A legal battle over some rare early recordings of a little known band that would one day become Black Sabbath has come to an end, with the band now gaining full control of those tapes. And we know this because Sharon Osbourne shared the details on the recent The Osbournes podcast.
For those that don’t recall, the whole thing originates with former Black Sabbath manager Jim Simpson. The guy had originally planned to release a series of demos recorded back in 1969 featuring a band named Earth. Of course, diehard metal fans know that band ultimately became Black Sabbath, so such recordings would be a major find/release since they feature Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward during the early years.
Plans for their release went so far as it got the title Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes. Yet when word of those plans got out, a law suit was filed by Osbourne to stop the release of those tapes. Now, during the most recent episode of The Osbournes podcast, Sharon revealed that everything’s been settled and Black Sabbath are now in control of those recordings:
“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 said the tapes carry an extremely important significance for metalheads everywhere. Especially since the settlement also included photos that were taken during that time period. Being able to see and hear the men that ended up shaping heavy metal as a genre in their youth is a pretty unique opportunity.
“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.”
In the past, Simpson financed the 1969 sessions and later had the tapes restored. He argued, much like Sharon does, that the tapes had historical significance. He also claimed that he offered to cut the band in for the release, but that offer was reportedly declined.
Sharon ultimately commended Simpson for deciding to settle the matter and give the tapes over to Black Sabbath.
“He did the right thing at the end of the day. He did the right thing for the band.”