Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is proposing that an annual charity concert be held in honor of late rock icon Ozzy Osbourne.
Earlier this month, Osbourne famously performed for the final time at his “Back to the Beginning” farewell show in Birmingham, England. The Jason Momoa-hosted event reportedly raised almost $200 million for Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice charities. Osbourne died on July 22 at 76, after a long battle with health issues.
A star-studded bill of rock luminaries, including Corgan, Metallica, Tool, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer and Pantera, all waived their fees for charity to support the original Black Sabbath lineup’s first performance together in more than 20 years. During an appearance on the Klein Ally Show on KROQ, Corgan suggested that the concert should inspire an annual charity event, saying, “I almost think there should be an annual Ozzy concert where we just come together and do a charitable event.”
Corgan continued: “When you have the biggest artists in the world coming to play a tribute to somebody, and they are playing truncated sets, Tool played for 20 minutes, Guns N’ Roses played for 35 minutes, I mean, headlining bands are not used to playing small sets. Everybody worked together to make a one-of-a-kind, monumental event, and what an amazing way to continue to pay tribute if we could just get together every year in Birmingham or Sharon can pick a site, and the legacy of that togetherness would continue.”
Corgan then opined how Back to the Beginning was a powerful demonstration of the power of rock, noting, “Pop could never, ever compete with what we saw that day. Pop is massive, and we get it, we know it, everybody runs around and talks about it because its the gossip, but rock can not be beat.” It’s a sentiment apparently shared by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who recently celebrated Osbourne’s legacy with a piano-driven cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” at a Nashville show.
Corgan added that future charity shows “would show the whole world what rock can do” and raise massive sums for charity in the process. Watch his KROQ interview below.