In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney look back on the decision to fire Full Stop Management, a company chaired by industry veteran Irving Azoff, citing apparent “shared interests” between different arms of the business.
“Dan and I have a pretty good grasp on the music industry,” says Carney, “but to be exposed firsthand to how things have changed, it was pretty shocking to understand what’s actually going on.
“It’s mind-blowing. And there’s just a lot of shared interests across the business side of this.”
Carney goes on to say that the band’s 2024 European tour was poorly orchestrated, with management demands to fulfil a booking at Manchester’s Co-Op Live (co-owned by Oak View Group, another Azoff company), leaving the band with just nine dates in three weeks after the venue’s opening was delayed due to much-publicised technical issues. The band were originally scheduled to play in Manchester on April 27, but weren’t able to perform until May 15.
“The essential thing that we learned here was how many management companies are directly connected to a company that runs every single aspect of promotion in this country,” he says. “This whole industry is so intertwined from ticketing to promotion to the management company.
“But essentially as artists – and this is the thing that we care the most about – it’s almost impossible to talk about this…. You’re dealing with management companies that co-own festivals with this other company. You’re at the [whims] of these people who have other interests.”
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The interview coincides with the release of a new Black Keys single, The Night Before, which was co-written with Silver Seas frontman Daniel Tashian.
“It’s so groove-based, says Dan Auerbach. “The Night Before started with a chord progression that Daniel and I came up with and the rest just fell out. It was really collaborative and all came together in about 30 minutes.”
“We’ve never really worked with songwriters like that in Nashville,” says Carney. “It’s crazy because Daniel was one of the first people I met when I moved to town over a decade ago. But we pushed ourselves to bring in some new co-writers, and we really tapped into something cool with Daniel. We’re finishing up the album now and plan to release more tracks leading into the tour.”
Earlier this month, The Black Keysa announced the No Rain No Flowers tour, which kicks off in Durant, OK on May 23 at the Choctaw Casino & Resort’s Grand Theater. The tour arrives in Europe in late June. Full dates below.
The Black Keys – The Night Before (Official Music Video) – YouTube
May 23: Durant Choctaw Casino & Resort Durant: Grand Theater, OK May 25: Colorado Springs Ford Amphitheater, CO * May 27: Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO * May 29: Bonner Kettlehouse Amphitheater, MT * May 30: Boise Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden, ID * May 31: Bend Hayden Homes Amphitheater, OR * Jun 01: Berkeley Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley, CA ^ Jun 03: Los Angeles The Greek Theatre, CA ^ Jun 07: Austin Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, TX ^ Jun 08: Rogers Walmart AMP, AR ^ Jun 11: Wilmington Live Oak Bank Pavilion, NC ^ Jun 12: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC ^ Jun 14: Asbury Park Stone Pony Summer Stage, NJ ^
Jun 26: Odense Tinderbox, Denmark Jun 29: Esch-Sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg Jul 01: Berlin Zitadelle Spandau, Germany Jul 02: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland Jul 04: Marmande Garorock, France Jul 05: Beauregard Festival France Jul 06: La Nuit De L’Erdre, France Jul 08: Leeds Millennium Square, UK Jul 09: Manchester Castlefield Bowl, UK Jul 11: London Alexandra Palace Park, UK Jul 12: Cactus Festival, Belgium Jul 13: Bospop Festival, Holland Jul 15: AMA Music Festival, Italy Jul 16: Rock In Roma, Italy Jul 19: Benicàssim, Spain
* = with Hermanos Gutiérrez ^ = with The Heavy Heavy
With the Kansas City Chiefs aiming for an unprecedented three-peat in just a few hours, this seemed like the perfect article to work on this afternoon. Will Patrick Mahomes, who has redefined the word “super” in his own right, lead Kansas City to accomplish something no other team in NFL history has ever done? Or will the Philadelphia Eagles rise to the occasion and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to the City of Brotherly Love? As a long-suffering New York Jets fan, I have no personal stake in the outcome. But as a dedicated music fan, I figured this was the ideal moment to put together a list of ten songs that feature the word “super” in the title. We allowed for super to be used as a singular word or as a prefix for the songs we were picking.
From existential musings to swaggering bravado, the songs in this collection examine desire, conflict, and the search for meaning through some of the most defining moments in rock, pop, and soul history.
George Harrison infused “What Is Life” with exuberance, fusing Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production with a driving rhythm that reflected the song’s uplifting message of devotion. U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” explored spiritual yearning through gospel-inspired vocals and The Edge’s shimmering guitar work, standing as one of the band’s most profound anthems. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” transcended its time, addressing war, injustice, and social turmoil with a soulful plea that remains just as relevant today. The Rolling Stones balanced disillusionment and optimism in “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” turning personal and political frustration into one of their most enduring epics. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “What’s Your Name” took the band’s signature Southern rock swagger into the excesses of life on the road, painting a vivid picture of hotel-room misadventures.
The Romantics delivered garage-rock energy with “What I Like About You,” a high-voltage celebration of reckless joy built on handclaps and a harmonica-driven hook. AC/DC turned up the heat with “What Do You Do for Money Honey,” a hard-edged track dripping with the band’s trademark no-frills attitude. 4 Non Blondes made a lasting impact with “What’s Up”, Linda Perry’s impassioned delivery transforming an alternative rock ballad into a generational rallying cry. Nick Lowe’s “What’s So Funny ’Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding” took a wry but urgent stance on compassion, later finding new life in Elvis Costello’s more desperate and urgent rendition. Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love” offered a timeless reminder of empathy, setting Burt Bacharach’s sophisticated melodies against lyrics that feel as urgent now as they did in 1965.
Each of these songs captures something essential about human nature—our need for love, truth, and meaning. Whether wrapped in rock-and-roll bravado, soul-searching balladry, or political defiance, they remind us that asking the right questions is just as important as finding the answers.
# 10 – What Is Life – George Harrison
Since so many Legendary Classic songs utilize the word what in the title, we wanted to open up this list with a special one. In fact, we could have actually closed this one because it’s just so good. This is easily one of George Harrison’s greatest solo releases.
“What Is Life” was recorded during the sessions for All Things Must Pass and released as the album’s second single on February 15, 1971. The song, which Harrison originally intended for Billy Preston, featured an expansive production driven by Phil Spector’s signature Wall of Sound technique. Recorded at EMI Studios and Trident Studios in London in 1970, the track included contributions from an ensemble of musicians, including Eric Clapton, members of Badfinger, and Delaney & Bonnie’s touring band.
The song’s lyrics expressed a dual meaning, characteristic of Harrison’s writing at the time. While appearing to be a love song on the surface, “What Is Life” also reflected his deepening spiritual beliefs. Lines such as “Tell me, what is my life without your love” could be interpreted as both a plea to a romantic partner and an appeal to a higher power. This lyrical ambiguity mirrored themes found throughout All Things Must Pass, where Harrison explored the intersection of human connection and divine devotion. Compared to the introspective tone of other songs on the album, “What Is Life” stood out with its celebratory energy, driven by a propulsive guitar riff and uplifting chord progressions.
Upon release, the song achieved significant chart success, reaching the Top 10 in the United States, Canada, and several European countries. In Australia and Switzerland, it topped the singles charts. It later gained renewed attention through its inclusion in films such as Goodfellas, Patch Adams, and This Is 40, solidifying its place as one of Harrison’s most recognizable solo tracks. Over the years, “What Is Life” remained a staple of his legacy, appearing in multiple compilations and live recordings, including Live in Japan in 1992.
Released in March 1993, “What’s Up?” became the defining song for 4 Non Blondes, propelling the band to international fame with a single that captured a sense of generational frustration and longing. Written by lead vocalist Linda Perry, the track was recorded at The Plant in Sausalito, California, and produced by David Tickle. Perry, dissatisfied with the initial studio version, took the initiative to re-record her vocals to restore the song’s raw intensity. The result was an anthem that resonated worldwide, reaching number one in eleven countries and cementing itself as one of the most recognizable alternative rock songs of the decade.
Lyrically, “What’s Up?” embodied both personal introspection and broader societal discontent. Perry’s verses, particularly the opening lines, “Twenty-five years and my life is still / Trying to get up that great big hill of hope,” struck a chord with listeners who identified with its universal themes of struggle and self-discovery. The chorus’s repeated plea, “Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on?” transcended language barriers, making the song a rallying cry for those seeking change. Its open-ended meaning allowed it to be embraced by various social and political movements, from LGBTQ+ advocacy to protest anthems, ensuring its longevity beyond the band’s short tenure.
Musically, the track’s acoustic-driven folk-rock foundation, paired with Perry’s impassioned vocal delivery, distinguished it from the heavier grunge sound that dominated the early ’90s. The song’s emotional build, combined with a melody that was both soaring and intimate, made it an undeniable radio staple. The accompanying music video, directed by Morgan Lawley, emphasized the band’s carefree energy and Perry’s unmistakable stage presence, further embedding the song into the cultural landscape. Despite 4 Non Blondes disbanding shortly after their debut album Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, “What’s Up?” remained a lasting piece of ’90s rock history, frequently covered and featured in films and television.
