The opening act happened at a special time and the coexistence between the musicians was friendly, to a certain extent
In the late 1970s, the Black Saturday I was already creatively exhausted and had internal problems. The situation did not improve during the tour Never say die! (1978) brought a young and energetic band as a special guest: Van Halen.
Ozzy Osbourne recalled the difference between the two groups during the excursion in a new episode of the program Ozzy speaksfrom the radio SiriusXM (go Chatty). The singer of Black Saturday said that the presentations of the Van Halen they visibly outperformed the British quartet.
He comments:
I couldn’t believe it. Eddie Van Halen He made it (playing the guitar) look so easy. They overshadowed us. They blew us off the stage.”
Coexistence, in general, was good. Ozzy the brothers praised Eddie AND Alex Van Halensomething he did in 2022 for the magazine Revolvers. However, he pointed out that one of the members of the American group was not so friendly.
They came to our local pub and it was great fun. But David Lee Roth (singer of Van Halen), some screws are missing. When you meet him you think, ‘What’s wrong?’. It seems like it’s somewhere else.”
It was the last tour of Black Saturday with Ozzy Osbourne until the reunion of the original lineup in the 1990s. Madman was sent away in 1979 and began to devote himself to a solo career. Meanwhile, the Van Halen he had just released his self-titled debut album in 1978 and was about to emerge into the world.
Black Sabbath and Van Halen behind the scenes
Not everything was rosy on the tour Black Saturday with the Van Halen. Ozzy it seems more refined when you remember those times, but That old butler I don’t have such good memories.
The English bassist recalled on the podcast Rock experiencefrom Mike Brunn (go Igor Miranda), in 2023:
We were fans of too Van Halen. We were great with each other and partied every night [risos]. Tony ( Iommiguitarist of Black Saturday) AND Eddie they got along very well. At the start, Tony I was a little angry with Eddie making these guitar solos longer and longer. Ozzy I was angry because David Lee Roth was using all his stuff. I think that really started to tear us down towards the end.
Butler said in the book Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halenof which the Americans began to copy some elements Saturday throughout the tour. An example would be the bass player Michele Antoniowho started using a wah-wah pedal effect on his instrument, something unique Damn done at that time.
The Englishman also underlined the fact that the two bands belonged to the same record label, Warner, which gave priority to the promotion of Van Halen at that moment. And it worked: the band of brothers Eddie AND Alex became a phenomenon in the next few years, while the Black Saturdayalready a veteran, he faced lineup changes and a decline in popularity over the next decade.
+++READ MORE: Eddie Van Halen’s lie that caused several guitarists to burn their equipment
Collaborator: André Luiz Fernandes.
Source: Terra
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.
