Madman’s wife and manager did not tolerate what she defined as Bruce Dickinson’s “bad behavior” on tour and retaliated with… eggs
One of the biggest fights in metal music started in 2005 and involves two beloved names in the segment. They are: Ozzy Osbourne (especially his wife and businesswoman, Sharon Osbourne) and Iron Maiden (specifically, the vocalist Bruce Dickinson).
That year, Maiden was one of the main attractions at the Ozzfestthe traveling festival promoted by Ozzy and Sharon between 1996 and 2018. Black Sabbath, Black Label Society, Slipknot, Velvet Revolver, In Flames, Mudvayne, Rob Zombie, Killswitch Engage, Mastodon, Arch Enemyamong others, were also part of the lineup.
The reason for the confusion, initially, was Dickinson. His band performed 24 shows within the shared tour — and according to reports, on several occasions, the singer made controversial comments to the public, especially on the reality show “The Osbournes”starring the family that organized the event. It is worth remembering that the final episode had been shown on MTV shortly before.
Sharon told billboard about what happened:
It was just the singer. The other guys in the band are great people. No problem at all. But when you have a singer who is so jealous of the headliner, it never goes well.”
At the final show to feature Iron, in the American city of San Bernardino, on August 20, the Osbournes matriarch simply organized a shower of eggs towards Bruce. She herself told what she did:
I had had cancer treatment in California and all the nurses I met during my year of chemotherapy came to the show and said, ‘Can we do anything for you?’. And I said, ‘Yes, you can.’ I filled them with cans of bean soup, vegetables, eggs and said, ‘Shoot the singer.’ And that’s what they did. It was my way of saying, ‘Do you want to talk? Do you think you are smart? Look, you’ll be covered in tomato soup in Los Angeles. You’re making money to be on this tour while disrespecting its namesake every night in front of the fans.’ I don’t like it. It’s not in the spirit of what we do.”
Bruce Dickinson’s sabotage and reaction
Even before the “bombing”, the Iron Maiden show was the target of sabotage. Lights and sound were damaged at several times and the band had to leave. Sharon even took to the stage shortly afterwards to try to explain what had just happened.
When eggs and other things started to be thrown, during the execution of “The Trooper”Bruce Dickinson’s reaction was as follows:
You may have noticed some wise idiots who decided they would go to the supermarket and buy some damn eggs to throw at us. I think they thought it would be funny. But this is a f*cking English flag and we don’t run, you idiots! If you guys see someone throwing some sh*t in this band and they raise their arm, make sure when it comes down it’s in two pieces for me, yeah?”
The public’s view
Shawn “Clown” Crahanpercussionist for Slipknot, watched the show and soon realized that something strange was happening. It didn’t take long to understand that it was a fight between the aforementioned characters.
Slipknot played that show. I was very close to the front of the stage and saw everything start to happen. I saw people leaving and I could feel something was happening. And I also felt: ‘there’s a lot of English stuff going on here’ [em referência à nacionalidade de Ozzy, Sharon e Bruce]. It felt very personal and very serious. I thought, ‘I probably shouldn’t be here…’ and left.”
Two decades later
The situation is commented on to this day by Sharon Osbourne whenever there is an opportunity, referring to Bruce Dickinson as “that little man” or “scoundrel”. Ozzy talks less about the subject, but continues to support his wife. He says:
He [Bruce] He got on stage, addressed the audience every night and said bad things. It was disrespectful. ‘I can’t stand these f*cking lights’ and all that. If you don’t want to do the show, just say, ‘I don’t want to do the show.’ But it’s very stupid if you accept it and all you do is complain.”
The original lead singer of Black Sabbath also commented on what happened to The Quietus (via Blabbermouth) in 2010:
Unfortunately, the rest of the band had to suffer: I believe they were mad at him. But that’s wrong: I never even spoke to the guy… no, I’m lying, one night they were about to go on stage, I didn’t know what was happening, so I told them: ‘have a good show, guys’. But I don’t like all that shit. If you don’t like me, just say: ‘I don’t like you, I’m going to do this festival, but I think you’re an asshole’. Everything is fine.”
For his part, Bruce Dickinson prefers to put things in order. In 2017, when NME (via Blabbermouth), the Iron Maiden frontman emphasized that his problem is only with reality shows.
It’s a complete storm in a teapot. I grew up listening to early Sabbath with Ozzy. Ozzy and Sabbath are icons, so that’s it, end of story. The fact that I don’t like reality TV…well, I don’t give a shit about the Kardashians either.”
Ozzy Osbourne even stated that the bassist Steve Harris apologized for Bruce Dickinson’s behavior at the time. However, the Maiden leader himself denied it. Since then, the parties directly involved in the conflict have not met, nor have they publicly recanted.
Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