While “What’s Up?” was 4 Non Blondes’ only major hit, Linda Perry went on to become one of the most influential producers and songwriters of her generation. After leaving the band, she established herself as a behind-the-scenes powerhouse, penning and producing massive hits for artists such as Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, and Adele. Her contributions to Aguilera’s Stripped album, particularly “Beautiful,” earned her critical acclaim, and her work with artists across genres cemented her reputation as a visionary in modern pop and rock music. Though Perry moved away from the spotlight as a performer, “What’s Up?” remained a cornerstone of her legacy, a song that not only defined an era but also marked the beginning of a career that reshaped the sound of contemporary music.
“What Do You Do for Money Honey” was recorded by AC/DC for their seminal album Back in Black, released on July 25, 1980. The album marked the band’s first full-length release following the death of Bon Scott, introducing Brian Johnson as the new lead vocalist. The track was recorded between April and May 1980 at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, with production handled by Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The lineup featured Angus Young on lead guitar, Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar, Cliff Williams on bass, Phil Rudd on drums, and Johnson on vocals. This album, including “What Do You Do for Money Honey,” was later mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Back in Black went on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time, solidifying AC/DC’s status as one of rock’s most enduring bands.
Lyrically, “What Do You Do for Money Honey” takes aim at materialism and the transactional nature of relationships, depicting a woman who leverages her beauty and allure for financial gain. The song’s lyrics, delivered with Johnson’s raspy urgency, critique a lifestyle centered around wealth accumulation and the exploitation of desire. Lines such as “You’re working in bars, riding in cars / Never gonna give it for free” encapsulate the biting cynicism that permeates the track. The repeated refrain, “What do you do for money honey?” is both accusatory and rhetorical, reinforcing the theme of financial motivation overshadowing genuine connection.
The Romantics captured the essence of power pop with “What I Like About You,” a high-energy anthem that became one of the defining tracks of the early 1980s. I mean, how many times did you see this video on MTV in the early ’80s, especially the first 2 years? Released on their self-titled debut album in 1979, the song was recorded at Coconuts Recording Studio in Miami and produced by Pete Solley. Featuring a raw, garage-rock intensity, it combined infectious hooks, a driving rhythm, and an exuberant vocal delivery from drummer Jimmy Marinos.
“What I Like About You” embraced a direct and celebratory tone, with its simple yet effective message of affection underscored by an energetic call-and-response chorus. The lyrics focused on the thrill of romantic attraction, with lines like “Keep on whispering in my ear, tell me all the things that I wanna hear” reinforcing its youthful exuberance. The repeated “hey, uh-huh” refrain gave the track a chant-like quality, making it instantly recognizable and a natural fit for live performances. The party band Phase IV I performed with all throughout the ’80s used to play this song all the time and the crowds always went crazy.
Within the context of this list, “What I Like About You” brings an undeniable dose of adrenaline, with its relentless pace and unfiltered enthusiasm fitting seamlessly alongside other rock anthems featuring the word “What” in the title. Its contrast to the heavier rock sounds of AC/DC’s “What Do You Do for Money Honey” or the introspective nature of George Harrison’s “What Is Life” showcases its unique place in the rock landscape. The song’s ability to remain fresh and exhilarating after all these years is a testament to its infectious simplicity and the raw charm of The Romantics’ performance.
# 4 – What The World Needs Now Is Love- Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love” became one of the most enduring pop songs of the 1960s, delivering a message of unity and compassion against the backdrop of a turbulent era. Written in 1965, the song was first recorded by Jackie DeShannon and produced by Bacharach himself at Bell Sound Studios in New York City. With its sophisticated orchestration, elegant melody, and direct yet profound lyrics, the song reflected Bacharach and David’s signature approach to songwriting—combining complex musicality with accessible emotional resonance. DeShannon’s warm and expressive vocal delivery carried the song’s plea for universal love, helping it resonate deeply with listeners.
Lyrically, the song framed its call for love within a broader reflection on abundance and scarcity. The verses contrasted the world’s natural resources—mountains, rivers, fields—with the one thing it seemed to lack: love. The refrain’s repetition of “No, not just for some, but for everyone” underscored the song’s inclusive, humanitarian spirit, reinforcing the idea that love should be a universal right rather than a privilege. This direct yet poetic appeal made “What the World Needs Now Is Love” a poignant anthem, particularly as it was released during the early years of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement, adding to its cultural significance.
Musically, Bacharach crafted an arrangement that balanced sophistication with accessibility. The track featured a swelling orchestration, delicate piano flourishes, and an understated rhythm section, allowing DeShannon’s voice to take center stage. The song’s harmonic progressions and dynamic shifts gave it a sense of movement and uplift, reinforcing its hopeful message. Though initially overlooked upon release, “What the World Needs Now Is Love” gained momentum over time, becoming one of DeShannon’s signature songs and a staple in Bacharach and David’s catalog. It was later revived in several notable renditions, including a version by Dionne Warwick and a 1971 cover by Tom Clay, which interspersed spoken-word clips about war and peace, further cementing its status as a protest-era anthem.
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “What’s Your Name” captured the excess and chaos of life on the road, blending Southern rock swagger with a narrative drawn directly from the band’s own experiences. Released in 1977 on Street Survivors, the song chronicled the debauchery of a touring musician’s life, from hotel-room escapades to run-ins with the police, all set against a backdrop of bluesy guitar licks and honky-tonk piano. Produced by Tom Dowd, the track was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami and Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, featuring Ronnie Van Zant on vocals, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington on guitars, Leon Wilkeson on bass, Billy Powell on piano, and Artimus Pyle on drums. The album would become one of Skynyrd’s most famous, not only for its music but for the tragic plane crash that claimed Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines just days after its release.
The song’s lyrics painted a vivid scene of the band’s touring lifestyle, opening with a limousine ride to a show in Boise, Idaho, and leading into a raucous night that resulted in a messy hotel situation involving the crew and a guest. The chorus’s repeated question—“What’s your name, little girl?”—reinforced the song’s theme of fleeting, anonymous encounters, capturing the recklessness that often accompanied their rise to fame. Despite the playful tone, the song hinted at the darker side of this lifestyle, where personal connections were brief, and the cycle of excess repeated itself night after night. Unlike other tracks on Street Survivors, which touched on deeper themes of personal reflection and Southern identity, “What’s Your Name” remained firmly in the realm of road-weary storytelling, making it one of the album’s most accessible songs.
Musically, the song combined Skynyrd’s signature twin-guitar attack with a polished, radio-friendly approach, similar in structure to the blues-driven swagger of “What Do You Do for Money Honey”. However, while AC/DC’s track focused on transactional relationships, Skynyrd’s lyrics leaned into the chaotic yet charismatic nature of their life on tour. “What’s Your Name” became one of the band’s most recognizable songs, proving that even in their final days with Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd maintained their ability to craft enduring rock anthems rooted in real-life experiences.
# 2 – You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” blended rock, gospel, and orchestral elements into one of the band’s most ambitious compositions. Recorded between November 1968 and July 1969 at Olympic Sound Studios in London, the song was produced by Jimmy Miller and featured a choir introduction performed by the London Bach Choir. Mick Jagger’s lead vocals carried a sense of weary observation, while Keith Richards layered acoustic and electric guitar parts. Charlie Watts played drums on the main track, but producer Jimmy Miller contributed to additional percussion. Al Kooper, best known for his work with Bob Dylan and Blood, Sweat & Tears, played piano, organ, and the distinctive French horn intro, adding a stately quality to the song’s grand arrangement. Released as the B-side to “Honky Tonk Women,” the track appeared on Let It Bleed, an album that reflected both the turbulence of the late ’60s and the band’s transition after the departure of Brian Jones.
Lyrically, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” painted a series of vignettes—a woman at a reception, a protest demonstration, and a visit to a drugstore—each illustrating the song’s central message of disillusionment and reluctant acceptance. The chorus, with its choral harmonies and gospel inflection, reinforced the idea that desires often go unfulfilled, but perseverance can still yield unexpected rewards. The verses carried a sense of personal and societal unrest, reflecting the era’s shifting cultural landscape. Unlike “What’s Up”, which channeled frustration into anthemic catharsis, the Stones’ composition took a more resigned, observational tone. The song’s final build-up, culminating in an expansive, celebratory refrain, underscored its paradoxical theme—despite the hardships, life still had something to offer.
Musically, the song’s fusion of rock and gospel drew comparisons to other expansive compositions of the time, yet it remained uniquely Stones-like in its delivery. While “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding” channeled frustration through a driving rock rhythm, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” built tension gradually, allowing the choir, acoustic instrumentation, and Jagger’s evocative vocal performance to shape its emotional arc. The song became one of the Stones’ defining tracks, frequently performed live and widely regarded as one of their most enduring statements on the balance between aspiration and reality.
Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” was recorded in June 1970 at Hitsville U.S.A., the legendary Motown studio in Detroit, and released as a single on January 20, 1971. Written by Gaye, Al Cleveland, and Renaldo “Obie” Benson of the Four Tops, the song diverged from Motown’s traditional focus on love and romance, addressing social and political unrest with a level of depth and urgency rarely heard in mainstream soul music. The track was produced by Gaye himself, marking his shift toward greater artistic independence. The instrumentation featured members of Motown’s in-house band, the Funk Brothers, with James Jamerson delivering one of his most revered bass performances. Saxophonist Eli Fontaine’s improvisational introduction became one of the song’s defining elements, adding a mournful yet elegant quality to its opening moments.
Lyrically, “What’s Going On” framed its message as a conversation between a returning Vietnam veteran and his community, blending personal sorrow with broader social critique. Gaye’s voice, layered in multi-tracked harmonies, captured both weariness and defiance as he lamented war, police brutality, and the divisiveness of the era. The lines “Picket lines and picket signs / Don’t punish me with brutality” spoke directly to the civil rights struggles of the late ’60s and early ’70s, while “You know we’ve got to find a way / To bring some lovin’ here today” emphasized reconciliation and hope. The song’s call for peace aligned with “What the World Needs Now Is Love”, though Gaye’s delivery carried an urgency and personal anguish absent from Bacharach and David’s more idealistic composition.
Musically, the song’s seamless fusion of jazz, soul, and orchestral elements set it apart from other protest songs of the time. The congas, fluid bassline, and subdued strings provided a hypnotic groove, reinforcing the track’s conversational flow. Unlike the defiant energy of “What’s So Funny ’Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding,” which tackled similar themes with a raw, driving rock approach, “What’s Going On” offered a more introspective, meditative response to social turmoil. The song’s impact extended far beyond its release, becoming an enduring anthem of resistance and empathy, as relevant in contemporary discussions of justice as it was in 1971.
“When Paul pitched into We Are The Champions, it wasn’t anything like Freddie would have done yet it carried the spirit of the song”: How Queen + Paul Rodgers resurrected one of rock’s most iconic bands
(Image credit: Press)
After Queen singer Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, the legendary rock band looked to be finished. But in 2004, guitarist Brian May and Roger Taylor teamed up with former Free/Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers under the name Queen + Paul Rodgers. In 2008. Classic Rock journalist Harry Doherty – who first interviewed the band in their 70s heyday – met with the band to talk about their new album, The Cosmos Rocks.
Back in November 1975 I was granted an audience with Queen. It was shortly before the release of the band’s magnus opus, the career-defining A Night At The Opera. I witnessed a group fussing and fretting – over what they would probably call the imminent escape of said record – so much so that they went back in the very next day and started remixing the whole blasted thing.
Almost 33 years later, I find myself in a state of déjà vu, but this time in a parallel universe. With Freddie Mercury sadly long departed, John Deacon gone, having taken on the mantle of enigmatic recluse, Brian May and Roger Taylor are now on the eve of releasing the first Queen album in almost 13 years, this time in collaboration with the legendary blues-rock icon, vocalist and founding member of Free and Bad Company, Paul Rodgers, joining them to create The Cosmos Rocks, under the banner of Queen+Paul Rodgers.
And again they seem to be facing the immediate future with the same sort of creative wariness, although this time they don’t have money worries.
“Well, the time around the release of A Night At The Opera was a period of crisis for us,” recalls Taylor. “Our backs were right to the wall financially. We had sold a lot of records and not been paid a lot of money – the old, old story really. So that album was our big shot. Had it failed, we probably wouldn’t have been around much longer.
“Apart from that financial crisis, I suppose it is the same in a way with the release of The Cosmos Rocks. However, I don’t think people really expect anything with this. But as then, we have got all this new material, and we have proved that we are a creative force and entity, and that this is a viable operation.”
For the beginning of this “viable operation”, we have to move back in time to September 2004, to the Fender Stratocaster anniversary concert at Wembley Arena when Brian May found himself on stage with Paul Rodgers – as the worthy substitute on guitar for one of his own heroes, the late Paul Kossoff – on Free’s All Right Now. From these humble, chaotic beginnings, the regeneration of Queen would begin…
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“We came off stage knowing that the chemistry had flowed. It just seemed so natural to do that. It was Paul’s girlfriend, who is now his wife, Cynthia, who looked at us both and said ‘Something happened on there, didn’t it?’ She said ‘All you guys need is a drummer’, and I said ‘Actually, I know a drummer!’. It started off as a very small thing, as in ‘let’s do something with Paul and see what happens’.”
Queen + Paul Rodgers in 2008: (from left) Brian May, Paul Rodgers, Roger Taylor (Image credit: Press)
Faster that you could say ‘we will rock you’, a month later, Rodgers was joining May and Roger Taylor at the induction of Queen into the UK Music Hall Of Fame, with All Right Now joined by We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions in a slightly less chaotic but memorably historic mini-set.
“There wasn’t really that much to it, other than’This is interesting’,” reflects Brian May, bedded down in the car park of a huge industrial park in Tower Hill, London, where Q+PR are about to start the second phase of rehearsals for their forthcoming world tour. “But I have to say there was a moment there that was significant for me: when Paul pitched into We Are The Champions. It was so obvious that he was making it his own. It wasn’t anything like Freddie would have done and yet it carried the spirit of the song which Freddie had written. I suddenly thought, ‘This is a lot more than just playing this song; this is a new world that we can go into’.”
Rodgers was reaching the same conclusion. When it’s suggested to him that he probably thought this would be simply an interesting, but passing, experiment, he’s quick to disagree: “A little bit more than that actually. When we were rehearsing the songs at the UK Music Hall Of Fame, we had the janitors – and all sorts of other people who had seen it all – popping their heads in and saying ‘what the hell is going on in there?’. When we created excitement there, I thought that was pretty indicative of what we could have.”
The word soon leaked out to promoters that Queen and Paul Rodgers might consider touring together and offers poured in. When May called Rodgers to ask how he would feel about doing a tour, doing a set consisting of half Queen and half Rodgers catalogue (Free, Bad Company, The Firm, solo stuff), he was ready to take it to the next stage. But the singer insisted that the set should be “Queen-heavy” as they hadn’t been visible for so long. And he was very aware that it was still an unexpected collaboration.
“I always admired them from afar, but I can’t honestly say that I went out and bought all their records or knew all about them,” admits Rodgers. “If someone had called up out of the blue and said ‘How do you fancy doing this?’, I would have been a little more hesitant, but as we had actually played together, I knew that it worked on a very exciting level. The simple raw power that was coming off that stage was so exciting that I was very willing to do more and see where it took us. And that has really been the motivation behind everything that we’ve done. There was a mutual feeling of ‘This feels good, let’s do more’.”
Paul Rodgers and Brian May onstage (Image credit: Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns)
And so it came to pass that Queen+Paul Rodgers (more about the much-debated moniker later) set off on a tour that was just to start with a few dates and blossomed into a world tour, taking in Europe, North America and Japan, with the shows soon reaching the grandeur that Queen were famed for. They played a “best-of-both” set.
“Well, it had to be, didn’t it? We didn’t really have any new material then!” laughs Roger Taylor. And now they’ve been together for three years.
“We all went into it with an open mind,” adds May. “The essential base line was that it was organic; it wasn’t something that was shoved together to get us back out there or rejuvenate us. It just happened because we got on with Paul and we were excited about working with the guy.”
But from dipping their toes into the water, then their ankles and knees, Queen and Paul Rodgers were soon up to their necks in it. And apart from that, it was great fun.
“We took it one step at a time,” Taylor explains. “It was really a case of ‘Well, that worked, let’s try this.’ There was no master plan. Nobody really wanted to commit themselves that much. But I have to say that I’m really delighted to find myself at this stage in my life where we are. It’s very exciting.
“Obviously, we hoped it would grow and looking back at one of those first gigs at the Brixton Academy, it was pretty rough and ready. I remember it being over loud and we really hadn’t refined the process of working together. You’ve got to get that chemistry down, and it doesn’t always happen, but there definitely is a great chemistry between us. Paul’s given us a serious blues edge that we didn’t have before, and I like to think that we’ve given him a walloping great wall behind him.”
May points out that Rodgers had informed him the day before that this was the longest he had ever been in a band, and that includes Free and the initial glory period of Bad Company. The big test came as the tour was ending, and the consideration of what would happen next. It was after a gig in Vancouver that all concerned were saying their good-byes.
“Well, on those big tours, you’re away from home for months and months and there does come a time when you long to be home,” Rodgers explains. “So by the time everybody has reached the last show, they’re very much on the flight home in their minds. But on this tour, the very last show was in Vancouver, and it was the best show we did – it was absolutely scorching. We came off and everybody hugged and it was a case of ‘I’ll see ya, for sure! We have to do some more.’ We weren’t sure what that ‘more’ would be, but the natural step was to go into the studio and see what happened. Brian actually said to me ‘Let’s do more, I don’t want this to end’.”
What would that “more” be though? To fans and critics alike, Queen carry a huge weight of heritage with them, and while most Queen fans first endured before enjoying the collaboration with Paul Rodgers, there were few who even in their wildest dreams felt that a Queen without Freddie something that could never, and would never, happen.
