Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine recently addressed rumors surrounding Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s star-studded farewell show, Back To The Beginning, in 2025, clarifying why Megadeth did not perform and denying that they were the mystery band dropped from the lineup due to high financial demands. Mustaine shared his perspective on the situation in an interview with Louder.
Mustaine explained that he had heard rumors about another band demanding an excessive amount of money, but made it clear that Megadeth was not involved as they were touring in Europe at the time.
“What we had heard was some scuttlebutt in one of the bands, and they never said who it was, they had asked for an exorbitant amount of money,” Mustaine said. “And I guess that was something that was in really bad form. I don’t know any more about it, but that was not us. We were over in Europe playing.”
He also spoke about his relationship with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, emphasizing his willingness to support them and recalling how they supported him during his own health struggles.
“Being able to play a show for her and her husband and helping with the grieving process, I’m all about that, because they were there for me,” Mustaine continued. “When Sharon got sick the first time [getting diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002], I sent her a bunch of roses and said ‘get well soon’ because of her kindness.”
Mustaine noted that the Osbournes returned the gesture years later when he was diagnosed with throat cancer.
“I never really thought that that would go any further than that, but as soon as I got sick [battling throat cancer in 2019], her and [Ozzy] were right there,” Mustaine added. “They called me not long after the diagnosis had come out and I thought it was really commendable.”
This clarification puts to rest the speculation regarding Megadeth’s absence from the historic farewell event.
Those remarks came more than a year after the event itself, and they arrived alongside new statements from Sharon Osbourne that also addressed why Megadeth never took the stage. Together, the accounts close the loop on a question that had followed the band since the summer of 2025.
Back To The Beginning took place on July 5, 2025 at Villa Park in Birmingham, the home stadium of Aston Villa and Ozzy Osbourne’s hometown venue. The all-day charity event reunited Black Sabbath for its final performance and featured Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Alice In Chains, Gojira, Anthrax, Korn and Steven Tyler, with Tom Morello serving as musical director.
The mystery over a dropped act began when Sharon Osbourne said she had removed a major name from the bill. She told Billboard that the artist in question “wanted to make a profit” from the charity show.
That single comment fueled months of speculation, and Megadeth’s name surfaced repeatedly because the band was touring nearby. Mustaine has repeatedly rejected the idea that money was ever an issue on his side, and his bandmates have offered the same account.
