Black Sabbath Regain Rights To Early Demos After Legal Dispute

A lengthy dispute over Black Sabbath’s earliest demo recordings has officially been resolved, with the legendary band now regaining ownership of the material.

The recordings in question date back to 1969, when the group was still performing under the name Earth. Former manager Jim Simpson had planned to release the sessions as ‘Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes’, prompting a legal challenge from Sharon Osbourne, who disputed ownership claims tied to the recordings.

The disagreement reportedly stretched on for more than 18 months, but Sharon confirmed this week on ‘The Osbournes’ podcast that a settlement has now been reached.

“We settled with Jim Simpson and the band now have their demos back… And all four of them [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, and we’re gonna talk about what everybody wants to do with it, and we’ll go from there.”

Sharon also said the recordings sound noticeably different from the band’s later classic output, but stressed their historical importance for fans and music historians alike.

“I just think it’s historically important for music lovers of that genre.”

She added that rights to photos taken during the same era were also secured as part of the resolution.

“And then we got the pictures that were taken at that time too. So, that is all so important…”

“And I’m just happy that it’s where it should be — with the band, and [they can decide] what they wanna do with it.”

With the demos now back in the hands of the original members, any future release plans will reportedly be decided collectively by the band.

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