Paul Rodgers was certainly aware of their reputation and the sanctity that surrounded it too: “Well, the production on their records was really second to none. The clarity, the great guitar playing, the strength of their songs was always very powerful. They were extremely unique, working differently from everybody else. You have to admire that in a world that can get a little samey. They were never ever samey. They’re full-on unique. And I think that’s also what happened when we went into the studio.”
Generally, May and Taylor have no hang-ups about past, present or future concerning the Queen legacy. “Strangely enough, we probably think about that stuff less than you would imagine,” says May. “Everybody asks that question and they are aware of this legacy. But for us we just do what we do and what feels right. Maybe that sounds over simplistic.”
It does. Nobody wanted to see them become their own tribute band, and there was a bit of concern that that actually might happen.
“Absolutely! The world which we live in is quite small really – Roger and me and Paul and a few people who work around us. Outside this boundary there is this huge interaction with the world which sometimes we’re aware of, but for most of the time we’re just doing what we do because we love it.
“There’s always that pursuit of something wonderful; you know, the thing which you’ve never quite grasped before. That’s the great thing about rock. There’s never a boundary. There’s always some place further. The passion for that never goes away. So we don’t ask questions of ourselves so much as the outside world does. We just allow ourselves to get on with it.”
However, they did face two dangers in taking this from being a fun touring project into a band with a new album and all the seriousness that that step entails. Firstly there’s the danger of it being a vanity project, and secondly can they be the same Queen brand as before?
“I don’t think we thought of it in those terms. I can tell you that,” May counters. “We just thought ‘Let’s make some music and let’s make it good and let’s see how far we can push things’. It’s the same as the old days with Freddie: ‘How far can we go in any direction? Can we find something that has never been found before?’ That kind of thing…”
Paul Rodgers in his free days (Image credit: Fin Costello/Redferns)
And then there was the name. Rodgers initially had doubts: “I’ll be honest, when we started out I thought maybe we’d call ourselves May Taylor Rodgers, or something like that. But I didn’t mind Queen+Paul Rodgers because I think it has a good identity.”
Was there a big discussion about it?
“Not really, when Brian called me up and said how ‘Do you fancy doing it as Queen+Paul Rodgers?’, I took a deep breath and went ‘Whoa!’ But said, ‘Let’s give it a try and see it works.’”
Taylor says he didn’t really know what they would call themselves. “We just thought it was going to be us and Paul and it would turn out to be what it turned out to be,” he shrugs. “It was an organic process. There was no overall master plan really.” And as far as he was concerned, the “us” was Queen.
Ever the pragmatist, May simply answers: “It’s what we are. We had to call it something.” Discussion over.
May, though, was prepared to spend a bit of time considering the talents of Rodgers and Mercury and the contrasts in working with both within the band framework.
“That’s a very difficult question to answer. There are many similarities between Freddie and Paul and there are many interesting differences. But it’s hard to put into words, just feelings really,” he says. “Paul is a very creative guy and if you throw something at him, he will throw it back at you in a way that you didn’t imagine. And that’s exactly what Fred would do, lateral thinking was one of his great assets.
“Having said that, there are differences in the way the relationship worked. One of Freddie’s great talents, strangely enough, was diplomacy. He was very good at getting Roger and I, for instance, to sort out our differences and work as a team. Why would Paul even know that that was part of what went on with us? Gradually, he has become part of that.
“Three is a strange number in a group. If you have two people that want to do something and one doesn’t, then people can get pulled a long way in a certain direction. In the end we had to get to know each other very well to get this thing to work. But Paul brought some very different ways of working to us. He’s very instinctive. You sing something for Paul, a tune you’ve got in your head. He will process it for a while and won’t sing it at all until he feels it and understands it and then interprets it in his own way. So what you get back from Paul is – I’m tempted to say a blues interpretation because blues is very much a part of what he is – but it’s more than that. Working on the album with Paul was a real voyage of discovery.”
Brian May and Roger Taylor with Queen in 1975 (Image credit: TPLP/Getty Images)
It seems that many old-school Queen fans have, or at least had, the misguided impression that Paul Rodgers had “lucked out” in getting the gig with the band, forgetting, of course, that the vocalist superseded Queen in many ways – rock history, chart success and the like.
“I think that was a fairly widely held perception. The fact is that Free were famous long before we were,” Taylor emphasises. “Paul was one of Freddie’s role models in a way. You’ll find a lot of singers citing Paul as being the blues benchmark for rock vocalists.”
“It’s a very interesting territory we’re marking out now,” continues May. “It hasn’t been planned. The links are there, though, very much with us, because Free was a great influence on us in the early days, and particularly an influence with Freddie. He really regarded Paul Rodgers as a hero. Those guys were stars before we were twinkles in each other eyes. Free were, and are, a great inspiration. Fire And Water was one of our reference points along with The Beatles and Hendrix.”
And so, for the past two years, Queen have intermittently been holed up for a month at a time working on original material at Roger Taylor’s fully-equipped home studio in Surrey. The only other attendees were the technicians who would help them record. Once they had made the decision to make an album together, it seems that Taylor became project manager. The drummer was the one that would pull it all together and present the packages to his partners when they re-convened. Brian May was busy finishing his PhD in astrophysics, among other academic pursuits (“He’s only been working on it for a hundred and thirty years,” jokes Taylor). Paul Rodgers lived on the West Coast of Canada and had other musical commitments apart from his part-time Queen gig. They had no bass player, so those parts were divvied up between May and Rodgers, both proficient players of the four-string.
Each of them would bring the early stages of what they had written to each session, although in the end, everyone’s contribution was deemed worthy enough that all tracks would be credited as written by May/Rodgers/Taylor, something that never happened with the “old” Queen.
“You know, all musicians are buzzing round with ideas, all the time,” said Rodgers. “The question is always ‘Will your ideas gel with the other musicians and make a track?’ And we found very excitingly that we could.”
Of course, they were all rich enough to know that if what they were doing was a load of shit, they could just flush it down the toilet.
“One thing I absolutely knew for sure was that it would not be shit,” laughs the singer. “Because of the calibre of the musicians I was working with in Roger and Brian, and as I know what I can do, I knew it would be something special.”
Taylor agrees: “Absolutely! And some of the stuff didn’t work. So those songs didn’t make it.”
They were also aware that it couldn’t be like anything they had done before, either as Queen or Paul Rodgers, who comments: “We had no preconceptions about going into the studio – ‘just bring your ideas’. And the thing that I like about working with Brian and Roger is that they are very original musicians. They don’t approach a song with the attitude of just putting guitar and drums on it. They have an approach of ‘How can I put something on this that has never been done before even by me. And I’m like that too.’”
They’re buzzing about the fact that many of the backing tracks came from one-takes live in the studio, on songs like Voodoo.
“On that track, I was just playing an acoustic guitar, Roger got on the kit and Brian was just playing his guitar, and we just jammed. And that went on the record pretty much as we recorded it. And that’s not really what you expect from Queen, is it? Other songs have been full-on production with massive harmonies, but each song on the album is different.”
It was quite similar in some ways to Queen’s old studio methodology, Taylor reveals. “I was able to do a lot of preparation and then the others could pick and choose and then we would all develop the tracks. It didn’t matter who had the first idea, we all developed the songs between us. It is a really good process, very creative. A proper group process!
”This is different from before but the same, sort of. The thing with Queen was that we were a real group. Everybody worked pretty much on everything. Certain things were little bits of flights of fancy or songs that involved pretty much one person. But a lot of it was absolutely the group, and everybody firing in ideas and everybody working as a unit. Like now.”
Queen + Paul Rodgers onstage in 2009 (Image credit: Pete Still/Redferns)
I remember at that Night At The Opera interview in ’75 in the immediate aftermath of recording the album, May seemed a bit distant, not quite sure if he had delivered the quality of work he could have. Insecure, almost. As we talked about the recording of The Cosmos Rocks, he seemed to be thinking too much again as he recalled the process of making the album. He had been immersed and engrossed in his PhD which he would work on on his trusty laptop while on tour. But once they had set deadlines to actually release the album, matters became much more serious.
“An album is a dreadful thing to do really,” May ponders. “It’s such a big part of your life and it always gets painful at a certain point. And this was no exception. We had a lot of fun, we did a few sessions over the course of a couple of years, but once you’ve got a deadline and you know you have to deliver, it becomes very serious indeed. The same old problems rear their heads. It’s very difficult. In this case, it’s three different artists with paintbrushes trying to paint the same canvas.
“You get to a point eventually where some really difficult decisions have to be made. It’s a democracy. That’s all you can say and that’s the way it was in the old days as well.”
Queen had all this worked out in their former life, I imagined. How did May react to the new third man?
“Paul’s great. He’s very mellow and very well adjusted. He’s a very evolved human being. He’s nice to work with, no doubt about it, but of course, he’s also still a hero to us in some ways so perhaps we’re very polite to him. He’s still ‘Paul Rodgers’. We get the moments where it’s, ‘Oh, that’s Paul Rodgers’.
