Sharon Osbourne fires back at former Black Sabbath manager
Sharon Osbourne has issued a blistering response to Black Sabbath’s first manager Jim Simpson after he publicly took exception to comments she made on a recent episode of Podcast ‘The Osbournes’ about his efforts to release early demo recordings of the band, RadarOnline.com can report.
The dispute escalated after Simpson issued a statement condemning Osbourne’s “inaccurate and unfair criticism” of his intention to make the early recordings public. According to Simpson, Osbourne’s portrayal of his actions misrepresented both his role in the band’s early history and his rights to the material.
“It’s such a shame that Sharon has decided to go all out without talking about it,” Simpson said in the press release. “It is also very unfair of her to make such inaccurate and potentially defamatory comments.”
On the podcast, Osbourne questioned whether Simpson ever legitimately owned the demos he claims he paid to record. “He’s claiming ownership because he says he paid the bill for the studio, which he says was ($658). If ($39,504) is worth (six or eight thousand) today, what is ($658)? He would never have had that money to pay for a studio back then,” she said.
Simpson disputed the characterization, claiming that he regularly financed recording sessions for the acts he managed in the late 1960s. “At the time, Earth was just the newest band I was managing. During those years I regularly recorded and paid for recording sessions with bands I managed or played in,” he said. He added that his previous success in the industry made Osbourne’s suggestion unlikely: “I’d already had a hit single with Locomotive and record deals with major labels like EMI Harvest and Parlophone. How could Sharon possibly know what I could afford at the time? The fact is that I did pay for the Earth recordings and they are mine.”
In response to Simpson’s public statement, Osbourne said released his original email to Tony Iommi along with her email exchanges with Simpson. She argued that her communications were direct but not threatening. “As you can see, my emails to Mr. Simpson were not threatening. I clearly stated the facts about Black Sabbath’s legal position.”
Osbourne also disputed several of Simpson’s claims, including his claim that his company, Big Bear Records, is the longest-running independent label in the United Kingdom. She countered that Topic Records, founded in 1939, makes that distinction, writing, “Big Bear is not even a limited liability company and does not file open accounts publicly.”
The grieving widow further disputed Simpson’s description of a new partnership with Trapeze Music & Entertainment, questioning the legitimacy of the catalog and its financial stability. “I seriously doubt that the artists he mentions, or their estates, would have given permission for them to be sold in the US,” she wrote, adding that Trapeze “has a debt load of ($709,755)” and that its entertainment division “has a debt load of ($1,898 million).”
Osbourne said Trapeze had allowed Black Sabbath recordings to appear online in the US through distributor MVD, despite an agreement that required fourteen days’ notice before being released publicly.
The conflict now appears poised to continue, with both sides insisting that they keep the rightful claim to the vintage recordings at the center of the dispute.
