Bruce Dickinson: "[Sharon Osbourne] Is Obviously Completely Mad"

Band Photo: Iron Maiden (?)
In his only interview for Swedish media in support of IRON MAIDEN's new album, "A Matter of Life and Death", vocalist Bruce Dickinson talked candidly to Close-Up magazine about last year's Ozzfest and the infamous egg incident.
Immediately after IRON MAIDEN's triumphant show at Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg on July 9, 2005, Dickison told Kerrang! magazine, "I'd like to go to America and say 'You're very good, but you're not as loud as 56,000 fucking vikings in a football stadium.'" The following week, the band went to America to play at Ozzfest, but the outspoken vocalist didn't have a lot of nice things to say about it.
"It was my usual love/hate relationship with corporate America," says Dickinson. "Ozzfest is a corporate rock event at which they sell the front 10-12 rows to corporate seats and not to kids. Most of the bands pay a lot of money to be on the Ozzfest, they get paid next to nothing. The whole way it's being portrayed as being some kind of altruistic holiday for all the bands is absolute nonsense, it's complete bullshit. Most of the bands are there because they paid to be there. That's the way it's run. We went out and we were like, 'Okay, why aren't there any people down the front?' Well, because it's restricted seating and because they don't have tickets. 'What?!' That's fucked, so we said so. I said so every night. Some fat cunt with greasy hair sat eating his hamburger with 50 seats empty all around him. Where are all the kids? They're held behind the barrier and they can't get any closer, because that's the way the venue is run. That sucks."
Close-Up: Did you expect Sharon Osbourne to take the measures that she took?
Bruce: "No, I think they were extraordinary, weren't they? Childish and uncalled for, and quite dangerous, really, when you consider there could've been a riot among the rest of the audience. Extraordinary! She is obviously completely mad!"
Close-Up: You kept quiet. Weren't you dying to fight back in the press?
Bruce: "There's no purpose of starting a soap opera. I mean, she IS a soap opera. That's what she does, that's what 'The Osbournes' is, that's what this 'X Factor' and all this reality TV bullshit is. IRON MAIDEN is IRON MAIDEN, we don't participate in that kind of crap. We don't do [MTV show] 'Cribs' or the celebrity garbage that is everywhere, that pervades people's lives and they think is important. We don't do 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here', 'Big Brother', or any of that shit. So doing any more than stating the facts and let people make up their own mind is just playing to the press. It's just gonna create more crap. There was so much stuff on the Internet, there were so many people who saw exactly what happened. Let the people tell the story, we don't need to say anymore than 'Okay, this is what happened. If you don't believe us, you can find out.'"
Close-Up: An hour ago I was surfing the Net and did a search on Google on "IRON MAIDEN + Sharon Osbourne" and this comment from Blabbermouth came up: "I fucking hate IRON MAIDEN, but fuck Sharon Osbourne." You must've loved the aftermath of the egg incident. All of a sudden everyone, even people that weren't into IRON MAIDEN, were rooting for you.
Bruce: "I see what you mean. I think the key is that this was a collision between two completely different worlds. The world that Sharon lives in is a world of... She goes to fashion shows and her daughter is the new face of whatever it was, some make-up bullshit or something you put on your face. Vogue magazine and all that kind of crap. She's put herself in that world and done that by choice. And lots of people do [that] and they're supermodels. All those people have their picture taken on red carpets and appear in fashion magazines. That's not our world, that's not my world. I don't ever go to places like that. I'd rather have all my teeth pulled out and have nails hammered into my gums than go there, to a fashion show and hang out with supermodels!
"What we do is we are a heavy metal band and what we care about is our fans. That's it. So our strength comes from that simplicity. You know, what do I care if I never appear on reality TV? 'Fucking great, thank you! Can I have it in writing?' But in her world, that's really important. In her world, it's really important what you look like. In her world, facelifts are really important. In my world, I don't give a fuck. I get old and I get wrinkly. Who gives a shit?"
Source: Blackmetal.com
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39 Comments on "Dickinson: Sharon 'Is Obviously Completely Mad'"
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oh yeah, godlike my response to post 55 in the other forum that you were waiting for is this....charles manson was NOT a wildly popular musician, and his life and work as a musician is only known b/c of what he did outside of music. that was not the case w/ Jon from dissection. anyway, i dont care about that sh**. yes he was a murderer and i never condoned that, i was just a big fan of his music and it dissappointed me that people could bad mouth someone so badly that had just died. Some a$$holes in the media did the same thing to Dime when he was killed and its just not right. that was my only problem w/ some of the comments that were made. anyway f*** it, its all just a matter of opinion and i didnt need to be personally badmouthed by you b/c of mine. its over, and as you can see above we can agree on some things as well as agree to disagree on other subjects, right? peace.
I Phuking HATE Sharon Osbourne! Ozzy used to be a god to me, but in the last 5 years he has shown me what a money grubbing broke down old man he his. Sharon leads him around by the nose and he does whatever she says willingly. I have lost every ounce of respect I had for the OZ. I got rid of all his albums (except Sabbath >Iommi<) That putrid TV show his hack family did was the worst piece of garbage I have ever had the misfourtune of wasting my precious time on. IM and Bruce D are GODS sharon is not fit to lick the crap from Bruces azz.

