shocked.”
However, that revelation never came, as Ozzy tragically passed away from a heart attack just weeks after the performance, overshadowing the entire controversy.
As speculation spread online, fans began pointing fingers at various major bands, with MEGADETH among the most frequently mentioned names. That theory was later shut down when Kelly Osbourne responded to an Instagram post discussing the rumor, simply writing: “Nope! Not him!”
Now, Jack Osbourne has addressed the situation in more detail during an appearance on Jamie Kennedy’s Hate To Break It To Ya Podcast, offering clarity—while still refusing to name the band outright.
“Here’s what I will say, ’cause a lot of stuff online was about ‘Oh, it’s um…’ I cannot say the band. I cannot. I cannot. But what I will say is this. Everyone’s online speculating who it is, and I have not seen a single accurate [guess,] Not even close. Like I saw something that it was Wolfgang Van Halen and it was absof**kingutely not,” Jack said (as transcribed by ThePRP).
Jack also clarified the nature of Wolfgang Van Halen’s absence from the event, stressing it was unrelated to the controversy: “Like Wolf wanted to be there so badly and it was just a clash in schedule [Wolfgang Van Halen withdrew due to a scheduling conflict with his tour with CREED] and hey, he was getting a paid gig versus an unpaid gig. Go do the paid gig. You know?”
He went on to explain the structure of the event and why tensions arose over costs: “Here’s the caveat [about ‘Back To The Beginning‘,] it was like listen, we’ll pay for your crew, we’ll pay your hard costs, but no one is, no one’s getting paid, like individually, like the band. But what ended up happening was a lot of crew donated their time. So, they were like, ‘No, we’re not charging for this.’ Because you know, a lot of the crews we’d all worked with for years anyway.”
“And the one band, I will say at this point, it’s like it was in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars what they said their hard costs would be… For them just to show up without any talent fee. It was… It was very frustrating.”
Jack suggested the issue may have stemmed from management rather than the band itself: “…But here’s the thing, it was like, ‘Are you f**king serious?’ And then you know and then you start… Here’s what, I will give the band the benefit of the doubt, and I will say it was probably the manager, but I don’t know, you know? I don’t know.”
When asked whether the Osbourne family believed there may have been financial motives behind the dispute, Jack didn’t hold back: “Yeah, ’cause there’s no way… My mom has worked in touring since the 1960s. So like since the 60s she’s worked, you know, in some capacity in the music industry. She knows what hard costs are and what things… what the real is. And when you start saying… they were like, ‘well, all our crew flies business class’. And you’re like, ‘excuse me?’”
“And so this person was just like saying all this s**t and like I was just like, ‘You f**kin… like you motherf**ker.’”
Despite pressure from the podcast host, Jack continued to avoid naming names or even dropping hints about the band’s identity: “I can’t [reveal the band] because there’s like the fallout.”
He also confirmed that the band later reached out after the incident: “They were like, ‘Please tell us what happened, we want to know the whole story.’”
When asked why the band’s own members didn’t intervene during the dispute, Jack responded bluntly:
“Yeah that’s how I’m just like bulls**t. You f**kin’ knew.”
Jack also ruled out several high-profile guesses made by fans and commentators, including Wolfgang Van Halen, MÖTLEY CRÜE, and FOO FIGHTERS, while laughing off more far-fetched suggestions such as U2, COLDPLAY, and Ed Sheeran.
The final “Back To The Beginning” lineup ultimately featured an all-star roster of rock and metal legends, including METALLICA, GUNS N’ ROSES, PANTERA, TOOL, ALICE IN CHAINS, SLAYER, MASTODON, GOJIRA, ANTHRAX, LAMB OF GOD, RIVAL SONS, HALESTORM, Jack Black (TENACIOUS D), and Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT).
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