Curiosity was revealed by bassist Geezer Butler, who revealed why vocalist and guitarist didn’t peck each other in their youth
Many bands start after friends become interested in music together. This was definitely not the case for Black Sabbath.
Between 1968 and 1969 the band had a few different names (The Polka Tulk Blues Band and Earth) and experimented with different formats (with the right to a saxophonist in the times of polka tulk blues) until you establish your configuration with Ozzy Osbourne (voice), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (down) and Bill Ward (battery). And definitely friendship was not what attracted these guys, especially the first two mentioned.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, Butler recalled that, in the beginning, osbourne It is Iommi refused to work together. The two couldn’t stand each other.
Initially, the bassist said he was looking for a vocalist for the band he had at the time, Rare Breed.tony and bill they had another project and were not involved with this group. One day, he came across an advertisement for a singer who called his attention for the simple fact that he had his own equipment available.
“I saw this ad in a newspaper, ‘Ozzy Zig wants a Gig’ (in free translation, something like ‘Ozzy Zig wants a band’). There were the magic words: ‘it has its own PA system’. It didn’t matter how he sounded. I had his address, so I went there, and the next day Tony and Bill Ward went there with their band.”
The vocalist and guitarist were schoolmates and had nothing good to say about each other. Therefore, the bassist’s invitation to Rare Breed proved to be more attractive to osbourne.
“ozzy studied with tony and they hated each other. tony bullied him at school. Then, ozzy decided he would go with me because he didn’t want to play with Tony. That’s how we started.”
End of Rare Breed, beginning of Black Sabbath
Ultimately, the Rare Breed it lasted a short time. Also, things started to go downhill a bit for Geezer Butler, who was released from his formal job at the time. At that time, the bassist made the decision to focus 100% of his time on music.
“We only played two shows together in Rare Breed. So I got laid off from work and wanted to work in music full time.”
The way out was to try something with Tony Iommi. The guitarist had a strong partnership with Bill Ward, so the drummer naturally got involved. There weren’t many options for Ozzy Osbourne, soon, he also entered.
“We went to the house of tony to see if he knew any drummers. Bill I was there at the house of Tony. He said: ‘I’ll join this band if tony to enter’. And off we went, first like Earth, then how Sabbath.”
Times like Earth
As said, the black Sabbath had a brief period where he answered by names Polka Tulk Blues Band It is Earth. The story is curious: the Polka Tulk Blues Band brought the four members later known by the Sabbath in addition to jimmy phillips (childhood friend of ozzy) on the slide guitar and Alan “Aker” Clarke on the saxophone. The other musicians soon saw that the sextet would not work, but instead of dismissing Phillips and Clarke, simply ended the band to start another one: the Earth.
In the four-piece setup, things started to work out. Soon the Earth started playing shows in nightclubs in England, especially in Birmingham, his homeland.
In an interview with Rolling Stone USA (via website Igor Miranda), the vocalist of Judas Priest, Rob Halford, remember how it sounded Earth before calling yourself Black Sabbath. Halford it is also natural to birmingham.
“I have vague memories of seeing them as Earth in an obscure club in birmingham. They played a kind of heavy blues, jazzy and progressive, musically. There was free form rolling when they played, but the weight dominated.”
Such sonority guided the beginnings of Black Sabbath, especially their eponymous debut album, released in 1970. For many, this record represents heavy metal’s ground zero. Halford comment:
“When they turned Black Sabbath, found the identity. the riffs of tony played a stronger role and they had something unique, which set them apart from all local bands or out there. ozzy looked and sounded special and the dynamics of Geezer and Bill defined a sound that no one else could match.”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
