Sharon Osbourne has told Music Week that the upcoming Back To The Beginning concert with Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne is “the biggest show I’ve worked on”.
As well as being the longtime manager of Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne has managed a host of rock’s biggest acts, in addition to her spells as a reality TV star and X Factor judge. In the latest edition of Music Week, she reflects on her career and looks ahead to the massive concert on July 5.
Heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath and legendary frontman Ozzy Osbourne wanted to play a hometown gig as their final show, which is promoted by Live Nation. You can read more about the all-day Villa Park event in our Big Story this issue with the stadium’s COO Ben Hatton.
Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne will headline the 45,000-capacity all-day event at Villa Park, featuring acts they inspired, including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon. A supergroup is being lined up with the concert’s music director Tom Morello, plus Billy Corgan, David Draiman, Duff McKagan, Slash, Jonathan Davis, Lzzy Hale and more.
Sharon Osbourne described Morello as “phenomenal” in the role of music director.
The fund-raising concert will mark the first time that Black Sabbath's original line-up – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – have played together in 20 years.
Speaking to Music Week’s Niall Doherty, Sharon Osbourne opened up about her management relationship with her husband, Ozzy.
“It works for us in every way,” she said. “He’s stubborn and I’m pushy, so we have dreadful fights still about certain things but we move on. Ozzy asks me, ‘Are you doing this as a wife or a manager?’ and I’m always like, ‘Shut the fuck up!’ The thing we had always argued about is producers. Our biggest fights have been over producers. Who wins? It’s about even…”
She also spoke about the new documentary in production for Paramount+ about Ozzy’s health struggles and Parkinson’s diagnosis.
“Ozzy has had such an interesting life, an unbelievable life, and everything he’s ever done has been extreme, either really good or really bad,” she told Music Week. “This part of his life is still the same, very extreme, and it needed to be documented. I hope people take away from it that if you get sick, you’ve got to have hope. It’s not the end of the world, he’s still got his voice and so many people are going through what he’s going through right now. Just don’t give up. You’ve got to fight.”
Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi launching the Villa Park concert last month
Sharon Osbourne also praised the achievements of Ozzy Osbourne as both a frontman for Black Sabbath and a rock icon as a solo artist.
“Mick Jagger could never make it on his own,” she said. “He tried but he couldn’t do it. And he’s the greatest frontman in the world – but in The Rolling Stones, not on his own. Whether it was the music he chose or the producers, it never happened for him. Robert Plant had three or four hit records but Robert Plant never achieved what Ozzy achieved and he’s an amazing frontman, fucking amazing in his day, and they just never achieved what Ozzy did. Sting did it on his own but still not to the point that Ozzy has and for the amount of time that Ozzy’s done it. People forget Ozzy won two Grammys just two years ago. He won Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance. He’s still relevant.”
In the Aftershow feature, Sharon Osbourne also discusses misogyny in the industry, boy bands (“I can’t stand boy bands… I hate that part of the industry, it’s so disposable”), The X Factor (“I met many great people but it’s formulaic”) and the music industry of yesteryear.
Here, she discusses planning for the Back To The Beginning concert with Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, expectations for the show and the legacy of the rock titans..
With three months to go, how is the Back To The Beginning concert coming together?
“We’ve been working on it a year and a half already. I don’t think a gig has been done like this for the reasons that we’re doing it. I think that people forget that all the headliners – people are going, ‘Well, how much time are Sabbath and Ozzy playing?’. There’s all these artists who usually do two, two-and-a-half hour sets. Guns N’Roses and Metallica can play for three hours. It’s impossible with all of those bands to do a full set, it would take more than a day. So everybody’s doing a short set so everybody can play, one after the other, and they’re doing it for the love of the music because the people that started it have passed on the torch from generation to generation. It’s nearly six generations and most of these guys that are playing, Ozzy and I have seen them all grow up.”
What am I most looking forward to? The fans and the atmosphere that’s going to be there because it is going to be a huge celebration
Sharon Osbourne
Were you amazed at how many people said yes?
“Absolutely. I was absolutely stunned and they’re doing it for all the right reasons, to say how much they love this music and how it’s influenced them and for charity. It’s all the right reasons. Nobody’s getting a penny for it, they’re just getting their expenses paid and they’re coming for all the right reasons, which is fantastic. It’s going to be an amazing day.”
In the realm of all the things you’ve worked on over the years, is this the biggest?
“The biggest show I’ve worked on, yes.”
What are you most looking forward to on the day?
“The fans and the atmosphere that’s going to be there because it is going to be a huge celebration. It’s a win-win for everybody. It’s a win win for the fans that managed to get a ticket, and for the bands. It’s summertime and we’d always see guys on the festivals, we’d all pass each other every summer on the road – but to get everybody in one place is amazing. It’s just incredible.”
What do you think it says about Sabbath’s legacy that this once-in-a-lifetime gig is happening?
“It says a lot. You’ve got to remember, people usually do this after you’ve passed. They’ll do it for Queen, for George Michael, and these guys are there, and they’re going to experience something that is going to be fantastic. They’re going to play together and what could be better than to do it with your friends?”
Interview by Niall Doherty
