Sharon Osbourne has reached a settlement with Jim Simpson — Black Sabbath‘s first-ever manager — over his plans to put out a collection of early recordings made by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Wardunder their pre-Black Sabbath name, Earth.
Sharon broke the news on the latest episode of “The Osbournes” podcast, speaking with her son Jack. According to (transcribed by Blabbermouth), she said: “We settled with Jim Simpson, and the band now has 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.”
She also spoke about what’s on those recordings, noting that the Earth material sounds quite different from what Black Sabbath would go on to create — more blues-oriented, leaning away from the heavy sound the band became famous for. Even so, Sharon stressed their historical value.
“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.”
Sharon also gave Simpson credit for ultimately coming around and doing right by the band: “He did the right thing at the end of the day. He did the right thing for the band.”
The dispute had been brewing since Simpson — now in his late 80s — announced plans last year, weeks before Ozzy‘s death, to release Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes, a set of 1969 demos originally scheduled for July 2025. Simpson managed Black Sabbath during their earliest days and claimed he paid for those sessions himself when the four Birmingham lads were still teenagers performing as Earth. He had restored and remastered the recordings through his Birmingham blues/jazz imprint Big Bear Records.
Simpson had previously stated that he reached out to the band members about the project in September 2024, only to be turned down — including, he said, via legal threats from Sharon: “I approached members of the band about this on 24 September 2024. The message I got back was that they didn’t want it released and wanted nothing to do with it. This included two very threatening e-mails from Sharon. But the band had every chance to be involved.”
He had made clear why he felt the release mattered: “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.”
Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes reportedly includes three blues covers — “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Evenin'” and “Wee Wee Baby” — alongside two versions of a track called “Song For Jim” (the title referencing Simpson directly, per Jim). The first version features Iommi on guitar, while the second showcases a rare flute performance. Rounding out the tracklist are “Untitled,” “Free Man,” “Wicked World,” and “Warning.”
Simpson had previously said of the project: “If we can finally release this album, it will be a great gift to the music world and to millions of Sabbath fans.”
With the settlement now in place, what becomes of those recordings is a decision that belongs entirely to the band.
