Sharon Osbourne, the widow and manager of the late Ozzy Osbourne, has successfully resolved a legal battle with Black Sabbath‘s original manager, Jim Simpson, regarding the unauthorized release of 1969 demo tracks recorded when the band was known as Earth.
Jim Simpson originally announced plans to release the restored collection under the title Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes last year, shortly before Ozzy Osbourne‘s passing, aiming for a July 2025 release through his Big Bear Records label. Sharon Osbourne subsequently issued legal threats to halt the project, insisting that the recordings could not be released without the band’s approval.
Speaking on a recent episode of “The Osbournes” podcast with her son Jack Osbourne, she confirmed that the surviving musicians and the Ozzy Osbourne estate now have full control of the historical audio and visual assets.
“We settled with Jim Simpson and the band now have their demos back. And all four of them 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,” she explained.
Detailing the musical direction of the early tapes, she noted they feature a very different, blues-driven sound compared to what Black Sabbath eventually became. She also confirmed they acquired the rights to photographs taken during that era.
“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.”
Despite the previous legal friction, she expressed gratitude toward the former manager for coming to an agreement: “He did the right thing at the end of the day. He did the right thing for the band.”
Jim Simpson, who is now in his late 80s, previously stated that he personally funded the 1969 recording sessions for Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. Last fall, he claimed to have offered the band involvement in the release process on September 24, 2024, but stated they declined and responded with threatening emails from their management.
Defending his initial intention to release the tracks, Jim Simpson said: “My reason for launching this album is because it will become a crucial segment of music history. It contains recordings that clearly demonstrate what fine music Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill were producing right from the very beginning in their pre-Sabbath days. It shows how these four young men from Birmingham, barely out of their teens, were already remarkable musicians when they existed as Earth, and that they fully deserved all the success that was to come their way as Black Sabbath.”
The planned tracklist for Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes reportedly featured blues covers including “Blue Suede Shoes“, “Evenin’“, and “Wee Wee Baby“. It also included early original material such as “Free Man“, “Wicked World“, “Warning“, an untitled track, and two versions of “Song For Jim,” the latter of which features a rare flute performance by Tony Iommi.