LOL can Bruce be anymore of a douchebag?. Seriously, he goes on about he doesnt take sh** to the press and corp. America is the devil bullsh**. ANYONE at all notice he's talking to in the press.. this interview is from a magazine.. mags are the press too... Mass Media.. This magazine is owned by a corp, but yet Bruce "opens up".. what a crock of sh**.
Right on to Bruce. I saw them at Ozzfest, and I only went because of them. Everything he said is right. When musicians get into pop culture and commercial sh**, they lose the magic. I used to have A LOT of respect for Ozzy, but after seeing that show, and how they are with their punk a$$ kids, I've gotta say, the Osbourne household is pa-f***ing-thetic. I'm sick of MTV, VH1, and E! celebrity sh**. It's all mindless jargen talking about who's wearing what, who's f***ing who, and the latest in the worst form of entertainment (if you can call it that), reality tv. f*** the mainstream media, f*** corporations, and f*** Sharon Osbourne
he played ozzfest b/c thousands and thousands of maiden fans bought tickets to see them. they were easily the biggest draw on the tour, filling the osbornes pockets w/ more and more cash just by showing up. the least they could have done was treat them w/ respect. he has every right to b**** about the set up when you pay to play on the tour (even though they can def afford it). it is unfortunate that sharon's lack of professionalism put a damper on last years ozzfest b/c it seems that it was the last year that it may have been worth going to.

I dont' normally go to concerts but I had every intention of going because both Ozzy and Iron Maiden were playing, two of the biggest bands of my life together! It's so sad all of this had to go down because it put me on the fence instead of seeing them is great together now I see them as separate. And they didn't come to Dallas. Hopefully Iron Maiden will return to Dallas some day so I can see them!

Bruce ur my biggest fan!!!! been lissoning to ur music up to the age of 12 and i'm 30 now,i will have to say X-FACTOR sucked but it's ok ,u didn't sing it, i have the trooper tatted on my back if u don't mind but that's how much i love IRON MAIDEN,but i'm sorry to say i've never been to ur consert's but seen the video's and i wished i was there,and as for Ozzy ...u better put ur girl in check and let her go back to being a movie star and keep her f***'en a$$ off the stage...and to think,i love for you Ozzy but ur b**** started f***ing with my bother's ,so yeah....f*** YOU OZZY AND SHARON AND UR f***ED UP LITTLE KIDS TOO

It's a double edged sword. If it weren't for Sharon we may never have had the legedary Ozzy and the solo career he's given us. On the other hand since the late 90's she's completely screwed up the legend and turned him into a corporate money machine. Sure the guy is funny but it was never at his expense, not until she took over and entered the world of reality tv. Even his Down to Earth album was average because it utilised 'outside' writers and not Zak. Outside writers for Ozzy? The warning signs were there I guess... (Word is the next one will be all about Zak so fingers crossed).
Ozzy's career and respect within the metal community died after Ozmossis. Sure we still love him but also f***ing hate his family business!
Oh, and Bruce rules and always will. Get hold of A Matter of Life and Death and let's see who the true metal kings are and who's still waving the flag. For their FANS!!!!!

