As the world mourns the loss of Ozzy Osbourne, a surprising absence at his final performance has sparked controversy. Mötley Crüe, once tour mates with the Prince of Darkness, were nowhere to be seen at the historic farewell show. Now, insiders and fans are pointing to a decades-old feud between Vince Neil and Sharon Osbourne as the real reason behind the band being excluded from the lineup.
🎤 The 1984 Tour That Started It All
The bad blood dates back to 1984, when Mötley Crüe served as the opening act for Ozzy Osbourne. According to Neil’s 2010 memoir, Tattoos & Tequila: To Hell and Back with One of Rock’s Most Notorious Frontmen, the tension began with Sharon Osbourne’s treatment of the band during the tour.
“She was impossible to work with,” Neil wrote, claiming that Sharon micromanaged the Crüe’s set times and tried to undercut their growing popularity.
Sharon fired back, publicly defending her role as Ozzy’s manager and criticizing Neil’s version of events. The two sides haven’t spoken publicly in any reconciliatory tone since, and the feud has long simmered beneath the surface of the rock community.
⚰️ Ozzy’s Farewell — Crüe Left Off the Guest List
With Ozzy Osbourne’s death coming just weeks after his final live performance on July 31st, fans were quick to notice Mötley Crüe’s absence from the farewell celebration. The event included high-profile appearances from artists like Zakk Wylde, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and Corey Taylor—but not Vince Neil or any of his bandmates.
While some initially speculated that scheduling conflicts were to blame, multiple sources have now confirmed that the real issue stems from the unresolved rift between Sharon and Vince.
“It wasn’t a matter of logistics,” one insider told The Metal Den. “It was personal. Sharon didn’t want Crüe involved, and that’s been consistent for decades.”
This decision has caused backlash among fans, many of whom see the exclusion as a final snub, particularly since Ozzy once tried to help Neil through a dark period of his life.
🩺 Ozzy Tried to Help Vince — But the Feud Never Healed
According to a widely circulated post from The Metal Den, Ozzy once attempted to help Vince Neil seek rehab for his alcohol issues.
“Ozzy attempted to help the singer with several years ago, by admitting Neil into a rehab facility,” the report noted.
Unfortunately, any goodwill was not enough to mend the fractured relationship between the two camps. Adding to the friction is the widely reported reliance on backing tracks by Vince Neil during live shows, as confirmed by Mick Mars, who later sued the Crüe. Many fans feel that this undermines the legacy Ozzy worked so hard to protect.
🧠 The Phil Soussan Connection: Ozzy Songs Reworked for Vince
The relationship between the two acts grew even more tangled when Phil Soussan, former bassist for Ozzy Osbourne, revealed in a new interview that songs he originally wrote for Ozzy ended up on Vince Neil’s solo album after Soussan left the band.
“A lot of those songs were songs that I had originally written actually for Ozzy… and when I wasn’t there anymore, I took those songs with me, and some of them ended up on Vince’s album,” he said.
Soussan also mentioned that internal band tensions and the sudden death of manager Bruce Bird contributed to the breakdown of Ozzy’s lineup at the time.
🎶 Musical Parallels Can Still Be Heard
“If you carefully compare the two sets of songs, you can sort of hear the derivatives,” Soussan explained. “I was writing songs that were stylistically had some relationship to some of the songs that Ozzy already had as big songs.”
This musical overlap underscores just how deeply intertwined the history of Mötley Crüe and Ozzy Osbourne is—despite the bad blood between Sharon and Vince.
💥 A Final Insult?
With Ozzy Osbourne now laid to rest on his Buckinghamshire estate, the missed opportunity for reconciliation between the two camps leaves a sour taste.
For fans, Mötley Crüe’s absence from Ozzy’s final performance wasn’t just unfortunate—it was a final insult to one of metal’s most enduring icons.
