OZZFEST, Hang Your Head In Shame: The Backstage Perspective - Aug. 22, 2005

The manager of a well-known heavy metal band who attended this past weekend's Ozzfest show at the Hyundai Pavillion in Devore, California has submitted the following first-hand account of the evening that will surely go down as one of the most shameful moments in recent rock history (NOTE: at his request, the author's identity is being protected by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

"Saturday night's Ozzfest at the Hyundai Pavillion near Los Angeles was a debacle on so many levels, I am still in shock as I write this. As a fan of many of the bands [Saturday] night, one can only hope this was an isolated incident, but sadly, it most likely wasn't. As many of you have heard already, co-headliners and metal legends IRON MAIDEN were pelted with eggs, bottle caps, beer cups, spit on, had people from the Ozzfest camp talking over the PA during their set, had 'Eddie' delayed from his onstage entrance, had members of the [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] entourage rush the stage with American flags, and had the PA intentionally turned off over 6 times, all by the OSBOURNE CAMP.

"While it's still unclear as to the exact reasons why the terrorizing started (rumors abounded as to why, with everything from Bruce calling out Ozzy in the U.K. rock magazine Kerrang! on the widely known fact that Ozzy uses a teleprompter, to various vague references said on stage about a 'reality show' at an Ozzfest stop in Detroit), one thing was very clear: The whole thing stunk, and left me, and nearly all of the 40,000 heavy metal fans in attendance angered and disappointed. Not that behind the scenes bickering or magazine trash talking is anything new to rock fans, but the shocking lack of professionalism at one of the largest stops in North America in front of 40,000 spectators, at the hand of the Osbournes was nothing short of disgusting.

"It all began early in the afternoon, when many side stage bands were openly approached in clear view of everyone backstage by Sharon and Kelly Osbourne to 'join them in throwing eggs at IRON MAIDEN this evening.' All the bands were encouraged to rally the other side stage bands to do so. Members and/or friends of the hardcore band BURY YOUR DEAD were seen actively trying to encourage other side stage bands to 'join in the fun.' Thankfully, many side stage bands angrily declined.

"Later that evening, as IRON MAIDEN came on stage, their intro was interrupted by [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] hanger-on and biker wannabe Big Dave, who was at the soundboard loudly chanting 'Ozzy, Ozzy' over the PA. MAIDEN opened their set and the entire band was pelted from the front row with eggs, beer, beer cups, spit, and various other objects by an Ozzfest-credentialed, bandana-wearing, Osbourne entourage. IRON MAIDEN, ever the professionals, continued through their set, and by the time they launched into their second song, 'The Trooper', Bruce changed into a civil war-era, red coat and began waving a Union Jack — British flag. Then, someone in, or associated with, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY tried to rush the stage waving and American Flag with the words 'Don't fuck with Ozzy' scrawled across his bare chest. He was tackled and beaten by MAIDEN crew and promptly thrown off stage.

"As 'The Trooper' ended, frontman Bruce Dickinson, with characteristic spunk, launched into a scathing attack on the people terrorizing his band, calling them 'a sorry excuse for an Ozzy Osbourne fan,' and wondering aloud how, 'three dozen eggs could get snuck into the front row of Ozzfest by people with Ozzfest laminates?' Though he never named names, all in attendance could understand who he was referring to. Nicko McBrain ran up to the front asking Bruce to hold on while he cleaned egg off his drums. He then stated the the next song wouldn't be heard on 'Your local cocksucking corporate radio station, wouldn't be seen on MTV anymore, and sure as hell wouldn't be played on a fucking reality TV show,' met by a huge roar from the crowd.

"During the song 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', Bruce, after only the first two lines, stopped singing and ran to the front row, firing back at his terrorizers, saying 'That asswipe right there, with the curly hair, the fucking glasses, and Ozzfest laminate throw his fucking ass out of here right now. It's gonna take more than eggs to stop IRON MAIDEN, and if it wasn't for a lawsuit, I'd rip your fucking head off right now, you piece of shit!!!!' He had the various attackers ejected and continued with a blistering version of the song until right before the big sing long at the end, the PA was INTENTIONALLY cut off. When it came back, Bruce launched into another scathing attack saying that they were supposed to play a shorter set than normal today, and only play 55 minutes, but IRON MAIDEN can't drive 55, or play 55, and were going to play our whole fucking set tonight.