“Roger and I – for different reasons – are very polite to each other because we know how it can go. We’re like brothers and we can fight badly; so we were all very polite to each other for a very long time and perhaps we didn’t air the things that were worrying us. And, of course, there comes a point where suddenly the worries become crucial and you have to bring them out, and then it’s a difficult time. But that’s part of the creative process, and we all know it. You can’t really make an album without that painful burden, so we buckled down to it and worked our way through it all.”
So it was painful?
“Yes, the last bit was, particularly for me. We all have lives as well and to be sucked in to that extent that you can only eat and sleep and be in the studio is a painful thing in itself. It grinds you down after a while. The final mixes which is where a million decisions are made; the sequencing of the album, deciding who did what. It’s like being in a new group. These things come with every bunch of boys that come together. Eventually you think, ‘How much of this is me?’, ‘Am I represented?’, ‘Am I being marginalised?’ All these childish concerns come up. You have to be very grown up to get through it.”
Queen + Paul Rodgers Performs Bad Company’s “Shooting Star” Live – YouTube
But Brian knows he’s made an album to be proud of. As does Roger. As does Paul. As would John. As would Freddie…
“I think it works well because we’re not trying to recreate anything that any of us have done before. We’re trying to be ourselves together, and that creates an entirely new entity,” says Rodgers.
“I guess if it is successful, we’ll be able to say, ‘Well, there you go, we can still do it. That was part of the driving force really, that we can still be a cogent force,” adds Taylor. “I think of The Cosmos Rocks as a Queen album with a twist. Very much so, because Queen has been my life, my profession. Most of my professional life has been this band. I’ve almost got it stamped through my core, like a piece of Brighton rock. It’s what I do, and we’re lucky enough that people are still interested.”
“We found that we could make a good noise. It comes from simple things like that,” concludes May. “We had the equipment in ourselves to generate a good joyful sound. It’s our love of rock’n’roll, and it’s still there, thank God. Of course, there are strong elements of all of our past, of Queen, Free and Bad Company. But it’s a new band.”
Originally published in Classic Rock issue 125, October 2008
Harry Doherty began his career at the Derry Journal in Ireland before moving to London in the mid-1970s, relaunching his career as a music journalist and writing extensively for the Melody Maker. Later he became editor of Metal Hammer and founded the video magazine, Hard’n’Heavy. He also wrote the official Queen biography 40 Years Of Queen, published in 2011 to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary. He died in 2014.
You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
The return to Dream Theater of drummer Mike Portnoy after a 15-year absence has been acclaimed by some fans as akin to the Second Coming.
Although his stand-in Mike Mangini, never really departed from the template that had already been laid down, there’s a rejuvenated feel to this reunion album of the ‘dream team’, which is themed around the impact of sleep disruption from sleepwalking to nightmares.
Dream Theater – Night Terror (Official Video) – YouTube
There’s a sharper-edged heaviness to the sound, clearly evident on Night Terror, which follows the ominous instrumental introduction, with an onslaught of maddening riffs and thunderous bass, and singer James LaBrie is in fine form.
A similar barrage opens A Broken Man, which describes the battle traumas that leave soldiers with nightmares and insomnia, and is heightened by their traumatised voices. In contrast, Midnight Messiah is more intricate and multi-layered, while the 20-minute heavy, proggy The Shadow Man Incident is an epic finale.
Hugh Fielder has been writing about music for 50 years. Actually 61 if you include the essay he wrote about the Rolling Stones in exchange for taking time off school to see them at the Ipswich Gaumont in 1964. He was news editor of Sounds magazine from 1975 to 1992 and editor of Tower Records Top magazine from 1992 to 2001. Since then he has been freelance. He has interviewed the great, the good and the not so good and written books about some of them. His favourite possession is a piece of columnar basalt he brought back from Iceland.
You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
Poor old Mike Mangini. The supremely gifted drummer provided the engine in the Dream Theater chassis for 13 years, powering through a string of never less-than-interesting albums and one Grammy award.
Yet all it took was the announcement in 2023 that Mike Portnoy was returning to the fold for the fanbase to lose their collective mind – and Mangini found himself bundled hastily out the door. For his part, he’s said all the right things, his departure free of public rancour. It seems that even he knows some bands have a definitive line-up that every fan wants to see; and for Dream Theater this is it.
In some ways it could be seen as a step backwards. The band tried some new moves on the four albums released in Portnoy’s absence, particularly on the orchestral sprawl of 2016’s sci-fi rock opera The Astonishing. By contrast, Parasomnia picks up pretty much where Black Clouds & Silver Linings left off in 2009.
Portnoy is not just one of the most inventive and skilled drummers working in any genre. As the beating heart of the band, he also contributes to everything from big-picture concepts to composition, lyrics and even distinctive backing vocals. With the reunification of the classic line-up they’ve returned to a classic Dream Theater sound – and with a 40th anniversary tour now underway, perhaps that’s exactly what was needed.
Dream Theater – A Broken Man (Official Visualizer) – YouTube
Most of this will be more than familiar to long-term fans. The big power ballad? Check. The comparatively metal song? That’s here. A 20-minute multifaceted epic to close out the album? Oh, yes. There are few real surprises, but the songs are expertly designed and flawlessly executed.
Dream Theater bring together a collection of supremely talented musicians who all get multiple chances to shine individually. But they also click as a unit, and there’s a sense of excitement and reinvigoration that comes from having this particular chemistry back in place.
Nightmare fuel is the perfect backdrop for exploring their darker and heavier sides
It starts with In The Arms Of Morpheus, an extended instrumental intro that introduces the theme of the album as well as some musical motifs that reoccur during its 71-minute running time. The track begins with ambient siren and traffic sounds before slowly building ominous keys, bringing in an off-kilter bass riff, and the first of many Portnoy drum fills, to usher the listener into a darkened dreamland.
Morpheus is the god of sleep, and the parasomnia of the album title refers to a set of sleep disorders involving abnormal movements, behaviours and dreams. It’s nightmare fuel, in other words – and while there are plenty of bright moments, it gives the band the perfect backdrop for exploring their darker and heavier sides.
Dream Theater – Night Terror (Official Video) – YouTube
Night Terror follows in a welter of speeding drums, choppy riffs and soaring melodic hooks. There’s a beautifully-meshed instrumental section, with John Myung’s bubbling bass underpinning successive solos from guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess. In many ways it’s Dream Theater-by-numbers; but it’s also the sort of thing they do supremely well.
Petrucci shows that sometimes less can be more with an emotive solo played with restraint
A Broken Man is a suitably disquieting follow-up, with jarring rhythms and radio chatter evoking the disturbed sleep of a combat veteran suffering from PTSD. Dead Asleep keeps things lyrically dark, based as it is on the real-life case of a man who killed his wife as he dreamed he was fending off robbers. Musically it combines a tight groove with big harmonies and note-cramming solos, with spooky keyboard and choral effects for added atmosphere.
Midnight Messiah marks Portnoy’s first lyrical foray on the record, and has vocalist JamesLaBrie screaming ‘Midnight messiah, darkness descends / Eternally wired, the dream never ends.’ It serves the music’s metallic approach, which lands somewhere between a more technically-minded Metallica and Judas Priest. It’s the most straightforward metal song in the set – but even here there are big proggy solos and slick transitions.
It also precedes a downward gear change, with the whispering voices of interlude Are We Dreaming and the breathy balladry of Bend The Clock. Here, Petrucci shows that sometimes less can be more with an emotive solo played with restraint that serves the song – although he still can’t resist a final flourish as he races to the fade-out.
The Shadow Man Incident is the epic closer, passing through multiple moods as it explores the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through sinuous rhythms, dazzling melodies, jarring riffs and a spoken-word nod to HP Lovecraft.
It’s a strong ending to an album that largely lives up to the hype. There might not be any radical departures here, but Dream Theater long ago earned their crown as the kings of prog metal. And, as Parasomnia proves, absolutely no one does it better.
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock, heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK’s biggest rock magazines, including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.
To near-universal delight, it’s been announced that Black Sabbath will play one final show with their original lineup. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward will join a stellar cast at Villa Park later this year as Metallica, Slayer, Gojira, Alice In Chains and others pay tribute to the band who invented it all.
“This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever,” says the show’s musical director, Tom Morello. And he’s probably right.
Before Black Sabbath, there were plenty of rock groups that played heavy: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin. But the music that Sabbath created in the early 70s was heavier and darker than anything that had come before, and it would prove seminal.
“Black Sabbath are the forefathers of heavy metal,” says Rick Rubin, the producer of the band’s final album 13. “They may well be the heaviest band of all time. And I don’t know of a more influential band other than The Beatles.”
It was in 1969, in Birmingham, that Black Sabbath was formed. The four band members – guitarist Tony Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – had been playing together for a year previously, first as Polka Tulk, later as Earth. “When we started out,” Iommi says, “we were a blues rock band.” But one day in ’69, they wrote a song changed everything.