Bruce can be a prick at times, but what Sharon did was completely unprofessional and downright dangerous. Imagine 45,000 metal heads and one crazy woman antagonizing them, a perfect recipe for a riot. She should try her stunts with someone like Suge Knight. She wouldn't have lived three minutes after that.
After this nonsense, I've lost all respect for Ozzy, Zakk Wylde, BLS and Sabbath. Zakk, for defending what Sharon did. You get no more of my denarii, and I encourage everyone to avoid these greedy unprofessional creatures.

Well done Bruce--and perfectly justified! You rock and Sharon is extremely unprofessional! Her desperate attempts at superstardom for herself and her over-indulged, untalented and obnoxious offspring prove that it's all about the notoriety and money--no longer about the celebration and nurturing of the soul of metal, Ozzy's phenominal talent, or respect for the world of music that he (and you) helped create.
Sharon has been running him the ground for years in pursuit of more and more money--her agenda--which is entirely materialistic in nature. When she's not busy getting her boobs or face lifted OR getting her hair and makeup done, she's either out buying another Chanel bag or telling everyone around her what to do. Oh, Kelly Osbourne is a joke. She tried to come off as such a strong character--so original--her own person--someone that thinks for herself and refuses to let people influence her thinking. She is everything she claims to detest in others--and she is absolutely overcome with jealousy-- as is her Mother. They attack those that they envy to try to make themselves look better. One example is Christina Aguilera. It's simple--she can sing--Kelly can't. Sharon is disgusting in her efforts. Rather than net them A- list celebrity-hood, their show on MTV served to show off the familiy's severe disfunction, pettiness and ignorant bliss. It just shows what happens when a bunch of a-holes with low I.Q.s and a desire to be famous take advantage of someone who is actually talented and suck him dry. Sharon couldn't even keep a talk show going and Kelly has now officially failed at acting AND singing. Aimee Osbourne is dreadful at acting and apparently can't get it together to do much of anything else. Jack Osbourne is a lazy, slovenly brat who needs to get a job and fend for himself for a while and learn what life is REALLY about. Otherwise I can totally see him in a correctional facility in 10 years. Anyway, those (adult) kids are a bunch of whining, crying babies who still piss their pants and run to "mommy" to clean it up. Ozzfest is a joke. Sharon has single handedly destoyed it and betrayed Ozzy's fans as well as the fans of the other participants who PAID to be there. When I think of heavy metal, one of the first things I think about is IRON MAIDEN. They have worked hard and have become an ICON. They have such devoted fans because they respect their fans--and if they want their fans to sit up front in UNOCCUPIED seating--they should have gotten that--at least! Obviously, someone else needs to run Ozzfest OR Sharon needs some education on how to behave as a professional. Just MOO of course. Get some Peace. Perex

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY BRUCE d***ENSON!! he tells it like it is. this is a really weird situation for me, cuz not only do i love Maiden i also love Ozzy, not Sharon, she sucks, but i have to agree with bruce. the osbournes was the worst show on the history of mtv and it transformed Ozzy from metal monster to reality tv dad. the ozzfest thing was totally uncalled for, unprofessional and just plain wrong. can't believe how cool and true this guy is. he's all about the music and metal and not selling out. theses guys are as good today as they were 25 years ago. LONG LIVE THE MAIDEN!! oh yeah, the x-factor sucked but he wasnt on it so what do you expect? him and steve harris are what make the band

I've been listening to Maiden since I was just a kid. Maiden is some of the coolest and nicest dudes you could ever meet. But f*** with one of them and you are f***ing with millions of people. Sharon should take a sh** more often instead of talking it. She is a jealous wench and Ozzy has too much thorazine in his blood to even write his own f***ing songs anymore. I am glad I never wasted my money going to Ozzfest. We need IronFest! Dont forget to come back to Memphis Tennessee! We miss Maiden!
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Hail.... Bruce d***inson....what a great interview......FU*K that cooperate bullsh#t.....
\m/ IRON MAIDEN rocks \m/