Sharon Osbourne has revealed the biggest regret of her management career, and it involves turning down an opportunity for her husband Ozzy to try out for a major Hollywood film franchise.
In a new interview with Music Business Worldwide, Sharon Osbourne discusses her life in artist management, having been "born into the industry" as the daughter of legendary music executive and manager Don Arden. Having started out managing Irish guitarist Gary Moore, and looking after the day-to-day affairs of the Electric Light Orchestra, Osbourne - then Sharon Arden - took on the responsibility of managing Ozzy Osbourne following his sacking from Black Sabbath in 1979, and the rest is history.
"I just saw something in Ozzy," Sharon says. "I saw that spark that he had. It was electric. Ozzy would walk into a room, and everybody would look at him. In two minutes, he had everybody laughing on the floor. He was a very charismatic young man. I just believed in it."
In the course of the interview, Osbourne is asked, Have there been any deals that you either regret making or regret not making during your career? And it turns out that she wishes she hadn't dismissed an offer to have her husband try out for a hugely successful Disney film franchise.
"The biggest mistake I ever did with Ozzy was that they asked him to go and read for Pirates Of The Caribbean," she reveals. "I said, ‘Fuck off’. Can you imagine? He would have been so perfect in it."
Ozzy Osbourne is set to play his final gig as a solo artist, and his final gig with Black Sabbath, on July 5, at the star-studded Back To The Beginning show in Birmingham. And Sharon Osbourne admits that planning the spectacular send-off for her husband has been "bitter-sweet".
"It’s been our lives together for 45 years," she says. “It’s great, but it’s sad at the same time. But it’s definitely time to say goodnight. It’s time for Ozzy to do whatever he wants and not have to plan anything or be anywhere at any particular time."
Both Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler have admitted that they're feeling somewhat anxious about the last ever Black Sabbath show.
Guitarist Iommi has confessed to feeling "excitement mixed with fear" as the band's final gig draws ever closer.
"This would be a big, monumental thing if it all comes good," he told Music Week. "The worrying thing for me is the unknown. We don't know what's going to happen."
Meanwhile, bassist Butler has admitted that he's been having nightmares ahead of the show.
“I’m already having palpitations,” Butler revealed in an interview with The Guardian last month. “In fact, I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed everything went wrong on stage and we all turned to dust. It’s important that we leave a great impression, since it’s the final time that people will experience us live. So it has to be great on the night.”
The Back To The Beginning concert will be available as a global livestream.
Beginning at 3pm BST on July 5, the livestream will be hosted on the Back To The Beginning website: tickets are on sale now.
