[1.6] Paranoia
[1.7] An act of SABOTAGE?
[1.8] Manager Number Two
[1.9] When and how did Ozzy leave Black Sabbath?
[2.0] Ozzy and Randy
[2.1] What the hell is this about biting a bat? (Diary of a Madman)


1.6 Paranoia

While working on their next album the band released a single called "Paranoid". The single was very popular, maybe too popular: On October 23, 1970 the band attempts to play the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle. The crowd is very drunk and all over the stage and equipment. The band, unsuccessful in trying to get them off the stage, starts playing their hit single Paranoid. 70 minutes later the show is done and the band is very upset. Someone put their foot through one of their big PA speakers, Bill's drum sticks and cymbals were stolen and a bass drum mic destroyed. The audience had gone crazy over their new single and Ozzy says, "If it means us having to give up putting out singles then we will. We want people to listen to us, not try to touch us. I was really terrified, shocked out of my mind." This would also be the gig that would give birth to their new song,"Fairies Wear Boots". While walking down a street some time after the show, the band was attacked by a group of skinheads. Tony's arm was badly hurt and this forced them to cancel their next show. Due to the fact the skinheads wore boots, they decided to make fun of the punks in the song. It was not uncommon for the band to be verbally abusive if the audience was not responding properly. If they were talking, the band would just crank up the music some more. Bands were so loud during this time the Leeds City Council introduced a "96 decibel law". If any band's music was to rise above 96 decibels the amplifiers would cut out. Sabbath did not consider their night's work complete unless they hit at least three cut outs a night. PARANOID -------- The album, 'Paranoid', was recorded in four days once again at Regent Sound and then released in Jan. 1971. The cover shows a person running out of a forest with a sword and shield in hand. This seemed to listeners, a strange representation of being paranoid. The truth is that the album was to originally be named "War Pigs" (mans constant desire to have weapons of destruction and killing). The record company objected to the album title and so it was named after one of the songs. The song "War Pigs" came about when Sabbath was told tales of horror and war from soldiers while playing an American air force base. The Paranoid album reached FIRST place in the UK charts and 12th in American charts. It was during the span between the Paranoid and Master of Reality albums that Jim Simpson was fired as the band's manager. The reason for this is will be discussed in a later chapter. MASTER OF REALITY ----------------- In 1971 "Master of Reality" was released, charting 5th place in UK and 8th place in USA song charts. Ozzy also married his first wife, Thelma Riley and became a stepfather to her son, Elliot. This album would take an interesting turn with the release of "After Forever" which was clearly a religious, believe in God, song. The church called this blasphemy. People disliked the band, perhaps for their After Forever song or perhaps for what they represented. In any event, 1971 saw some strange events: At a show in Memphis, their dressing rooms had crosses painted in blood on the walls. During the show a Satanist jumped on stage with a sacrificial knife. The local witches coven later gathered outside the band's hotel and Geezer tried to scare them away with a fake hex. It was also the year that threats were made that the band would be shot sometime during their US tour. At one show the lights suddenly failed into their 3rd song and Ozzy stood frozen solid with fear. The band also included a song titled "Sweet Leaf" which openly talked about the band's usage of marijuana. The song begins with a coughing sound (as if someone had just inhaled the drug). In actual fact, Tony had just finished smoking drugs in a water pipe and the sounds were included in the final version. VOLUME 4 -------- The following year "Volume 4" was released. As with the inverted cross case and the "War pigs" album title, the record company would again take authority over the bands wishes. Volume 4 (hence the fourth Sabbath album) was to have originally been called "Snowblind", another drug reference. The record company thought this was too controversial and so they had to change it. The band was becoming involved in hard core drugs by this time (including cocaine). During the recording of Volume 4, the band sat around in a Jacuzzi snorting coke all day and would get up every so often to record a new song. We can see why Snowblind was an appropriate album title. Not being allowed to use it as an album title, they came up with this amusing line on the cover sleeve of the record: "Thanks to the COKE-Cola Company". It was also during this year that Ozzy and Thelma had their first mutual child, Jessica.