This song, titled Black Sabbath after a horror movie starring Boris Karloff, was based on an Iommi riff that incorporated an inversion of the tritone, known as ‘The Devil’s Interval’, made up of three tones once rumoured to be banned from churches. The lyrics warned that “Satan’s coming round the bend.” And with this as their calling card, the band – renamed Black Sabbath – would open up a new frontier for rock music.
Much of Sabbath’s legendary reputation rests on the first six albums recorded by the original and classic line-up. “It was a completely original sound,” Rick Rubin says. “Riffs as powerful as they come, Ozzy’s one-of-a-kind vocal delivery, cool words, great rhythmic interplay.”
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But in a recording career that spanned more than four decades, a total of 23 Black Sabbath albums were released – some of them great, some of them average, and some downright embarrassing.
The best Sabbath albums made during Ozzy Osbourne’s long absence featured the man who replaced Ozzy after he was fired in 1979 – Ronnie James Dio. And every Sabbath album, from 1970 to 2013, has been shaped by Tony Iommi – the band’s sole ever-present, and the undisputed master of the heavy metal riff.
23. Forbidden (1995)
When Tony Iommi calls Forbidden “a total shambles” (it’s why he remixed it in 2024), he’s being too kind. This is by far the worst album Sabbath ever made. It was recorded with the same line-up that had made Tyr: Iommi, Martin, Murray and Powell. But this time there were two new faces on the team. And their influence would prove disastrous.
The album’s producer was Ernie C, guitarist for rap-metal band Body Count. His tin-pot production made Sabbath sound like a pub band. And when Body Count’s leader Ice-T rapped on Illusion Of Power, the whiff of desperation hung heavy in the air. Forbidden was Sabbath’s nadir. But just two years later, the reunion with Ozzy restored the band’s legendary status.
When Ian Gillan, the legendary voice of Deep Purple, was announced as Sabbath’s new singer, the music press jokingly dubbed them ‘Deep Sabbath’, or ‘Black Purple’. And the comedy didn’t end there.
Bill Ward’s return added a third original member to the line-up, but Gillan was simply too big a personality for Sabbath to accommodate. Square peg, round hole. Born Again was a mess. Iommi conjured up a mighty riff on Zero The Hero, stolen by Guns N’ Roses for Paradise City. But throughout, Gillan sounded like was singing in a different band. And he soon was. After a Sabbath tour famed for an oversized Stonehenge stage-set – later parodied in This Is Spinal Tap – Gillan rejoined Purple. Iommi hasn’t remixed it yet, but he surely will.
In the latter half of the 80s, Sabbath had become increasingly marginalized. Misconceived albums such as Born Again and Seventh Star had damaged their credibility. So too had a series of baffling personnel changes. And as Sabbath declined, younger and more dynamic metal bands had risen: Metallica and Slayer among them.
Sabbath’s 15th studio album Tyr – loosely based on Norse mythology – made little impression in 1990. It deserved better. With former Whitesnake bassist Neil Murray on board, the band served up robust old-school metal on Anno Mundi and The Law Maker, the latter reminiscent of Rainbow’s Kill The King, although Feels Good To Me was an undignified attempt at a power ballad. But when Tyr sold poorly, three little words entered Tony Iommi’s head: Ronnie. James. Dio.
Originally planned as a Tony Iommi solo album, Seventh Star wasn’t so much bad as badly marketed. “I certainly didn’t want to release it as a Black Sabbath album,” Iommi said. But with a record company keen to exploit the Sabbath name, the album was credited to ‘Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi’.
The guitarist’s chief collaborator on Seventh Star was former Deep Purple bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes – at the time, a raging drug addict. “He did ten times more coke than me,” Iommi said. “But he had a God-given voice.” What resulted was a polished hard rock album that sounded nothing like Black Sabbath, and a tour on which Hughes was deemed a liability, and was duly sacked.
Tony Iommi describes the making of The Eternal Idol – during which he had to find a new singer, bassist and producer – as “ridiculous.” Yet he still managed to create, amid this chaos, a credible album. Recording began with American singer Ray Gillen. But when producer Jeff Glixman said he didn’t rate Gillen, Iommi replaced Glixman with Chris Tsangarides – only for Gillen to quit, joining ex-Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes in Blue Murder.
After this, bassist Dave Spitz also walked. But the album was completed with ex-Rainbow bassist Bob Daisley alongside Iommi, keyboard player Geoff Nicholls, drummer Eric Singer and new vocalist Tony Martin. And the best tracks – The Shining, Ancient Warrior – had a power that vindicated Iommi.
In December 1997, the original Black Sabbath reunited for two homecoming shows at Birmingham NEC. There had been previous reunions: at Live Aid in 1985, and at two Ozzy shows in California in 1992. Ozzy had also performed with Sabbath in the summer of ’97, albeit without Bill Ward. But the drummer’s return for the Birmingham gigs made them, as Ozzy says, “momentous”.
The resulting live album confirmed it. It features all of the band’s most famous songs – plus cult classics such as Electric Funeral – played as only the original band can. But the album ended on a bum note with two new studio-recorded tracks, Selling My Soul and Psycho Man, both of them plainly uninspired.
The early 90s reunion of the Dio-era line-up lasted for just one album, before Ronnie took umbrage at the idea of Sabbath playing on the same bill as Ozzy and quit for a second time. Re-enter singer Tony Martin, a mainstay of the band’s late 80s line-up, who joined Iommi and Butler, for an album that landed just as grunge peaked.
Sure, the crawling Virtual Death nodded towards the granite-booted heaviness of Alice In Chains – a band they’d inspired in the first place – but Sabbath largely avoided jumping on that particular bandwagon unlike certain of their peers. Instead, the likes of Back To Eden, Cross Of Thorns and Cardinal Sin wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Dio-era album, which is as much a compliment to the under-appreciated Martin as it is to Iommi. It’s just a shame that the world at large didn’t give a damn about Black Sabbath in 1994.
In a period when Black Sabbath’s membership changed like the weather, Iommi had a reliable foil in singer and fellow Brummie Tony ‘The Cat’ Martin. Between 1987 and 1995, Martin appeared on five Sabbath studio albums. His debut, The Eternal Idol, was written before he joined the band and recorded first with Ray Gillen. But on the follow-up, Headless Cross, Martin had grown into his role, was a co-writer, and sang with genuine authority.
Featuring a new drummer, the legendary Cozy Powell, and session bassist Larry Cottle, Headless Cross included some punishingly heavy and darkly atmospheric songs, such as Nightwing and When Death Calls. The best album Sabbath ever made without Ozzy or Dio.
The palindromic title of this double-live album suggested business as usual for Black Sabbath. But in controversial circumstances, Live Evil would mark the end of Sabbath’s first era with Ronnie James Dio. Using recordings from the Mob Rules tour, the band were mixing the album when their studio engineer informed Iommi and Butler that Dio had been altering the mix in secret, pushing his vocals to the fore.
Although Dio pleaded innocence, Iommi barred him from the studio. The singer promptly quit, taking Vinny Appice with him and forming a new band, which of course he named Dio. After all the drama, Live Evil turned out okay. But it came at a heavy price.
In 1992, Dio and Sabbath needed each other. Dio had been successful with his own band in the decade since he resigned from Sabbath in protest over Live Evil. But in 1990, Dio’s album Lock Up The Wolves had bombed, as had Sabbath’s Tyr. So, inevitably, Ronnie rejoined Sabbath. Geezer Butler already had.
And after Cozy Powell was injured in a bizarre horse-riding accident, Vinny Appice completed the old early-80s line-up. If Dehumanizer wasn’t quite the glorious comeback fans had hoped for, some of the old magic was evident on Time Machine and the haunting I. But Dio resigned again in November ’92 when Ozzy, his nemesis, invited Sabbath to participate in his ‘farewell’ shows. C’est la vie.
With this retrospective two-disc live set, a part of Sabbath’s legacy was reclaimed. In 1980, Live At Last – a concert recording from 1973 – was released without the band’s consent by their former label NEMS. For Sabbath and new singer Ronnie James Dio, the arrival of a live album featuring Ozzy was the last thing they needed.
Adding insult to injury, it sounded like a shoddy bootleg. 22 years later, the matter was finally resolved when a remixed, officially sanctioned version of Live At Last was reissued as Past Lives, with a second disc of recordings from 1970 and 1975. And after all that aggro, it’s Sabbath’s best live album: capturing a great band in its ascendancy, blowing minds.
It was the last album that Ronnie James Dio would ever make – the triumphant final act in a brilliant career. Dio had reunited with Iommi, Butler and Appice in 2006 – the latter again replacing Bill Ward, who bailed out during the early stages of the project.
They called themselves Heaven & Hell to avoid confusion with the Ozzy-led Black Sabbath, which had only recently finished touring. But of course, Heaven & Hell was Sabbath in all but name. The Devil You Know, their only album, had a sound that was unmistakable. Inspired by Iommi’s monolithic riffs, Dio’s performance was his best since the 80s. He went out on a high. “That,” Iommi says, “was wonderful.”
