Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she recently booted a band from the lineup of Ozzy Osbourne and BLACK SABBATH’s upcoming final concert—“Back to the Beginning”—set for July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham.
In a candid interview with Louder Sound, Sharon opened up about the behind-the-scenes tension surrounding the event and a heated conflict with another band’s manager. While she didn’t name the group directly, her comments strongly suggest a significant falling-out that led to the band’s removal.
“I had a huge, huge to-do with a manager over this celebration for Ozzy and SABBATH,” Sharon said. “And it was probably the worst way I’ve felt in years. And I don’t care what this person says about me, thinks about it, because he doesn’t know me. And he’s now going around making up bulls**t lies because I threw his band off the bill.”
Sharon made it clear that her actions were about protecting Ozzy and staying true to her own values, not about pleasing the industry.
“I don’t care what people say. Because do you know what? I don’t love them. I care about people who love me, what they say about me. You can’t care what an industry says, because you don’t love them, so how can it hurt you? It doesn’t.”
When the interviewer brought up past issues with IRON MAIDEN—specifically referencing the infamous 2005 Ozzfest drama—SHARON clarified that the current situation had nothing to do with them.
“I love IRON MAIDEN, it’s just the singer because he was so horribly disrespectful,” she explained. “But if you’re going to take Ozzy’s money, and play before him every night of a festival, and you’re bad-mouthing him to the crowd, you’ve got to pay. So I had him pelted with cans of baked beans that were open, and cut his sound.”
Pressed on whether IRON MAIDEN was the band removed from the July 5 show, Sharon responded definitively:
“Oh god, no. Ozzy only has respect for the guys in MAIDEN. And he didn’t even know what Bruce was doing. I never told him, until the night that it happened when it was the last show, and he just looked at me and goes, ‘You’re terrible.’”
In a recent interview with Music Business Worldwide, Sharon has revealed two legendary rock acts she wishes could be part of the historic night: JUDAS PRIEST and Angus Young of AC/DC.
“There are two bands that we would have loved to have been there, but they couldn’t because they’re working that day,” she said. “And that was JUDAS PRIEST, a local band, and Angus from AC/DC, because he’s always been a huge supporter of Ozzy‘s.”
Those logistics came into sharper focus when JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford, in an interview with Metal Hammer last month, revealed he is “absolutely gutted” to miss his friends’ big night. PRIEST are locked into a marquee appearance at the SCORPIONS’ 60th-anniversary show in Hannover—also on 5 July—leaving no practical way to hop more than 600 km back to Birmingham in time. Even Sharon’s offer of a private jet couldn’t erase “technical” risks or unpredictable summer weather, Halford explained. “I had no idea [the SABBATH show] was happening… I was absolutely gutted,” he said.
Despite the clash, Halford stressed that founding PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing will appear at Villa Park, “representing the spirit of the band.” From afar, Halford still cherishes what the concert means: “It’s a wonderful and epic moment for SABBATH and heavy metal—it re-emphasises that Birmingham is where metal came from.”
The concert will feature SABBATH‘s original lineup—Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward—reuniting for a once-in-a-lifetime show. The performance will also include a star-studded lineup, with appearances from METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, GUNS N’ ROSES, TOOL, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX, MASTODON and more.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.