Black Sabbath (original line-up)
Created | Updated Mar 21, 2002
Black Sabbath were formed in 1969, in Aston, Birmingham, by Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass guitar) and Bill Ward (drums). Originally called Polka Tulk, they renamed themselves Earth and then Black Sabbath, after a Boris Karloff film.
Their eponymous debut, released on Feb. Friday 13th 1970, sold surprisingly well. Upon hearing it had charted, whislt driving up the motorway with the rest of the band, Tony Iommi 'was so shocked [he] nearly crashed the van!'. The band quickly attained a Satanic image, thanks to the doom-laden tones of their debut,one which generated anger amongst many Christian groups. This was particularly so in America, after all it wasn't that long ago since the Charles Manson murder case.
Nevertheless, despite many cancelled gigs in America, the band still gained in popularity. This reached its peak amongst the general public when their ssingle 'Paranoid' reached No. 4 in the UK charts. It was not the decision of the band to release the single, but their record company's. The band themselves were non too pleased about having attracted a 'teenybopper' fanbase, although no doubt the single did serve them well.
Their next album, released in September 1970, was originally to be titled 'Walpurgis', after the witch's sabbath, but it was decided by the band, in the light of the recent uproar in America over their image, to retitle it 'War Pigs'. They also rewrote the lyrics to its title song.
However, their record company meddled yet again, naming the album 'Paranoid', after the single which appeared on the album.
By this time, Black Sabbath had moved further away from their blues roots, and had developed their own sound. Their third album, 'Master of Reality', 1971, showed this transition more than ever before. It contains many masterpieces, such as 'Sweet Leaf', a song about cannabis. It also had a more mellow piece, 'Solitude', which showed that Sabbath were not a one-dimensional band. A similarly mellow track, 'Planet Caravan', had appeared on their previous album.
Their next album, imaginitively titled 'Vol. 4', was released in 1972. It was another evolution for the band, their distinct heavy sound becoming crisper and leaner than ever before. The album contains a beautiful acoustic number, 'Laguna Sunrise', along with a somewhat odd track called 'FX'.
Their fifth album, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', featured
Rick Wakeman (from prog-rockers Yes) on keyboards, on its fourth track, Sabbra Cadabra. This track was also covered by Metallica on their double-album Garage Inc., although in the more mellow central part, they inserted part of A National Acrobat, also on the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album. The album as a whole is often reckoned to be the pinnacle of Black Sabbath's career, and is certainly their most evolved album.
Their sixth album, 'Sabotage', was less critically acclaimed than its forebears, although it is still a fine album. Its best track is probably 'Symptom of the Universe'.
On their seventh album, 'Technical Ecstasy', the band seems to lose much of its heaviness, adopting a similar style to contemporary Queen. This album is often thought of as the beginning of the end for the classic Sabbath era, which ended when Ozzy left in 1978.
Ozzy briefly left between the release of'Technical Ecstasy' and the recording of their next album, 'Never Say Die'. In the meantime, ex-Savoy Brown member Dave Walker replaced Ozzy. He only performed with the band once, on BBC Midlands TV performing Junior's Eyes, from the forthcoming release 'Never Say Die'. When Ozzy returned, he demanded that the whole album, which was nearing completion, be re-recorded, with him on vocals. Much of the old material was ditched, too, and some completely new stuff written. The album was not received well by critics. By the time of its release, in 1978, punk rock was emerging onto the scene, and this gave Black Sabbath the image of being a bloated dinosaur rock band.
Ozzy left the band (almost) for good later that year, and Ronnie James Dio was recruited to take Ozzy's place. The first studio album released in the post-Ozzy era was Heaven and Hell, in 1980. A live album, Live at Last, was released the same year, the first Black Sabbath live album legally produced (ie by the record company, not bootleggers). It was not officially endorsed, however, by either the band or Ozzy, despite their appearance on the album.
Their next 'official' live album was 'Live Evil', again not officially endorsed by the band.
Numerous studio albums followed Heaven and Hell, with the entire line-up except Tony Iommi eventually changing. Even a keyboard player, Geoff Nicholls, was added, although he was not listed as a full band member until the early '90s.
The original line-up reformed for one gig, namely Band Aid, in 1985, but only as a one-off. In 1997, the original line-up reformed 'for good'. They played two world tours, the 'Reunion' tours, ending with two gigs at the Birmingham NEC on 3rd and 4th of December 1997. One of these nights was recorded, and released as 'Reunion'. This was the first live album endorsed by the band. It also included two studio tracks, including the blinding 'Psycho Man', released in America as a follow-up to 'Reunion', albeit on the b-side of a re-release of 'Paranoid'.
In early '99, the band announced that they were to split after two gigs in August at London's Earl's Court, as part of Ozzfest '99. However, these gigs were cancelled for numerous reasons, including some animosity from the local residents and police force. The councillor for the area claimed that all Black Sabbath fans were a bunch of selfish, arrogant fools (or words to that effect). He also commented on the fact that only seven people sent him letters of complaint, so he came to the conclusion that this was the sum total of literate Black Sabbath fans.
There was obviously uproar at the cancellation, many fans claiming that the band had forgotten its roots and would rather play in America than Britain.
