Sharon Osbourne says studies that Black Sabbath generated £140 million for charity by means of their Again to the Starting farewell present are “simply ridiculous”.

The sold-out present was additionally livestreamed on pay-per-view, with 100% of the proceeds going to Acorns Youngsters’s Hospice, Birmingham Youngsters’s Hospital and Treatment Parkinson’s. The pay-per-view was priced at £24.99, and The Guardian reported final month that greater than 5 million folks tuned in.

5 million multiplied by £24.99 is slightly underneath £125 million, so within the ball park of the determine quoted, earlier than accounting for bodily ticket gross sales, merch gross sales and so forth.

Following the occasion, Billboard journal additionally reported that the occasion had raised over $190 million, whereas Tom Morello – who served because the occasion’s musical director – posted a choice of images on Instagram, one in all which learn: “Greater than 190 million will likely be donated to homes and hospitals for kids.”

Now, in a brand new interview with Pollstar, Sharon Osbourne – Ozzy Osbourne’s spouse and long-time supervisor – says the figures quoted aren’t precisely correct.

“One of many issues that’s horrifying me is all this false press about [how] we’ve made £140 million and all of this, and I’m like, ‘God, I want we may have, for one gig.’

“It’s simply ridiculous, the totally different tales. I went on the web the subsequent morning and it was like, $140 million, $160 million. And I’m like, ‘The place does these items come from?’

“It takes a very very long time [to work out how much was made], as a result of we’ve had the entire bands that we had are available in and their bills, and it’ll take a superb six weeks to get the ultimate quantity.”

Although she’s hesitant to touch upon how a lot the occasion made earlier than the official figures can be found, Sharon says the occasion was a “big success”.

“It was an exceptional occasion,” she says. “It was the primary time, I feel, that anyone’s gone into retirement and achieved it, the place the present is streamed and it goes to charity. So it’s the primary time anyone has stated goodnight like that. It’s the proper approach, once you’ve had such a protracted profession, to finish it. 

“I by no means needed Ozzy to simply disappear with out some large occasion.”

Apart from internet hosting Black Sabbath’s swansong efficiency, Again to the Starting noticed performances from a plethora of heavy steel’s elite, together with Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Mastodon, Yungblud, Lamb of God and so many extra.

Sam is the Affiliate Information Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Totally immersed in music tradition for almost all of his life, Sam has performed guitar for 20 years, studied music know-how and manufacturing at college, and in addition written for the likes of Guitar World, Whole Guitar, Steel Hammer and MusicRadar.