Here's an extract of what Steve Harris (Iron Maiden bassist and leader) said about last year's incident at Ozzfest and, of course, Sharon Osbourne in a recent interview to Metal Hammer Spain.


Q: Now I am going to ask you about another subject, although I do not want to insist much on it: last years Ozzfest. You have always been a professional band that has kept the shit under the carpet and has not discussed their issues in the press. However, it seemed that there were some problems among Bruce and the rest of the band.


S: We are professional musicians and we acted like that. They would have preferred if we had gone away from the stage, I’m sure, but we didn’t. The great thing is that the audience was with us and when the PA sound was cut, they supported us. That made me feel proud and actually gave me goose bumps. It was incredible what happened. It’s not that they threw shit to us, as our own road crew has done too when we ended other tours (laughs), but it’s sad to see people acting that way when they have a problem. If you have a problem, why can’t you be… I was going to say a man, but I’m sure that if a man was involved things would have been different. The issues would have been discussed and that’s it. Done and dusted. But it wasn’t a man who did it, so the acting was completely different and I won’t even try to understand it.


Q: I thought that there was some problem with Bruce, as he was especially vocal in his displeasure with the fat fans sitting in the first rows in the USA.


S: Whenever we go to the USA, Bruce is very vocal in those things because there are things completely wrong in that country. The fans are great and loyal and I feel sorry they understand the message in a wrong way and think that we do not enjoy playing in the USA. The problem is with the venues. They sell the front row tickets to people that do not even care for the band. The real fans are in the 20th row and the people from the front rows have been invited or have the money to get those seats and sit there eating fucking fried chicken. Imagine playing in front of that people. You get really upset!


The problem is that, when you are in the 20th row you can’t always see the reason why we are so pissed, because you don’t see what happens in the front rows. In the future we must play in other places. There are other venues, but not always available. Sometimes you have to play in the venues where these things happen, but we’ll try to get the real fans to the front rows. When we headline in Denver, to say a place, we play in the same venues Ozzfest takes place and the problem is exactly the same. There are assholes in the front rows that do not care for what you are doing. Seriously, it seems that if they had a remote control they would change the TV channel (Laughs). Why do they go to the show? Why are they there? That’s the kind of people that should be at the back. They have their right to be at the show, they have bought their ticket, but I don’t think they should be sitting in the front rows.


We get the feedback from the fans in the first rows more than any other band. We need that contact to enjoy the show. We can be professional players and get on playing, but it shouldn’t be that way. The real fans should be in the front rows.


Q: The problem is that most venues are owned by Clear Channel and one cannot fight against the elements.


S: One can, and we will. We will see what happens.


Q: People do not see what happens in the front rows and think that Bruce is having one of his tantrums. Perhaps due to his reputation, although he’s more mature than 20 years ago.


S: But Bruce has always complained about what happens in the USA, because the problem is not new. If Bruce can’t stand something he has to say it and I feel the same way, although I would say it in a different way. When Bruce complains about MTV he is right, and I’m not referring to The Osbournes. It’s not a show as big as they think it is. I like The Osbournes, I think it’s an amusing show. The problem is that MTV just has reality TV shows and things like that, they don’t care about music. That’s what Bruce is complaining about. They think that when we criticise MTV and all that shit we are criticising The Osbournes. It’s a problem of their ego.


Q: But she [Sharon Osbourne] thought it was personal.


S: Why? Because she has an ego the size of fucking California!


Q: I don’t know Steve, it seems that Sharon Osbourne is a peculiar woman. Those of you who have worked with her might know it better than me.


S: I met her several times over the years and I haven’t had any problem with her before, but what she did wasn’t professional. If she had a problem with somebody, she should have talked with Rod or directly with Bruce. Why did she wait until the end of the tour and did she act that way? If she didn’t like something, she should have stopped it way before. I’ll tell you something. It wasn’t just that. We played a great show on the first night of the tour in Boston and she did not say anything. But on the second show, we went onstage and we had no sound. Nothing was coming from the PA during the first song. I think that it’s highly unprofessional.


Q: Do you think that a possible reason is that in Iron Maiden the singer still sings, instead of stutter or babble?


S: No idea, I don’t know what made her act that way. It’s a shit… We would not do it again. We have headlined in the USA since fucking 1983 and if we did Ozzfest was to try to reach a new generation of fans. It’s difficult to get to them in another way and I think it worked. However, look what happened in the end…


Q: How was to play an extended set because Ozzy could not perform in certain nights?


S: We knew it would happen. We knew he would not be able to do two shows in a row. We knew it could happen.


Q: So it wasn’t a surprise then.


S: No, we were ready for it. We did not have any problem with Ozzy. One of the nights he could not perform, Bruce said some kind words from the stage, wishing him a fast recovery and all the best. Apparently his wife wasn’t listening…


Q: Ozzy is not the problem, his wife is.


S: Oh, I haven’t said anything. I have said too much (Laughs).

You got to love this quote: "Because she has an ego the size of fucking California!". Now just to point out how people are weird. Too weird in my humble opinion: I had dozens of hits from the following searches on google: "Sharon Osbourne nude pics" "Sharon Osbourne sex pics". This is indeed very disgusting! Eeeewwww!!!!