During a recent episode of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Jack Osbourne claimed that his late grandfather Don Arden would “threaten and firebomb” bands as well as send ‘hitmen’ after Ozzy Osbourne.
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Arden, the late music mogul and father of Sharon Osbourne, managed acts including Black Sabbath, ELO and The Small Faces. He later became estranged from Sharon after she fought for control of Ozzy’s career, although they reconciled in 2002 after he developed Alzheimer’s.
Explaining how Arden reacted to Sharon taking over his role, Jack alleged: “He sent hitmen after them, mobsters would show up with guns at gigs,” and added that Sharon was his “protégé”.
“He taught her everything, and he did all sorts of screwed up things,” he said during last night’s (November 28) episode, where he referred to Arden – who he didn’t actually meet until his teens – as a “crook”.
“He had my mum sign all these documents, and everything was in her name, so he would never get in trouble,” he said. “They would firebomb other record companies. That’s why my grandfather knew the Krays.”
In his time, Arden was infamous for his fierce temper, and in one incident, he was said to have hung rival manager Robert Stigwood from a fourth-floor balcony for trying to lure away one of his acts.
When asked by campmate Kelly Brook if the rumours about Arden’s actions were true, he confirmed, saying: “He pulled guns on people, everything.” Jack went on to reveal that Sharon eventually discovered her dad was stealing money from bands.
“After she left and took management of my dad,” he told the camp, “they took them to court, they had to essentially pay him a million dollars to break the contract.’
Prior to his stint in the jungle, Jack revealed that Sharon had wanted Ozzy to make a “duets album with all female vocalists”.
In an interview with his half-brother Louis on the Trying Not To Die podcast, the pair spoke about his love for ’80s music and female artists.
“He didn’t really listen to rock, he would appreciate it, he could understand it but he was more intrigued with music with really amazing production and melody,” Jack said before Louis added: “He’d listen to things like Tears For Fears and quite a lot of ’80s music.”
Jack went on: “He loved music from the ’80s. He went through a heavy Michael Jackson phase over the last couple of years.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the pair opened up about a long-lost song that saw their father’s vocals feature alongside those of Madonna.
The metal icon passed away on July 22 at the age of 76, just over two weeks after he played his last ever show as the frontman of Black Sabbath at a concert at Villa Park in Birmingham.
He was laid to rest in the grounds of his UK mansion during a private ceremony that was attended by Elton John, members of Metallica and more, and his cortege had previously travelled through his home city of Birmingham in a procession attended by thousands of fans.
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