Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of the late Ozzy Osbourne, recently settled a legal dispute with Jim Simpson, the first manager of Black Sabbath. It was regarding Simpson’s plans to release an album of tracks from the pre-Black Sabbath days of Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.
Simpson, who managed Black Sabbath in the band’s earliest days, announced last year, weeks before Ozzy’s passing that he intended to release a collection of 1969 demos recorded before the band adopted the Black Sabbath name.
The material, titled “Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes”, was initially expected for release in July 2025, but Sharon’s legal threats put a block on its release, warning Simpson against moving forward without the band’s approval. The demos in question feature Black Sabbath’s original lineup during the brief period when the four musicians performed under the name Earth.
Sharon offered an update on the legal dispute during an appearance on the latest episode of “The Osbournes” podcast.
“We settled with Jim Simpson and the band now have their demos back. And all four of them [the original members of Black Sabbath] own it, which is where it should be. All of that stuff should be theirs. So it all ended well. So, yeah, they own them. We’re gonna talk about what everybody wants to do with it, and we’ll go from there.”
Sharon added that the Earth recordings are “very different” from what Black Sabbath eventually became, featuring a more blues-driven direction. But she explained:
“I just think it’s historically important — for music lovers of that genre. And then we got [the rights to] the pictures that were taken at that time too. So, that is all so important. I mean, listen, you [Jack] want those pictures. Everybody in the band’s kids and grandkids would love to see [them]… It’s special. And I’m just happy that it’s where it should be — with the band, and [they can decide] what they wanna do as a band, what they’re gonna do with it. So that’s great.”