1.7 An act of SABOTAGE?

"For the first part of their career they were managed by two of the biggest crooks in the business. They made nothing, I mean nothing." ...Sharon on Sabbath's early management The year is now 1974. The band is living a good life of drugs, sex, cars, etc. If they wanted a car or a house they would ask for it and receive it almost the next day. Ozzy even owned a Jaguar which he smashed while backing out of his driveway, the same day he was to sell it. What the band never saw though, was money. They became very successful especially in the UK charts. Their material possessions were provided by their new management of Patrick Meehan and Wilf Pine. What happened was this: During the same year that Paranoid was soaring up the charts, Pat and Wilf left their management company (which was Don Arden's, more on him later). The duo offered the band a chauffeured limo, champagne dinner at the Speakeasy, and filled the Sab's heads with ideas that Jim was mismanaging them and they could do a hell of a lot better with them instead. The Sabs agreed and on Sept.4, 1970 Jim Simpson found out he was history. The man who had turned the four nobodies into a juggernaut was dismissed. The Sabs were also not happy that with Jim they were being paid a lot less than what they should have been getting. The reason was that Jim insisted they perform at the shows they had already been booked for, even six months prior. These older bookings were for a lot less money than the usual fee, now around 2000 pounds per show. Simpson launched lawsuits against them for of breach of contract. Some concerts later, Ozzy was handed a subpoena on stage for Simpson's lawsuits. The resulting court case would last years. California saw the Cal Jam concert take place in Ontario on April 6th. This was a televised concert to millions of viewers as well as over 450,000 audience members. It featured bands such as Electric Light Orchestra. In the middle of the night, their management threatened the band with a lawsuit if they did not play the Cal Jam concert. The band had not practiced for months and was not ready for a show, especially one with over 450,000 people in attendance. It has been said that the band did not even know they were to play the show. This would be one of the final straws for the band and they soon began the process of getting rid of their second management. Ozzy talks a bit about this in the documentary, "The Decline of Western Civilization II" where the band questions how much money they are really making if their managers could afford houses and cars. Once again the band gets rid of their management and decides to form their own management. This allowed them to have more control and say into what decisions were made for the band. It would be a learning experience as well since they had never dabbled in the management aspects before. They decided a rest was in order since they were exhausted. Their next US tour would be in three short installments rather than one big tour to further save them exhaustion and nervous breakdowns. Oh yes, remember all the flashy cars and houses they were given? They were never really theirs, and when they dumped the management duo they lost everything. They still had the Warner Bros. label in America though, and stayed with WB during the management change. SABOTAGE -------- In September of 1975, the band released their "Sabotage" album. The last song on the album, "The Writ", would reveal their feelings towards their previous management and all the problems they'd encountered: The Writ ======== The way I feel is the way I am I wish I'd walked before I started to run to you, just to you What kind of people do you think we are? Another joker who's a rock and roll star for you, just for you The faithful image of another man The endless ocean of emotion I swam for you, yeah for you The shot troopers laying down on the floor I wish they'd put an end to my running war with you, yeah with you Are you metal, are you man? You've changed in life since you began, yeah began Ladies digging gold from you Will they still dig now you're through, yeah you're through You bought and sold me with your lying words The voices in the deck that you never heard came through, yeah came through Your folly finally got to spend with a gun A poisoned father who has poisoned his son, that's you, yeah that's you I beg you please don't let it get any worse The anger I once had has turned to a curse on you, Yeah curse you All of the promises that never came true You're gonna get what is coming to you, that's true, ah, that's true Are you Satan, are you man? You've changed the life since it began, it began Vultures sucking gold from you Will they still suck now you're through The search is on, so you just better run And find yourself another way Probably dead, they don't feel a thing To keep you living for another day You are nonentity, you have no destiny You are a victims of a thing unknown A mantle picture of a stolen soul A fornication of your golden throne A smiling face, it means the world to me So tired of sadness and of misery My life it started some time ago Where it will end, I don't know I thought I was so good I thought I was fine I feel my world is out of time But everything is gonna work out fine If it don't I think I'll lose my mind I know, I know, I know, yeah yeah I know Listen to me while I sing this song You might just think the words are wrong Too many people advising me [managers, lawyers] But they don't know what my eyes see But everything is gonna work out fine If it don't I feel I'm lose my mind The anger is very strong in both the lyrics and the tone of Ozzy's voice. After hearing the song one cannot help but feel sympathy for what the band had been enduring. Some album labels (Warner Bros. for example) have a hidden tune following the song, you need to really turn up the volume to hear it. It features the band playing piano and singing an old 'Nitty Gritty Dirt Band' song called "Blow on the Jug". A sound engineer caught this during a recording session and it was put on the album. Sadly, there are a lot of other Sab cover songs which we will never get to hear. You can hear the 'Blow on the Jug' song by clicking right here! Reporter: "Do you have a drinking problem?" Ozzy: "Yes, I can't find a bar."