After six great albums in as many years, Sabbath faltered on Technical Ecstasy. “I liked it,” Iommi says. “But with this one, the decline really started.” In a surprise left turn, Sabbath gave a prominent role on this album to guest keyboard player Gerald Woodroffe. Melody Maker praised the band’s ability to “break the mould and still provide exciting music”. Many diehard fans thought the album sucked.
The truth lies somewhere in between. Some songs, notably Back Street Kids, sound hokey. But there are great songs too, including the sleazy Dirty Women, and a ballad sung by Bill Ward and later played live by Guns N’ Roses, with a title that sums up the album: It’s Alright.
If ever an album title was proved false, it was this one. Following the sacking of Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, Never Say Die! ended up being the last studio album made by the original Black Sabbath. And so it remains, given Bill Ward’s absence from the band’s comeback album 13.
Having briefly quit Sabbath in 1977, Ozzy was by his own admission “fucked up” during the recording of Never Say Die! But even when carrying their singer, Sabbath still produced flashes of brilliance on the album’s explosive title track, slow-rolling boogie A Hard Road, and the beautiful, jazz-influenced Air Dance, featuring Don Airey (Rainbow/Deep Purple) on piano. Alongside Technical Ecstasy, this is Sabbath’s most underrated album.
It arrived as a major landmark: the first Sabbath album with Ozzy since 1978. And now, it has even greater significance, as the last Black Sabbath album, period.
13, produced by Rick Rubin, did not deliver all that Sabs diehards had dreamed of. Bill Ward was absent due to a contractual dispute. His replacement, Rage Against The Machine drummer Brad Wilk, while powerful, lacked Ward’s groove and feel. But in the bigger picture, 13 was a triumph, with echoes of the band’s classic early albums in key tracks such as The End Of The Beginning and God Is Dead?.
When 13 was released, Geezer Butler called it “a perfect way to finish”. He’s been proven right.
Sabbath’s second album with Ronnie James Dio was almost as good as Heaven And Hell. Mob Rules was also the first album the band recorded without Bill Ward, who quit during their 1980 tour. But his replacement, Vinny Appice, was solid enough, if lacking some of Ward’s flair.
The album’s centerpiece is Sign Of The Southern Cross, a seven-minute epic in which the power of Iommi’s funereal riff is matched by the mystique of Dio’s lyrics. Four other songs are genuine classics: Voodoo, Turn Up The Night, the belligerent title track, and the thundering, apocalyptic Falling Off The Edge Of The World. But never again would Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio reach such heights together.
Master Of Reality was Sabbath’s stoner album. On the follow-up, cocaine was king. Recording Vol.4 in LA, the band did so much coke that it was delivered to them in soap powder boxes. And on Snowblind, this album’s Sweet Leaf, they eulogized their new favourite drug. “This is where I feel I belong,” Ozzy sang.
But if cocaine would hasten Sabbath’s descent into personal chaos, it also emboldened them to further expand their musical remit. Supernaut, the hardest hitting track on Vol.4, turned funky halfway through. Wheels Of Confusion has the complexity of progressive rock. And on piano ballad Changes, Ozzy wailed like a wounded Elton John. More than just a great album, Vol.4 is a monument to excess.
There was black humour in the title of Sabbath’s fifth album, made while they were in litigation with their former manager Patrick Meehan. But in a time of crisis, the band created another classic. Sabotage was conceived as a back-to-basics album, a return to what Bill Ward called “the iron-clad sound of Black Sabbath”.
This much was evident in the bludgeoning riffs of Symptom Of The Universe and The Writ, the latter a stinging riposte to Meehan. But as a whole, Sabotage was as expansive as Sabbath Bloody Sabbath – its most leftfield track, Supertzar, featuring a choir, and described by Ward as “a demonic chant”. It was the last great album from Sabbath’s golden age with Ozzy.
Sabbath had a blast making Vol.4 in LA and returned to start the next album. But Iommi was burned out and suffering writer’s block. Only when the band relocated to Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire – where they believed they saw ghosts – did Iommi rediscover his mojo. The castle’s creepy aura inspired the first song he wrote for the album: its title track, featuring not one but two of his greatest riffs.
And the finished album was even more adventurous than Vol.4. The mesmeric Spiral Architect utilized a string section, and Sabbra Cadabra – later covered by Metallica – had Rick Wakeman playing piano, for which he was paid in beer. “For me,” Iommi says, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was the pinnacle.”
Following the huge success of the Paranoid album and single, Sabbath didn’t screw up by trying to write another hit. Instead, they delivered what is arguably the heaviest of all Sabbath albums. “Master Of Reality was an experiment,” Iommi says. “On songs like Children Of The Grave and Into The Void, we tuned down three semitones for a bigger sound, with more depth.”
The result was an album that set the template for stoner rock, sludge and doom metal. Sweet Leaf is the quintessential pothead anthem, introduced by the sound of Iommi choking on a joint. And in contrast is the quiet beauty of Solitude, cited by the guitarist as “the first love song we ever did.”
For many purists, Sabbath isn’t Sabbath without Ozzy. But for Geezer Butler, Heaven And Hell – the band’s first album with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio – is as good as the first five they made with Ozzy. And he’s right. Undaunted by the task of replacing the seemingly irreplaceable, Dio rejuvenated a band that had been in decline for five years.
His powerful, richly melodic voice and poetic lyrics added a new dimension to Sabbath’s music, an epic scale illustrated by the album’s colossal title track and the eerily atmospheric Children Of The Sea. And on Neon Knights, one of the heaviest songs Sabbath ever recorded, Dio proved himself the greatest metal singer of them all.
Famously recorded in one day, Sabbath’s debut was released on Friday February 13, 1970 – a symbolic date. The title track and N.I.B. were the most potent examples of Sabbath’s elemental power. But elsewhere are traces of blues and psychedelia. As Rick Rubin says: “Sabbath was always a groovy, soulful band.”
The reviews were, in Tony Iommi’s recollection, “awful”. Rolling Stone mocked both the music and the occult imagery, declaring the album “a shuck… like Vanilla Fudge playing doggerel tribute to Aleister Crowley.” But in America, Black Sabbath sold a million. In the UK, it made the Top 10. And over time it would be acknowledged as a landmark album in the evolution of heavy metal.
Released just seven months after their debut, Sabbath’s second album is their masterpiece.
Three of the eight tracks are deathless heavy metal classics: War Pigs, a cataclysmic protest song that resonated powerfully in the Vietnam era; Iron Man, a sci-fi fantasy driven by an earthshaking Iommi riff; and of course Paranoid itself, which was thrown together in 25 minutes and went on to become Sabbath’s most famous song, hitting the UK Top 5 and helping send the album to number one. From the definitive metal band, this is the definitive metal album.
Here are Black Sabbath’s studio albums, listed in chronological order:
Black Sabbath (1970) Paranoid (1970) Master of Reality (1971) Vol. 4 (1972) Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) Sabotage (1975) Technical Ecstasy (1976) Never Say Die! (1978) Heaven and Hell (1980) Mob Rules (1981) Born Again (1983) Seventh Star (1986) The Eternal Idol (1987) Headless Cross (1989) Tyr (1990) Dehumanizer (1992) Cross Purposes (1994) Forbidden (1995) 13 (2013)
What is considered the best Black Sabbath album?
Boasting a tracklist that boasted War Pigs, Paranoid, Planet Caravan and Iron Man – and that was just side one, if you bought the record – Paranoid arguablyremains Black Sabbath’s greatest – or at least certainly most notable – album. It was written and recorded just four months after their self-titled debut was released. According to drummer Bill Ward, the title track was written quickly, due to the band not having enough material to fill a whole album. This was a band at the height of their powers and five decades on, Paranoid may well remain their greatest moment.
Who was the best Black Sabbath singer?
Over the course of their career, Black Sabbath have had 10 vocalists: Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Walker, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Ron Keel, David Donato, Jeff Fenholt, Ray Gillen, and Tony Martin. Only five of these singers have appeared on a Black Sabbath release: Ozzy, Dio, Gillan, Hughes and Martin.
But who holds the mantle of best Sabbath vocalist? That’s something of fierce debate between diehard fans, but falls between Ozzy and Dio. Some prefer Ozzy’s characterful, effortless singing style, while others believe that Dio’s powerful metal vocal delivery was the perfect match for Tony Iommi’s riffs.
Which Black Sabbath album sold the most?
Paranoid is Black Sabbath’s biggest-selling album and has shifted an estimated 12 million copies worldwide (as of March 2022). It provided the band with their first Number One album in the UK (their second being 2013’s 13).
Over on Spotify, the top three most popular Sabbath songs are taken from this release: Paranoid, Iron Man and War Pigs. The title track itself has been streamed over 1.2 billion times (February 2025).
Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath – of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”
In 1966, Daevid Allen asked postmodern author William Burroughs for permission to use the title of his novel The Soft Machine for his new band. In 2009 the Gong mastermind (who died in 2015) told Prog why it was such a good match with the Canterbury pioneers’ music.
Surrealist, satirist and beat generation figure William Burroughs has been an inspirational source of ideas for musicians over the years. But the first time his work was used as a wellspring by a band came in 1966, when his novel The Soft Machine – published five years earlier – became the name for a group of young Canterbury-based talents.
