The Al Capone of Pop.

Don Arden is a name that keeps coming up every now and then in the history of Rock And Roll. The father of Sharon Osbourne, he gave her Ozzy’s management contract on her wedding day as a gift. Photos taken at the time show a young Sharon looking just like her daughter Kelly with the same amount of attitude towards the camera lens if not more.

Arden started off in showbiz singing Al Jolson songs and doing impersonations of Hollywood actors like Edward G. Robinson and Jimmy Cagney. It was these gangster characterizations that would end up being eerily similar to Arden’s M.O. as a business manager in the music industry.

Stories of Arden’s ruthlessness are legendary. Upon hearing of Robert Stigwood’s intentions to take over one of his acts, he along with some muscle heads went up to Stigwood’s office and threatened to throw him out the fourth floor balcony window. Some accounts even state that he went so far as to blindfold him and actually dangle him out the window, then dropping him onto his own office patio. They simulated the act to scare Stigwood even more.

British pop group Small Faces were on the cusp of worldwide success prior to a scheduled US tour. Arden found out that because of legal issues he could not represent the group in the US. So rather than send the band off with his blessings he told keyboardist Ian Mc Lagan’s parents that he, along with the rest of the band were addicted to heroin, and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to go. The US tour was abruptly cancelled. This episode , in the opinion of this writer at least partially prevented Small Faces from becoming one of the biggest bands on the planet.

Arden struck gold shortly thereafter upon signing another UK band called The Move. This band would evolve into two separate ones, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard.
Although not known in the US, Wizzard were very popular in the UK and ELO’s chart dominance in the US during the early seventies were enough for Arden to take up residence in California, buying a mansion once owned by Howard Hughes.

His relationship with his daughter Sharon went sour when she attempted to void Ozzy’s recording contract with Jet records, a label owned by Arden. These professional clashes were compounded by Arden cheating on his wife, which infuriated Sharon. They were estranged for the better part of 20 years before reconciling a few years before his death.


Arden enjoyed playing up to his image as a ruthless operator. He wore broad-lapelled gangster suits, and hung a picture of himself impersonating Edward G Robinson on his office wall. "A lot of what he did had its beginnings in humour," one associate remembered. "And socially he could be very, very funny. A great deal of what he said was bluff. But later on the role took over the man."

Another infamous encounter took place in the late ‘60’s between him and Clifford Davis, then the manager of Fleetwood Mac.
Davis, according to Don, had the misfortune to challenge him for management of the band The Move."He had a big cigar in his mouth and he said,'I know where you live, Don.' I said, 'Take that fucking cigar out of your mouth, I can't hear what you're saying.'At which point, Don held the unfortunate Davis in a headlock, then ground the lit end of the cigar into his face: "Right between the eyes. He struggled at first, then his body went all limp. I felt so good afterwards I dismissed my driver and walked home."

Alzheimers disease would eventually take Arden’s life in 2004, and although the legendary stories are plentiful, it appears that Arden’s bravado during his heyday was more of a factor in him getting his way in the business world than any actual acts of violence. He was once quoted as saying, . "All that stuff about 'sticks and stones' and 'words may never hurt me', it's all bullshit," he once said. The thought of violence is much more of a deterrent than the actual deed. By the time you come to actually hurt someone, it's too late for them, it's over. But the thought of what you might do to them keeps them right where you want them. Always let your reputation precede you."

He strikes me as a man who if he was on your side, he would go to the mat for you. If you were against him though, it would be a bumpy ride. He kept his own daughter in litigation over the Ozzy Osbourne contract dispute for nearly a decade. As Don himself would say: "It ain't about who's right or who's wrong, kid. It's about who wins. And I was always a winner, whatever anyone says about me."