1.8 Manager Number Two

Needing a new manager, Don Arden was hired. Don's management was the same company that their last management had parted from. Don managed Black Sabbath while his daughter, Sharon (then 18) was his receptionist. Ozzy and Sharon met when Ozzy walked into his office wearing a tap faucet around his neck and sat on the floor - refusing to use a chair. Sharon was terrified of Ozzy upon first sight. She even tried to get another woman working in the office to bring him a cup of tea, rather than bring it to him herself. The two of them would get to know one another quite well over the years as Don and the Sab four conducted business. Money and fame were no longer problems for the four of them, instead the only challenge was how to come up with another best selling album. A very audible change in the bands musical direction began to show in their 1974 album, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". Despite the title, the album contains deep lyrics with many different musical arrangements. The songs seemed more uplifting and vibrant than their previous dark, gloomy sounding material and a more energetic sound. Electronic instruments also changed the way they were able to record songs. This album, probably their best album with Ozzy as vocalist, placed 4th and 11th respectively in UK and American charts. TECHNICAL ECSTASY ----------------- "Technical Ecstasy" was released in 1976. This album was considerably less heavy then previous albums, and perhaps was due to the band just being fed up with it all. They had succeeded in making a lot of money, owned as many cars as we own socks, and were getting burned out from constant touring. T.E. would contain a song titled, "It's Alright" featuring Bill the drummer on vocals, a very gentle song. The album cover also set the stage for something entirely new from the band. No more dark images, this artistic cover showed two robots having sex (or so it has been said). Sadly, Technical Ecstasy did not sell very well. The late 1970's also saw some deep trouble for the band. On January 20,1978 Ozzy's father passed away. Here is a small portion of an interview with Ozzy regarding his father: "In England, they don't tell you, y'know. What they did to my father was, he hadn't eaten a fucking thing because of his -- whatever the fucking tube -- he had a lump here like a fucking black ball, in his sagophagus or whatever the fuck it is; he couldn't eat any food. Plus the fact that he had cancer of the fucking intestines, the bowels, so he couldn't shit. He never ate a thing for thirteen weeks. They operated on him about a fucking week before he died. They took the whole tube out and put a plastic one in. I don't know what it's like in the states, but in England...they put him in a fucking closet with the fucking mops and buckets, because he was on the death ward and it was too distressing for the rest of the patients so they put him in a cot, sort of a crib thing, a giant crib. They strapped him...like a boxer, fucking bandages on his hands, with a glucose drip going into his arm. He was stoned out of his head. You know, the most amazing thing he said to me. I told my father one day, "I take drugs. I said to him, "Before you go, will you take drugs?" He says, "I promise you I'll take drugs." He was on Morphine. Totally out of his mind on Morphine, because the pain must have been horrendous. They had the operation on a Tuesday, and he died on Thursday...No one could understand what he was talking about, because he was so out of it. He says to me -- he only understands drugs as "speed" -- he says, [whispers, a drawn-out, rattling imitation] "ssspeeeeed." And he died in my arms. I haven't got over it yet. The twentieth of January, I'll go freaking like a werewolf. I'll cry and I'll laugh all day long, because it's the day my daughter was born and the day my father died. Like a fucking lunatic. When they go, they're out of their misery. But what freaked me out more than anything else was the funeral. I was singing fucking "Paranoid" in the church...Seconal, drunk... it blew me away. All the family came that I'd never seen for fucking years, and they were making comments. In England, it's a weird scene at a fucking death. My father hated his brother Harold -- my whole family's fucking nuts." This took a toll on Ozzy and he decided to quit Black Sabbath. Ozzy's father, Jack, who thought his son would either end up in prison or end up being someone very special, died knowing his son had made something out of himself. While on his leave of absence, Ozzy asked Glenn Hughes (another vocalist who would eventually spend some time in Sabbath) about the two of them forming a band. Oz was fed up with Sabbath by this time, though he kept his feelings about this to himself. Glenn did not join Ozzy in his desire. Meanwhile the band had to continue work on its upcoming album, "Never Say Die". NEVER SAY DIE ------------- They took in Dave Walker (who used to be with Fleetwood Mac) to write new material for their album. Ozzy decided he wanted to rejoin the band, but he refused to sing any of the songs written with Dave Walker. So Dave left and the band had to rewrite all of their songs. Tony booked a studio in Toronto, Ontario because it was where the Rolling Stones had recorded one of their albums. The band traveled up there in the middle of winter to record the album. Ozzy has since said it was a stupid thing to do and that it was freezing up there. Tony was just trying to keep the band together in a time of turmoil. Ozzy had this to say on the album: "The fucking studio's a pile of shit, the fucking -- we had two songs half- written before we'd gotten into the studio. The reason we'd gone to Canada was because of the tax-exile thing, because the taxes are so high in England. In the end, it cost us nearly 500 fucking thousand dollars to make that album, and it was the biggest pile of horseshit that I've ever made in my life. I'm embarrassed with that album." There is one song titled "Junior's Eyes" which is available on the "Archangel Rides Again" bootleg, featuring Sabbath with Dave Walker on vocals. Junior's Eyes was kept for the final album with the same music but Ozzy rewrote the lyrics in a way as to say goodbye to his father. Junior's Eyes ============= Junior's eyes looked up to the skies in tears He prayed that his maker, the giver and taker, would `pear Junior sighed, as his hands reached out to the sky Junior cried, the day that his best friend died (chorus) You're coming home again tomorrow I'm sorry it won't be for long With all the pain I've watched you live within I'll try my hardest not to cry But it is time to say goodbye Junior's eyes, they couldn't disguise the pain His father was leaving, and Junior is grieving again Innocent eyes watched the man who had gave everything Junior's sorrow, who knew what tomorrow would bring? (chorus) Junior's eyes looked into the skies once more Now he knew well, this life was hell for sure He desperately tried, his fingertips stretched to the stars, yeah Reaching for reason, along with the time and the stars (chorus)