When Robert Wyatt (drums/vocals), Kevin Ayers (guitar/bass/vocals), Daevid Allen (guitar) and Mike Ratledge (organ) united to create challenging music, an important question was what to call themselves. It was Allen who solved the dilemma.
“We had a number of names to choose from, and that one seemed to suggest that the human body and brain was a soft machine,” he says, matching the theme of the book. “And the internal textural contrast between the two words appealed to us as a group.”
Melbourne-born Allen had briefly worked with Burroughs while in Paris, prior to landing in Canterbury; and he’d performed theatrical pieces based on Burroughs’ celebrated novel The Naked Lunch. Given the connection, it was inevitable that Allen would seek out the author to ask him about using The Soft Machine as a name.
Borroughs’ reaction still makes Allen laugh: “He said, ‘I can’t see why not!’ Then he looked hard at me and added, ‘If I were you I would get a haircut and disappear!’”
He still doesn’t recall many of the alternative suggestions the musicians had considered. “There were many quite good ones, but I can only remember two, neither of which appealed to me particularly. They were Mister Head, and Dingo Virgin And The Four Skins.
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“To be honest, I don’t think anything we came up with got the full backing of everyone. Like most names, in the end it was a case of going with something that didn’t offend anyone. I’m glad we went the way we did, because I think that name still represents the type of music we made in those early days.”
They were known as The Soft Machine until 1969, before dropping the definite article. Why did they become simply Soft Machine? “I’d left the band by then; so had Kevin,” Allen says. “I think they did it in order to reaffirm that they were now a very different group.”
Feature Photo: Nicolas Padovani, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
(A)
“6 Inch”Lemonade (April 23, 2016) “A Lesser Man”The Idol Episode 3 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (June 19, 2023) “A Lie”Jungle Rules (July 14, 2017) “A Lonely Night”Starboy (November 25, 2016) “A Tale By Quincy”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Acquainted”Beauty Behind the Madness (August 28, 2015) “Adaptation”Kiss Land (September 10, 2013) “After Hours”After Hours (February 19, 2020) “All I Know”Starboy (November 25, 2016) “All To Myself”We Still Don’t Trust You (April 12, 2024) “Alone Again”After Hours (March 20, 2020) “Always Be My Fault”We Still Don’t Trust You (April 12, 2024) “Angel”Beauty Behind the Madness (August 28, 2015) “Another One of Me”The Love Album: Off the Grid (September 15, 2023) “As You Are”Beauty Behind the Madness (August 28, 2015) “Attention”Starboy (November 25, 2016)
(B)
“Bedtime Stories”SR3MM (May 4, 2018) “Belong to the World”Kiss Land (July 16, 2013) “Best Friends”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Better Believe”See You Next Wednesday (July 22, 2021) “Blinding Lights”After Hours (November 29, 2019)
(C)
“Call Out My Name”My Dear Melancholy, (March 30, 2018) “Can’t Feel My Face”Beauty Behind the Madness (June 8, 2015) “Christmas Blues”Christmas Blues (November 27, 2020) “Circus Maximus”Utopia (July 28, 2023) “Come Thru”Edgewood (March 23, 2018) “Comin Out Strong”Hndrxx (February 24, 2017) “Coming Down”House of Balloons and Trilogy (March 21, 2011) “Creepin’”Heroes & Villains (December 2, 2022) “Crew Love”Take Care (November 15, 2011) “Curve”Mr. Davis (September 13, 2017)
(D)
“D.D.”Echoes of Silence and Trilogy (December 21, 2011) “Dancing In The Flames”Hurry Up Tomorrow (September 13, 2024) “Dark Times”Beauty Behind the Madness (August 28, 2015) “Dawn FM”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Devil May Cry”The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (November 15, 2013) “Die for It”See You Next Wednesday (August 27, 2021) “Die for You”Starboy (November 25, 2016) “Dollhouse”The Idol Episode 5 Part 2 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (July 3, 2023) “Don’t Break My Heart”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Double Fantasy”The Idol Episode 2 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (April 21, 2023) “Drinks On Us”(Single) (January 31, 2015)
(E)
“Earned It”Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and Beauty Behind the Madness (December 23, 2014) “Echoes of Silence”Echoes of Silence and Trilogy (December 21, 2011) “Elastic Heart”The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (October 1, 2013) “Escape from LA”After Hours (March 20, 2020) “Every Angel Is Terrifying”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Exodus”Matangi (November 1, 2013)
(F)
“Faith”After Hours (March 20, 2020) “False Alarm”Starboy (September 29, 2016) “False Idols”The Idol Episode 5 Part 1 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (June 29, 2023) “Family”The Idol Episode 2 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (June 12, 2023) “Fill the Void”The Idol Episode 4 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (June 23, 2023) “Final Lullaby”After Hours (Deluxe edition) (March 30, 2020)
(G)
“Gasoline”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Gifted”Excuse My French (May 21, 2013) “Gone”Thursday and Trilogy (August 18, 2011)
(H)
“Hardest to Love”After Hours (March 20, 2020) “Hawái” (Remix)(Single) (November 5, 2020) “Heartless”After Hours (November 27, 2019) “Heaven or Las Vegas”Thursday and Trilogy (August 18, 2011) “Here We Go… Again”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “High for This”House of Balloons and Trilogy (March 21, 2011) “House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls”House of Balloons and Trilogy (March 21, 2011) “How Do I Make You Love Me?”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Hurricane”Donda (August 29, 2021) “Hurt You”My Dear Melancholy, (March 30, 2018)
(I)
“I Feel It Coming”Starboy (November 24, 2016) “I Heard You’re Married”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “I Was Never There”My Dear Melancholy, (March 30, 2018) “I’m Good”Dedication 5 (September 1, 2013) “In the Night”Beauty Behind the Madness (August 28, 2015) “In Vein”Mastermind (March 3, 2014) “In Your Eyes”After Hours (March 20, 2020) “Initiation”Echoes of Silence and Trilogy (December 21, 2011) “Intro” (Live)Live at SoFi Stadium (March 3, 2023) “Is There Someone Else?”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022)
(J)
“Jealous Guy”The Idol Episode 4 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (June 23, 2023)
(K)
“King of the Fall”(Single) (July 20, 2014) “Kiss Land”Kiss Land (May 17, 2013) “K-pop”Utopia (July 21, 2023)
(L)
“La Fama”Motomami (November 11, 2021) “Less than Zero”Dawn FM (January 7, 2022) “Life of the Party”Thursday and Trilogy (August 18, 2011) “Like A God”The Idol Episode 5 Part 1 (Music from the HBO Original Series) (June 29, 2023) “Live For”Kiss Land (August 20, 2013) “Loft Music”House of Balloons and Trilogy (March 21, 2011) “Lonely Star”Thursday and Trilogy (August 18, 2011) “Losers”Beauty Behind the Madness (August 28, 2015) “Lost in the Fire”Hyperion (January 11, 2019) “Love in the Sky”Kiss Land (July 30, 2013) “Love Me Harder”My Everything (August 22, 2014) “Love to Lay”Starboy (November 25, 2016) “Low Life”Evol (February 6, 2016) “Lust for Life”Lust for Life (April 19, 2017)
The show will take place at Aston Villa Park on July 5 and feature the last-ever live performances from The Prince Of Darkness and Black Sabbath’s original lineup: Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.
Support will come from a host of legendary bands the heavy metal pioneers have inspired: Metallica, Lamb Of God, Slayer, Gojira, Alice In Chains, Mastodon, Halestorm and Anthrax.
Rounding out the extravaganza will be an all-star group featuring Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Jonathan Davis (Korn), Wolfgang Van Halen and many others. Morello will also serve as the musical director for the event.
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 14, at 10am UK time.
See the full list of performers in the poster below.
All proceeds from the show will go to Birmingham charities, namely Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice
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Osbourne comments: “It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning… time for me to give back to the place where I was born. How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
Morello adds that the one-day extravaganza will be “the greatest heavy metal show ever”.
In January 2024, Sharon Osbourne told an audience at London’s Fortune Theatre that Osbourne was planning a show at Villa Park this year. During a Q&A with Loose Women colleague Jane Moore, Sharon said, “He won’t tour again but we are planning on doing two more shows to say goodbye as he feels like ‘I have never said goodbye to my fans and I want to say goodbye properly’. We will do it in Aston Villa where Ozzy is from. His voice is still absolutely perfect.”
The last time Black Sabbath’s original lineup played a full show together was an Ozzfest date at the Sound Advice Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 4, 2005.
Their final live appearance onstage was at the UK Music Hall Of Fame ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London later that year, where they played just one song, Paranoid.
In 2011, the four men appeared at a press conference at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood to announce a final world tour together, but Ward’s place had been taken by Tommy Clufetos by the time the dates kicked off the following year.
In what’s shaping up to be a bumper year for old-school heavy metal in UK stadiums, Sabbath’s homecoming will take place just a week after Iron Maiden headline the London Stadium, 130 miles to the south.
