Often imitated but never surpassed
the legendary
BLACK SABBATH

Sabbath´s the first time around is impossible to quantify. What is certain is that their unrelenting assault od the senses signalised the death of any vestiges of ´60s flower power and the dawning of the free- for- all ´70s.The legacy of what they achieved with their first six albums is exemplified by ever band that has followed in their wake, from Ministry to Metallica, fro Nirvana to Marilyn Manson and beyond.
Sabbath´s apocalyptic view of the world is rooted in their working class origins. Growing up within a mile of each other is post-war Aston in streets that Tony describes as “hard, full of gangs, bombsites really”, the four members of Sabbath embarked on their musical careers in the early ´60s in a bid to avoiddead-jobs and spurred on by the success of another four working class heroes, The Beatles.
Despite having been to the same scool, Ozzy and Tony initialy shared a mutual dislike for each other.Geezer- at the time studyind to become an accountant against his will- has seen Tony knocking around the same neighbourhood and admits to thinking that his future partner in crime was “ really aggressive, a hard nut.” Ironically, Tony´s first impression of geezer was that he was “a complete nutter because he was tripping all the time.”ward concurs that Butler waas man who sported “clothes that didn´t fit on this planet” and recalls meeting Geezer backstage at a club “literally trying to climb the walls because he was so out of it.”
Cutting their teeth in several local bands( wich included Ward assuming vocal and drum duties with The rest, and Ozzy pedding Otis Reddig covers that sounded that “disco shit” in The Approach) the foursome ended up in two rival outfits. The Rare Breed (an experimental psycho combo that featured then guitarist Geezer and Ozzy) and the blues-based ( wich included Tony and Bill).Attemps at turning pro led to both bands falling apart, forcing the unlikely foursome into each others´arms.
In late ´67 they formed Polka Tulk with Ozzy´s mate Jimmy Philips on rhythm guitar and a sax player known simply as ´Acker´. For Geezer it meant the end of this guitar playing days , the man attempting to bang out bass riffs on the bottom four strings of his fender Telecaster at the band´s first rehearsal.