1.9 When and how did Ozzy leave Black Sabbath?

By now, all four members of the band were staying in their rooms all day and doing hard drugs and booze. They had cars, success, and perhaps little motivation to release another album. Ozzy himself has said he only wanted to release an album to make money and get fat off of beer. Ozzy would subsequently not show up for weeks at a time for practice. They were to begin work on their next album, "Heaven and Hell". Tony, having met Ronnie James Dio (ex-Rainbow) by this time, then asked Bill to get rid of Ozzy. Tony was fed up with Ozzy and was interested in having Dio as a vocalist. After the 1978 NSD tour, Ozzy was told by Bill, that they no longer wanted him in the band. Bill feels bad about doing this because him and Oz were best of friends and yet Bill wanted Ozzy out of the band as well. People still ask how Ozzy left, the truth is that both him and Tony Iommi say he was fired. Ozzy also adds that he was relieved at this. In actual fact Ozzy was asked many times on the last day to leave before being fired. For some time now Ozzy wanted to go into a new musical direction and perhaps was unable to do so with the politics of the band being the way they were. Tony, being the transportation, would never be spoken against by the other members of the band. 1978 saw the end of the original Black Sabbath. Their last tour would be the "Never Say Die" tour. Appropriately named.

2.0 Ozzy and Randy

After being fired from Sabbath, Ozzy spent three months staying in the Le Parc Hotel in Los Angeles. He would order out for pizza and booze and have his dealer drop off cocaine for him. He basically thought his life was over. It was around this time that his friend Sharon Arden suggested he start a new band. Over in Los Angeles, a 23 year old guitar player named Randy Rhoads was turning heads. Born Dec. 6, 1956 in Santa Monica, Randy was with Quiet Riot (who are best remembered for their hit "Cum On Feel The Noize"). Randy had recorded two albums with Quiet Riot, released only in Japan. Randy was introduced to Ozzy through Dana Strum (now of Slaughter). Randy showed up at Ozzy's audition and reportedly played for just five minutes before Oz said he was in. With Bob Daisley on bass and Lee Kerslake on drums, they recorded an album, "Blizzard of Ozz", in England. The album would also contain a melody titled "Dee" which was dedicated to Randy's mother, Dolores, a source of inspiration for Randy. The album was released on Don Arden's JET Record label. What about Don Arden and Black Sabbath? Well when Ozzy was fired, and Ozzy went solo, the record company said bye-bye to the Sabs. Ozzy then decided to tour, with his first solo concert in Glasgow, Scotland on September 12, 1980. What you probably don't know is that Ozzy had two shows before his debut under the band name of "Law". The opening day of his first solo concert he and Sharon paced the streets nervously. Since people in Scotland usually showed up at the concert without prepaying for tickets, they had no way of knowing how many people would show up. As it turned out it was a big success. Ozzy played all of his Blizzard of Ozz album and some Sabbath songs. Eventually he broke down and cried because he realized that he could make it on his own without the other three Sabbath members with whom he had paved the road to success. You must realize that when Ozzy was in Sabbath he was really not a contributing member of the band. Geezer wrote most of the song lyrics and Ozzy would come by and sing the words, but he had little to do with the actual contributions to the songs[*]. Now Ozzy and Randy were the main writers and had equal say as to what went into the songs. [*] Ozzy did write 'Am I Going Insane' (his feelings about society's views towards him and his anger towards society) and 'Who Are You?' Since this chapter will be the end of the Black Sabbath era, here is a list of the albums which were recorded with any of the original members. As you can see, in the end only Tony chose to remain in the group: Ozzy Tony Bill Geezer ======================================================= Black Sabbath * * * * Paranoid * * * * Master of Reality * * * * Volume 4 * * * * Sabbath Bloody * * * * Sabotage * * * * We Sold Our Soul * * * * Technical Ecstasy * * * * Never Say Die * * * * Heaven and Hell * * * Mob Rules * * Live Evil * * Born Again * * * Seventh Star (was to be solo) * Eternal Idol * Headless Cross * Tyr * Dehumanizer * * Cross Purposes * * "Who do you think you were in previous incarnations?" "I think I was a bat" ... Ozzy some years before the "incident"