"The band endured six more 'PA cuts,' including having the power to their amps turned off at one point. When the PA would come back on, they would simply launch into the next IRON MAIDEN classic, never missing a beat. Frankly, with every PA cut, the band just got meaner and meaner, playing each new song with an anger and a fire that was at times, simply astonishing to watch. Bruce began the introduction to IRON MAIDEN with a speech about 'Your constitution has something about 'We The People.' Well let me tell you, the only reason we are up here tolerating this bullshit, is because of you people. You have been amazing Glen Helen, and there are A LOT of IRON MAIDEN fans here tonight,' eliciting a huge roar from the crowd. He continued, 'It's gonna take more than eggs to stop IRON MAIDEN, NOTHING is going to come between us and our fans, and it will be death before dishonor, this is 'Iron fucking Maiden',' which was greeted by a thunderous applause. During 'Iron Maiden', longtime MAIDEN mascot Eddie was purposely delayed from making his entrance, making a brief appearance at the end, and one could only wonder as to how. As the band closed there set with a furious version of 'Sanctuary', the PA was again cut only to have Big Dave repeatedly chant 'Ozzy' over the PA, while the band tried to say goodbye to their fans. The now-furious crowd angrily drowned him out with chants of 'MAIDEN, MAIDEN.'

"Then, not 10 seconds after MAIDEN left the stage, Sharon Osbourne walked on stage and predictably, tried to give MAIDEN some fake, half-hearted praise about how they'd like to 'thank IRON MAIDEN,' and what a wonderful band IRON MAIDEN are, and how their crew were 'fantastic,' then sneering, 'But Bruce Dickinson is a prick.' The entire crowd, now fed up with the entire affair, began loudly booing her, pelting her with beer cups, and yelling 'bitch.' She tried to carry on, adding that 'Bruce had disrespected Ozzfest,' only to be drowned out by an ocean of boos, and soaked with beer. She slammed the microphone down and stormed off stage. Many in the crowd, fed up with what they had just witnessed, especially considering that many had come solely for MAIDEN, and paid upwards of $150 to do so, left in droves. SABBATH played to maybe half the audience that was there prior, and seemed stagnate compared to the band preceding them. As a huge fan of SABBATH, I honestly couldn't stand to watch them.

"I've seen IRON MAIDEN probably 10 times in my life, and frankly this was the very best IRON MAIDEN show I've had the pleasure of witnessing. You DON'T want to fuck with IRON MAIDEN. The more the Osbournes tried to fuck with them, the better they got! IRON MAIDEN was on fucking overdrive! Considering the amount of terrorizing and intimidation that IRON MAIDEN had to deal with at the hands of the Osbournes and the other side stage and main stage bands participating, they were the consummate professionals. They had the crowd in the palms of their hands, and IRON MAIDEN and Bruce Dickinson proved beyond a shadow of a doubt why they are the greatest metal band on earth right now, and quite possibly, the classiest, too.

"The Osbournes are drunk with power. Shame on them, and shame on ANY of the bands that participated in the terrorizing and intimidation. It was disgusting display, that NO BAND should have had to endure, but especially a legend like IRON MAIDEN. That fact that it happened in front of 40,000 people, at a Clear Channel-sponsored event, while Hyundai Pavilion Security turned a blind eye and let the Osbourne camp pelt one of the main headlining bands with eggs, beer, and spit, was simply inexcusable.

"I will proudly be attending next year's MAIDEN fest, and as much as I hate to say it, I can't bring myself to spend another dime on the Osbournes.

"Ozzfest, hang your head in shame."

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SHARON OSBOURNE Issues 'Open Letter' To IRON MAIDEN's Manager - Aug. 25, 2005

Sharon Osbourne has issued the following "open letter" to IRON MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood:

"Rod,

"I found your statement to be completely void of the facts that led up to Saturday's show. Your press release was written like an old-time '80s manager, trying to use every opportunity to try and sell the record and the upcoming shows instead of just dealing with the truth.

