During a recent episode of “The Osbournes” podcast, Sharon Osbourne delved into the iconic history of Ozzfest festival.
This week’s episode is a deep dive into the festival’s extraordinary inception, backstage shenanigans, and a roll-call of memorable performances by a host of bands, including the likes of INCUBUS, TOOL, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, SNOT, DISTURBED, Marilyn Manson, LIMP BIZKIT, and many more.
On why Ozzfest stopped, Sharon said: “Yeah, it was a very weird beast because all the bands were our mates, but the managers were greedy and for some reason they thought that we were making billions on it and we weren’t. We made a profit. But it was not like — we couldn’t retire on it. And managers and agents wanted more and more and more, and it just wasn’t cost effective anymore. We stopped, because it just wasn’t cost effective.”
“Years and years ago, one of the bands — it was the second Ozzfest we did, or the third — wouldn’t go on stage until I agreed to give them 10,000 more dollars. And they were holding everything up, and I said, ‘Of course, of course I’ll give it you.'” Pressed by Jack to name the act in question, Sharon said “Glenn Danzig“, to which Jack replied: “Why are you gonna protect that tw*t?”
The last Ozzfest was held on December 31, 2018, at the Forum in Los Angeles. This event was hosted by none other than Ozzy Osbourne himself, despite his health issues at the time. The event lined up several bands, including ZAKK SABBATH, DEVILDRIVER, and WEDNESDAY 13, among others.
