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.

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