2.1What the hell is this about biting a bat? (Diary of a Madman)

The following year, "Diary of a Madman" was released. An interesting note, Ozzy's son, Elliot is shown on the album cover. Though production of the album was rushed towards the end so that the band could get out and tour, Ozzy has said he liked this album better of the two. The album came out the same time as Sabbath's Mob Rules album. Diary soared to the top 15 on US charts while Mob Rules remained at #29. Ozzy's first two albums would sell over 6 million copies. As they toured, Randy would often hold a guitar clinic for kids who wanted to learn to play guitar. A kid named Joe Holmes took lessons from Randy, and would later have an impact on Ozzy's life as well. The Diary tour was nicknamed Night of the Living Dead tour due to various misfortunes: The entire band was expelled from a San Diego over Ozzy's reputation, the prop truck broke down, and in Minneapolis a crane fell and crushed $8000 worth of synthesizers. On the upside, the stage setting for Diary of a Madman was a huge castle complete with fog. The drummer was situated on a raised platform, and there was an opening in the center of the stage where a dwarf would come out to give Ozzy water and towels. The dwarf was actually Little John Allen who played R2D2 in Star Wars. It has been brought to my attention that Kenny Baker actually played R2D2 so I don't know which name is correct. John Allen suffered mock abuse by having pig entrails tossed at him, he was stuffed into a hole and he was even hanged for prolonged periods from a noose (as shown on some videos). This was accomplished with a harness so as not to really choke him, but how did he manage to stay up for so long?? During the Diary tour, Ozzy would throw raw meat at his audience. It was even part of his contract that 25 pounds of calves livers and pigs intestines be thrown. A parent once phoned the promoter of the show asking how to get blood out of the clothes. As the tour continued, people would bring meat to the show to throw back at him. As time passed, the audience brought dead frogs, cats, snakes, etc. to throw onto the stage. Once, someone threw a toy doll onto the stage and Ozzy freaked out thinking that someone had thrown a real infant up on stage. On Jan. 20 at a Des Moines, Iowa concert some winner threw a real bat up on stage. The bat lay still because of the spotlights on the stage, and so Ozzy picked it up, THINKING IT WAS A TOY RUBBER BAT. He bit into the bat, taking off its head. Immediately the audience and Sharon freaked out. Ozzy was rushed to emergency to have rabies shots. It is reported that at the time he was treating the whole thing as a joke, apparently barking like a dog when wheeled into the hospital. He sent the crew back to find the bat to find out if it was in fact real or not, the bat could not be found. The shots would continue for about a week, with needles in each buttock, arms and leg. Ozzy would also faint or collapse at the concerts which followed. Ozzy's advice on the situation is, "if you want to be a complete dick, try it". Subsequently the bat would become a symbol for Ozzy on his upcoming albums, and even a tattoo. The animal humane society would become involved and show up to boycott Ozzy concerts. From this point on, he was marked a madman and his reputation began to precede him. One such nasty rumor, and sure sign of people's ability to go overboard with gossip and rumors is this little gem: Before one concert even started, Ozzy supposedly threw three small dogs into the audience. He refused to play the show until all the dogs came back to him dead. The story is not true. It was the honest mistake with a bat which would cement itself in people's minds, even to this day. [Ed: I can recall when Ozzy came to my home town on the Diary tour, the SPCA and police were there threatening to take action if any animals were harmed on stage. Ozzy has never returned.] "If they were buzzing the bus, like people say, it probably meant that Randy was struggling with the pilot to stop him from crashing it" -Kevin Dubrow of Quiet Riot.

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