After getting out of jail, Ozzy decided he did not want to go end up
going back. At this time, The Beatles were becoming increasingly popular and
becoming the craze. Ozzy thought that this would be the way to go. There was
money to be made in singing as opposed to crime. In fact the Beatles were one of
his main influences. Even to this day he still listens to the Beatles before
going out on stage. It is of interest to note that this would not be his first
musical experience though: earlier at the age of fourteen he had already been in
a band named 'The Black Panthers'. A band by the name of "Music
Machine" needed a singer because theirs was sick. Ozzy liked the idea of
being able to travel to gigs and meeting women so he filled in. Later on he
joined a band named "Approach" but didn't like the band so he quit. He
then decided to call himself "Ozzy Zig" and placed this ad in the
local music paper/shop: "Ozzy zig requires gig. Ozzy's father loaned him
some money and together they purchased a 50 watt amp. Ozzy placed an ad in a
local record store reading, "Ozzy zig requires gig. Owns own P.A.".
Another 18 year old Brummie named Terence 'Geezer' Butler had been playing
guitar for just six months when he saw Ozzy's ad on a shop bulletin board and
decided to go look him up. After the two met, they decided to form a band named
"Rare Breed". Rare Breed lasted only two shows before disbanding.
Elsewhere Ozzy's old schoolmate, Tony Iommi had teamed up with an 18 year old
assistant truck driver named William Ward who had just quit his job. Tony and
Bill also decided to form a band, "The Rest", and recruited a singer
named Chris Smith. The Rest eventually moved north to a small town named
Carlisle where they renamed themselves "Mythology" and gained a large
following of fans. They played mainly blues songs inspired by such groups as The
Yardbirds, Cream, The Beatles and John Mayal. Mythology eventually split up;
Tony and Bill returned to Birmingham and went to the music shop where they also
saw Ozzy's ad. Tony was hoping this was not the same 'Ozzy' he had went to
school with because that Ozzy could not sing well and the two of them disliked
one other. It turned out that it was indeed the same Oz and decided it would not
be a good idea to form a band together. Tony was also not impressed with Ozzy
because he had very short hair (really!). Since Ozzy and Geezer still needed a
drummer they later approached Tony to see if he knew of a drummer. Bill was at
Tony's place and agreed to join them but only if they'd let Tony join too. So
along with a slide guitar player named Jim Phillips and a saxophone player, they
formed a new band. The new band returned to Carlisle where Tony and Bill had
been a success and played some gigs. Not being pleased with a six piece band,
they broke up and then rejoined once the two extras had gone. This was a polite
way of getting rid of the two unnecessary members. The foursome them learned 18
songs in their first week together. Ozzy named the band "Polka Tulk Blues
Band" after a tin of talcum powder. It has also been said that the name
came from a Pakistani clothing store named the 'Polka Tulk Trading Company'.
Geezer Butler switched to playing bass guitar since Tony was now the lead guitar
player. Unable to afford a bass guitar, Geezer simply took two of the guitar
strings off his guitar and re-tuned it to make a bass guitar. Another name
change ensued and the group was soon known as "Earth". History:
------- Ozzy Osbourne Geezer Butler Tony Iommi Bill Ward | | | | Black Panthers
(1962) | Rocking Chevrolets | | | | | Music Machine/Approach | | | | |
>>> The Rest <<< >>>> Rare Breed <<< | |
| >>>>> Polka Tulk Blues Band <<<<< | Earth
(Autumn 1967-August 1969) | Black Sabbath (Aug. 1969-1978) | Black Sabbath
(1978-) [After Ozzy left, Ronnie James Dio left 'Rainbow' to replace him)
"Black Sabbath makes Led Zeppelin look like a kindergarten house band"
...Advertisement by Jim Simpson
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