After last July’s Ozzy Osbourne farewell show, Back to the Beginning, high estimates were reported for how much the mega-event raised for its chosen charities: Acorns Children’s Hospice, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Cure Parkinson’s.
Media reports, as well as musical director Tom Morello, suggested that Back to the Beginning had grossed over $190 million for the three charities. However, it appears that the reported donation amount has been inflated, with Ozzy Osbourne's son, Jack Osbourne, recently clearing up the rumors on the Punk Rock Sober and Painful Lessons podcast.
“This is how you know the news is probably 90% bullshit, 'cause it was, like, CNN and New York Times was saying ‘Ozzy raised $150 million.’ And it wasn’t that,” he says.
“I think what it came down to was, like, when all was said and done, because it was a charity gig, you still have to pay for the actual gig. No bands got paid, and most of the crew donated their time.”
Osbourne asserts that “when all was [said] and done, each charity got, like, one and a half or two million pounds [approximately $2.7 million] each. So, it was, I think, six or seven million pounds [approximately $9.4 million].”
He continues, “That’s what was donated to the three charities. I mean, we would’ve loved it if it was hundreds of millions. We would have been, like, 'Fuck yeah.’”
Nonetheless, it is still an admirable feat – and Back to the Beginning has gone down in history as arguably the greatest one-day lineup of rock and metal bands ever assembled.
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