The last two concerts were held on 21st and 22nd of December 1999, at the Birmingham NEC. I was there.
Their eponymous debut, released on Feb. Friday 13th 1970, sold surprisingly well. Upon hearing it had charted, whislt driving up the motorway with the rest of the band, Tony Iommi 'was so shocked [he] nearly crashed the van!'. The band quickly attained a Satanic image, thanks to the doom-laden tones of their debut,one which generated anger amongst many Christian groups. This was particularly so in America, after all it wasn't that long ago since the Charles Manson murder case.
Nevertheless, despite many cancelled gigs in America, the band still gained in popularity. This reached its peak amongst the general public when their ssingle 'Paranoid' reached No. 4 in the UK charts. It was not the decision of the band to release the single, but their record company's. The band themselves were non too pleased about having attracted a 'teenybopper' fanbase, although no doubt the single did serve them well.
Their next album, released in September 1970, was originally to be titled 'Walpurgis', after the witch's sabbath, but it was decided by the band, in the light of the recent uproar in America over their image, to retitle it 'War Pigs'. They also rewrote the lyrics to its title song.
However, their record company meddled yet again, naming the album 'Paranoid', after the single which appeared on the album.
By this time, Black Sabbath had moved further away from their blues roots, and had developed their own sound. Their third album, 'Master of Reality', 1971, showed this transition more than ever before. It contains many masterpieces, such as 'Sweet Leaf', a song about cannabis. It also had a more mellow piece, 'Solitude', which showed that Sabbath were not a one-dimensional band. A similarly mellow track, 'Planet Caravan', had appeared on their previous album.
Their next album, imaginitively titled 'Vol. 4', was released in 1972. It was another evolution for the band, their distinct heavy sound becoming crisper and leaner than ever before. The album contains a beautiful acoustic number, 'Laguna Sunrise', along with a somewhat odd track called 'FX'.
Their fifth album, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', featured
Rick Wakeman (from prog-rockers Yes) on keyboards, on its fourth track, Sabbra Cadabra. This track was also covered by Metallica on their double-album Garage Inc., although in the more mellow central part, they inserted part of A National Acrobat, also on the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album. The album as a whole is often reckoned to be the pinnacle of Black Sabbath's career, and is certainly their most evolved album.
Their sixth album, 'Sabotage', was less critically acclaimed than its forebears, although it is still a fine album. Its best track is probably 'Symptom of the Universe'.
On their seventh album, 'Technical Ecstasy', the band seems to lose much of its heaviness, adopting a similar style to contemporary Queen. This album is often thought of as the beginning of the end for the classic Sabbath era, which ended when Ozzy left in 1978.
Ozzy briefly left between the release of'Technical Ecstasy' and the recording of their next album, 'Never Say Die'. In the meantime, ex-Savoy Brown member Dave Walker replaced Ozzy. He only performed with the band once, on BBC Midlands TV performing Junior's Eyes, from the forthcoming release 'Never Say Die'. When Ozzy returned, he demanded that the whole album, which was nearing completion, be re-recorded, with him on vocals. Much of the old material was ditched, too, and some completely new stuff written. The album was not received well by critics. By the time of its release, in 1978, punk rock was emerging onto the scene, and this gave Black Sabbath the image of being a bloated dinosaur rock band.
Ozzy left the band (almost) for good later that year, and Ronnie James Dio was recruited to take Ozzy's place. The first studio album released in the post-Ozzy era was Heaven and Hell, in 1980. A live album, Live at Last, was released the same year, the first Black Sabbath live album legally produced (ie by the record company, not bootleggers). It was not officially endorsed, however, by either the band or Ozzy, despite their appearance on the album.
Their next 'official' live album was 'Live Evil', again not officially endorsed by the band.
Numerous studio albums followed Heaven and Hell, with the entire line-up except Tony Iommi eventually changing. Even a keyboard player, Geoff Nicholls, was added, although he was not listed as a full band member until the early '90s.
The original line-up reformed for one gig, namely Band Aid, in 1985, but only as a one-off. In 1997, the original line-up reformed 'for good'. They played two world tours, the 'Reunion' tours, ending with two gigs at the Birmingham NEC on 3rd and 4th of December 1997. One of these nights was recorded, and released as 'Reunion'. This was the first live album endorsed by the band. It also included two studio tracks, including the blinding 'Psycho Man', released in America as a follow-up to 'Reunion', albeit on the b-side of a re-release of 'Paranoid'.
In early '99, the band announced that they were to split after two gigs in August at London's Earl's Court, as part of Ozzfest '99. However, these gigs were cancelled for numerous reasons, including some animosity from the local residents and police force. The councillor for the area claimed that all Black Sabbath fans were a bunch of selfish, arrogant fools (or words to that effect). He also commented on the fact that only seven people sent him letters of complaint, so he came to the conclusion that this was the sum total of literate Black Sabbath fans.
There was obviously uproar at the cancellation, many fans claiming that the band had forgotten its roots and would rather play in America than Britain.
The last two concerts were held on 21st and 22nd of December 1999, at the Birmingham NEC. I was there.
