The Cause Bruce Dickinson Referred to as Ozzy Osbourne A ‘Clown’

In 1983, Iron Maiden released ‘Piece of Mind’ with a new depiction of Eddie on the cover. A while after that, Bruce Dickinson joined an interview with Enfer Magazine to talk about the figure’s place in the band’s career and imagery.

Criticizing some bands and musicians’ onstage styles, he said:

“Look at a band like KISS, for example, when they had their make-up, what did you see on stage? Well, you didn’t see anything else but four Eddies. They didn’t look like musicians anymore but like clowns. Nobody cared about their musical abilities because they were hidden by the image they were giving of themselves.”

The singer referred to Ozzy Osbourne and added:

“It’s the same with Ozzy Osbourne, although Ozzy’s music is worth listening to it! Nobody considers Ozzy like a musician anymore but like a clown, which is a shame. So, in order to have this character, this clown, and keep our identity as musicians at the same time, we created Eddie.”

In the upcoming years, Dickinson criticized the former Black Sabbath vocalist a few more times, this time for a different reason. During Iron Maiden’s appearances at Ozzfest 2005, he said that the band deserved more recognition in the tour’s promotion.

The frontman also compared his band to Osbourne and reportedly claimed that they didn’t need ‘a teleprompter or a reality show’ to be a ‘legit band’ at the backstage of the performances.

Upon hearing these comments, Sharon Osbourne sabotaged Iron Maiden’s Hyundai Pavilion show by cutting their power a few times. The audience started throwing eggs and more on stage, causing the band to leave.

After the incident, Osbourne backed the way his wife handled the matter in an interview with The Quietus:

“I mean, Sharon got pissed off… it was nothing to do with me. I suppose Sharon got pissed off. I’ll back my wife up to the hilt, but I didn’t know what was going down. But you know what? A few f**kin’ quid out of that Ozzfest. If you’ve got something to talk to me about, be a man. Come to my face and say, ‘I think you’re a f**kin’ a**hole.’ Don’t be a f**kin’ idiot. It’s so pathetically childish.”

Bruce Dickinson mostly remained silent about the topic throughout the years but called the feud between him and the Black Sabbath singer ‘a storm in a teacup‘ during a 2017 chat with NME.