"These are the facts:

"You claim to have been in the business for 30 years and have been to hundreds of gigs, but can you tell me how many times you have heard of an opening band talking sh*t about the headliner during their set and getting away with it? Not only is Ozzy the headliner, but he is also the man who is paying your band $185,000 a night. We gave IRON MAIDEN a chance to play to the biggest audiences they have ever played to in the U.S.A. We accommodated them with their stage set and at the band's request we even scoured the audience for people wearing IRON MAIDEN t-shirts and brought them down front during their set to make them feel more comfortable. Tell me, what other headliner would do that? Unfortunately those gestures were completely lost on Bruce Dickinson who for over 20 shows continually berated Ozzy and Ozzfest during his set.

"Over the last 10 years of Ozzfest, we have worked with over 200 bands. None of them were ever disrespectful to Ozzy or any of the other bands on the tour. But for 20 shows we were forced to hear Dickinson's nightly outbursts from the stage: 'When we come back to America, we'll be back with a proper sound system,' or "We won't be playing the same old songs every night (like SABBATH),' 'We don't need a teleprompter (like Ozzy)' and 'We don't need a reality show to be legit (again, like Ozzy).' Night after night we heard his complaints from the stage about how 'corporate' the venues were and how 'outrageous' the ticket prices were. Strangely enough, if you want to get a general admission ticket to stand in a field to see IRON MAIDEN at Reading this weekend it's going to cost you over $120. I would say that's very pricey, wouldn't you?

"When an artist comes on stage and says he's not playing the 55 minutes that he was allotted and that he is going to play for as long as he wants (cutting into SABBATH's set), I'm not going to let that happen. Dickinson was under the delusion that the 46,000 people in San Bernardino had come only to see IRON MAIDEN. He even proclaimed 'This is not the Ozzfest, This is Maidenfest.' I guess no one told him that we have an audience of 45,000 to 53,000 people every year in San Bernardino.

"Here's another fact for you. Bruce Dickinson's own band was embarrassed by him. IRON MAIDEN leader, Steve Harris, even came to Ozzy's dressing room to apologize to Ozzy for Bruce's behavior before MAIDEN took the stage in San Bernardino.

"It's shameful that Dickinson felt he had the right to air his issues publicly onstage every night as a way to boost his own ego. Dickinson never once came up to Ozzy and me to voice any concerns. He certainly had the opportunity to do so every night. If he wasn't able to show us that courtesy then why should I give him the respect to air my grievances with him in private? Ozzy's only interaction with Dickinson was on the first night of the tour. Ozzy, being the true gentleman that he is, passed Bruce in the hall and said 'Good luck and have a great show.' Unfortunately Dickinson felt the need to turn his back to Ozzy and walked away. Frankly, Dickinson got what he deserved. We had to listen to his bullsh*t for five straight weeks. He only had to suffer a couple of eggs on the head.

"On closing, yes, I did cut IRON MAIDEN's sound. This is the way I look at it: Ozzfest is our tour. We built it into something that's lasted 10 years now. We've been responsible for breaking many new bands and resurrecting the careers of former superstars. Part of our success stems from the fact that when a band is on Ozzfest we treat them with nothing but kindness and respect just as if we had invited them into our home. You can ask all of the bands who have been on the tour. They all describe it as the 'ultimate summer camp.' It's like one big family. Unfortunately Dickinson doesn't have the manners to realize that when you are invited into someone's home, are seated at their dinner table, are eating their food and drinking their wine, you shouldn't talk disrespectfully about them (Ozzy, BLACK SABBATH and Ozzfest), otherwise you just might get your ass handed to you. Every action has a reaction. Was Dickinson so naïve to think that I was going to let him get away with talking sh*t about my family night after night? I don't think he realizes who he's dealing with. I will not endure behavior like this from anyone.

"I know you would love to keep talking about this because this is the most press that IRON MAIDEN has had in the U.S. in twenty years, but let's move on, shall we?

"Sincerely,

"The 'Real' Iron Maiden

"Sharon Osbourne"

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Iron Maiden fans furious at Sharon Osbourne

Some Iron Maiden fans have declared a heavy metal war on Sharon Osbourne. More than a thousand angry fans have signed a petition they plan to send to Ozzy’s wife, with some signers wishing the former reality-show star bodily harm.

The unpleasantness began at an Ozzfest concert in Devore, California over the weekend. When Iron Maiden took the stage, Black Sabbath fans apparently began chanting for Ozzy to appear, with some hurling eggs, bottles and various other items on stage.

