Iron Maiden manager: Ozzfest group 'vile'

[H5N1]

"in 30 years in this business and after hundreds of gigs I have never seen anything anywhere near as disgusting and unprofessional as what went on that night," Rod Smallwood said on Maiden's Web site (http://www.ironmaiden.com).

"The scale, viciousness and concentration of the throwing made it obvious that this was a premeditated and coordinated attack. Assaulting musicians while performing by throwing bottle tops, lighters and eggs at them from just a few yards away is vile, dangerous, criminal and cowardly."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/24/music.ozzfest.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Beetwasher]

1. What Happened? What Was the Thing W/ Sharon Osbourne?

:shrug:

[H5N1]

2. They don't tell the whole story (And I certainly wasn't there)

Perhaps someone here knows the particulars

[PunkPop]

3. Yeah, inquiring minds want to know.

What about this video that's supposedly going around the net? Got any links for that?

[H5N1]

6. Someone around here has those links. Let's see if they show up

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. As fine an example...

of "end-of-tour windup" gone terribly wrong as I have seen.

Is there an Ozzfest website? If there is and it lists tour personnel, I bet I could tell you who was behind it. I have a history in those circles.

[H5N1]

5. Please do tell, I have no idea

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. I checked.

The website does not list tour personnel.

Sadly, while checking, I learned an old friend and real sweetheart, Bobby Thomson, passed on from cancer in 2003. We had some great drunks together. I remember one time, in a hotel lounge, he was sitting there as normal as you please, gentilely leaned over the side of his chair, ralphed drunkenly, and then carried on as if nothing had occurred.

The Scottish have true style. ;-)

[H5N1]

9. I was in that biz for years. I am like your friend:

I can seem wiped out one minute
and totally alert the next.
I really cannot explain it.

It is always so sad when a good friend passes.

[Skip Intro]

7. More detail - some audio of the incident

more detail of what happened:

http://www.pitriff.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2100&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0


audio of some of it;
http://www.pitriff.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2102&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

[johnnie]

10. From the Ozzfest site

August 21, 2005
LAST SHOW FOR MAIDEN

Iron Maiden were chosen for the Ozzfest tour because the Ozzfest committee felt they were a good band, plus the fact that they had not done shows in the U.S. for some time. From day one, Bruce Dickinson started beratingOzzy and belittling the Ozzfest audience. He stated he"didn’t need a reality show to give him credibility"; "we're not just some f*cking reunion band"; and continuously complained about the sound system, saying that when he comes back to America he’ll have a better one. I understand he hasn’t toured in the U.S.in these size venues in a while and no longer understands the political structure of things. Out of 200-plus bands over the last 10 years, he has been the only person who hasn’t had the Ozzfest spirit. He thought he was at a battle of the bands, always making other comments about the other artists.

Might I say, the rest of the band are gentlemen and have a great professional attitude. The crew are absolutely great. But how sad it was, after 10 years, that this little man tried to ruin it for everyone. The bands of Ozzfest don’t even look at Ozzfest as touring, but as its heavy metal summer camp. Bruce is in fact a jealous prick and very envious. None of his tirades were directed at Sabbath, onlyOzzy. Steve Harris personally came to Ozzy in San Bernardino and apologized for Bruce’s behavior this summer, stating that he and the rest of the band were "embarrassed" by their own singer.
It also offended me every night how he took out the English flag in America. There are American boys going to war alongside the English boys every day. How dare he forget the American troops on their home turf. He has had no respect for the American audience he has been playing for, stating in an interview, "When you do the 'hits' tour here , the audience is smug, and there's a sense of self-satisfaction, like, 'We got what we wanted…I'm looking at an audience that is self-satisfied and happy and fat, and getting what it wants and isn't prepared to get off its ass.."

Before there was Samson there was SABBATH!

Ozzfest 2005 continues on with our summer of fun with the addition of Velvet Revolver. This is where the fun begins…

http://www.ozzfest.com/news_2005.html