In a recent interview with 107.7 RKR’s “The Rocker Morning Show”, BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler was asked if THE BEATLES were an early influence on him like they were on his bandmate, SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “They were a massive influence, because there was nobody else like them at the time. And up until then, it was, like, my brothers were into like Elvis [Presley] and Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, that kind of thing. And there was no real English [rock bands]. All the English rock and rollers were trying to sound American and copy of an American [band], and they never succeeded. And then when THE BEATLES came along, they had a completely original sound. And they were all literally from Liverpool, which is 90 miles from where we were born. And it just like gave us some hope that British musicians could actually become successful. And as soon as THE BEATLES were successful, then you had THE ROLLING STONES and THE KINKS and THE WHO, HERMAN’S HERMITS, a whole explosion of British pop music.”
Back in 2004, Ozzy was one of 20 leading musicians who were invited by the music magazine Q to nominate their heroes for the compilation of a songwriters’ Hall Of Fame. Osbourne’s picks, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, were the “fucking catalyst for me to get into music,” Ozzy said. He added: “To me, they’re the Mozarts of our time. THE BEATLES were the only band in rock ‘n’ roll history to go from a fucking boy band to a psychedelic rock band.”
In a 2007 interview, Ozzy said that he “couldn’t describe” how he felt when he was told Lennon had been assassinated. He told Britain’s BBC Radio 1 “Legends” show: “The world stopped for me when Sharon told me that John Lennon had been shot in New York. I can’t even describe how I felt. If he was a politician, a soldier, anything else, it would be, ‘Oh yeah, well he is in that kind of business,’ but the amount of joy and hope that he gave people was just remarkable.”
Ozzy also said he would have loved to see THE BEATLES perform, and thinks they would have reunited if all four members — John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Sir Paul McCartney and the late George Harrison — were still alive. He added, “I often daydream about whether they would ever have reformed. I never saw THE BEATLES, I saw Paul McCartney play but never saw THE BEATLES — I would have loved to have seen them play.”
Butler served as BLACK SABBATH’s bassist for the majority of the years since their 1968 inception in Birmingham, England, as well as serving as the band’s chief lyricist — which in turn, played a major role in the creation of heavy metal. Additionally, his unmistakable bass playing served as an influence on such subsequent renowned four-string players as METALLICA’s Cliff Burton, PANTERA’s Rex Brown, and TYPE O NEGATIVE’s Peter Steele, among others.
Geezer’s autobiography, “Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond”, was released on June 6, 2023 in North America via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books and June 8, 2023 in the United Kingdom.
“Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond” is described by the publisher as “a rollicking, effusive, and candid memoir by the heavy metal musician and founding member of BLACK SABBATH, covering his years as the band’s bassist and main lyricist through his later-career projects, and detailing how one of rock’s most influential bands formed and prevailed.”
Butler, Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi reunited in late 2011 and released a comeback album, “13”, in June 2013.
In February 2017, SABBATH finished “The End” tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet’s groundbreaking 49-year career.
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