Iron Maiden’s lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, told the crowd to break the arms of the hurlers, according to various fans’ reports, and made a snide comment about heavy-metal singers who appear in reality shows. “Technical difficulties” then erupted in Iron Maiden’s show — with lighting and sound going on the fritz; fans of the band blamed the problem on the organizers of Ozzfest. Some also claim that that Kelly Osbourne was one of the eggers, which the Osbourne camp denies. 

That has brought out the wrath of Iron Maiden fans. “Sharon and Kelly’s actions towards Bruce and Iron Maiden are despicable at best,” wrote petitioner Michael Swint, one of the calmer of the signers. “It clearly shows how low they are willing to go to upstage an incredible act that were asked by the Osbournes to co-headline and [yet] Maiden are treated with disrespect.” 

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SHARON OSBOURNE Defends Egg-Throwing Incident:

'A Bit Of Egg Isn't Gonna Spoil A Rock Show' - Aug. 31, 2005

Sharon Osbourne spoke exclusively to Kerrang! magazine (web site) last week (as reported here yesterday) regarding IRON MAIDEN's final performance on this year's Ozzfest tour, during which she cut MAIDEN's power and arranged to have the band pelted with eggs and debris from the crowd. Several more excerpts from the interview follow:

Kerrang!: Reading between the lines of [IRON MAIDEN manager] Rod Smallwood's statement, the unspoken suggestion is that you orchestrated this whole thing...

Sharon Osbourne: "Of course I did. I had the PA turned on and off. And look it's not hard for someone to walk into a diehard Ozzfest crowd and say, 'Who wants to throw an egg at a rock star?' Who wouldn't wanna do that? I went out and bought 50 eggs and me and my daughter had a fucking blast. C'mon, it's rock 'n' roll. No-one died. They'll be waiting a long fucking time for an apology from me."

Kerrang!: Smallwood's statement describes the incident as "dangerous" and "unprofessional"...

Sharon Osbourne: "Well, here's unprofessional for you: our Ozzfest show in San Bernadino is always a big deal. And because it's a special show we wanted to add SLIPKNOT to the bill, which meant that we would have to cut the time from everyone's set so that we wouldn't over-run the curfew. But Monkey Boy (Bruce Dickinson) isn't having it, and so he's onstage going, 'We won't play 55 minutes, fuck that, we're playing 65!' Now that sounds good to the kids out front — they're not gonna understand about a curfew — but of course if IRON MAIDEN plays 10 minutes more, then BLACK SABBATH get 10 minutes less of their show, and I'm not going to have that on our own fucking tour.

"I'd say Bruce Dickinson has been unprofessional in the way he's behaved from day one. He's been complaining that the PA isn't loud enough, complaining about MTV, complaining that my husband does reality shows, complaining about the prices of the tickets, on and on. Fuck him. He didn't even speak to Ozzy once on the whole tour. I mean, Ozzfest ticket prices are expensive but we haven't raised the ticket prices for three years even though, with inflation. All the costs in putting on a show like this rise. If Monkey Boy hated the tour so much why didn't he leave it? I've been paying his wages for four weeks. He didn't seem to have any problem pocketing the $180,000 cheques that me and my husband were writing for the band for every night — that could have stayed in my pocket. Me and my husband built up this tour over 10 years with blood, sweat and tears. I'm not having anyone fuck with that."

Kerrang!: The most astonishing thing about all this is that the metal world has always had such camaraderie, such a "one for all, all for one" attitude...

Sharon Osbourne: "It has, right? But for some reason Bruce Dickinson seemed to view it as a battle of the bands. He'd stand up on that stage and say that this wasn't the Ozzfest anymore, it was MAIDEN-fest. How fucking disrespectful is that? He's got such an '80s mentality. He's up there saying, 'Fuck MTV and fuck radio and you wouldn't catch IRON MAIDEN doing a reality show' and it's like, 'Hang on, you're a shareholder in Sanctuary, which is one of the biggest corporations in the music business.' He's never said a word about SABBATH either, only Ozzy, so it's personal. We've had 220 bands play this tour over the last 10 years and I've never felt the need to egg anyone."

Kerrang!: Did you confront Bruce personally about this?

Sharon Osbourne: "No, I didn't want to give Monkey Boy the satisfaction of thinking that he'd annoyed Ozzy. The truth is that Ozzy never heard a single note of IRON MAIDEN's shows, most nights he wasn't on site when the band took the stage. My husband is a prince. And you know what, he had nothing to do with this. He wouldn't stoop to something like this, but I'm a fucking bitch and I have no problem with it.

"Let's face it, the guy is a failed solo singer who's gone back to his band after his solo career failed. I don't know how many albums his last solo albums old in England but in America it sold 6,000 copies. Every solo album my husband puts out goes platinum. Look, tell you what, you take a picture of my husband and a photo of Monkey Boy down to (London's) Regent Street now and see who people recognize. There's no fucking question, is there? And that's what it boils down to: Jealousy. Bruce Dickinson isn't my husband's peer. There wouldn't be an IRON MAIDEN if there was no SABBATH."

Kerrang!: And you didn't say anything to their management either?

Sharon Osbourne: "No, I have no problem with their management. After we did the first show in Boston, I had an email from Rod Smallwood saying that Bruce was concerned that the front rows of the audience weren't really MAIDEN fans and so I kept a couple of rows of seats clear every night so that we could bring in MAIDEN fans in MAIDEN T-shirts to make the band feel comfortable. I was the mug who did this for four weeks. And then this is how Monkey Boy repays me."

Kerrang!: From the outside it looked like the tour had been quite amicable, particularly as MAIDEN was stepping in to headline when Ozzy had to cancel some appearances...

Sharon Osbourne: "Yes, they were happy to do that when they were given an extra $100,000 a night! We could have had ROB ZOMBIE close the show. MAIDEN are a great band, but the truth is that they have never cracked America, like Ozzy has. At MAIDEN's last two L.A. shows they played to something like 15,000 people over two nights: We gave them a platform to perform to 46,000 people in Los Angeles, and that's a wonderful opportunity. And I knew they were looking forward to it. So I was like, 'Oh, you're really looking forward to being back in L.A., are you?' Well this is where you learn you don't fuck with me..."

Kerrang!: Up to this point you're being painted as the "Wicked Witch" here, Sharon...

Sharon Osbourne: "I'm as nice as can be to people until they fuck with me and my family. I've always said that. I'm surprised that after everything that's been reported about how protective I am of my husband that anyone would even be shocked by this."

Kerrang!: Was there any comment from the MAIDEN camp after the show? It's been reported that Steve Harris apologized...

Sharon Osbourne: "Steve Harris came into apologize to Ozzy before he went onstage and he was lovely. I mean, the band are gentlemen, really down-t-earth, lovely guys. Their singer is just a liability and they can't be responsible for that. He's got a great voice but he's obviously been sucking Ronnie James Dio's cock for singing lessons. He goes on about being a pilot and a swordsman and an author and whatever - does he think he's better than everyone else? If he's such a swordsman maybe he should have fenced the eggs out of his way! I should have thrown bananas..."

Kerrang!: Your daughter Kelly is on Sanctuary Records (owned by MAIDEN's management): Isn't this going to create tension?

Sharon Osbourne: "What, they're gonna drop her because she threw a fucking egg? I don't think so. What's Kelly gonna do, walk up to Monkey Boy and ask for an autograph because he's been such a big influence on her musically? Ask if she can do a duet on 'Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter'? Fuck off."

Kerrang!: Rod Smallwood's statement brings up another point which is that regardless of any personal fueds between the two camps, the people who really suffered where the people who bought tickets for the show.

Sharon Osbourne: "Come on, a bit of egg isn't gonna spoil a rock show for someone standing at the back of a 46,000 strong crowd. Everyone got a show they'll remember for the rest of their lives. If I was at that show I'd want to keep the ticket stub because it'll go down in history."

Kerrang!: Doesn't this kind of incident make you think, 'Fuck it, I just don't need this grief anymore'?

Sharon Osbourne: "No, not at all. Because he's not here anymore so it's fine. He can go back to Chiswick and wash the peanut butter out of his hair and sit in the pub and talk about having a wank. But he'd better watch out that he doesn't run into my son at Reading. Jack would give him one kick in the head and that'd be that. But you know what the irony is? Jack wouldn't know Monkey Boy if he fell over him in the street..."

Kerrang!: Saying things like this could make this run and run...

Sharon Osbourne: "Not for me. We have Ozzfest shows to do so I'm not thinking about this anymore. Bruce Dickhead doesn't exist to me anymore."

Sharon Osbourne's interview with Kerrang! can be found in the magazine's latest issue, out on the stands today (August 31).