

Rick Wakeman charged Sabbath a ‘fee’ of two pints of Director’s bitter for his incandescent piano playing. This bluesy paean to Geezer’s then-girlfriend had its lyrical origins in Ozzy repeating porno dialogue, to his bandmate’s amusement. Out of their heads they may have been, but the interplay between Iommi, Butler and a brilliantly dextrous Bill Ward is pure joy. 4 telegraphs Sabbath’s experimental mind-set. Inspired by a magazine headline, Black Sabbath's 2013 comeback found Ozzy musing upon the existence of a higher power in the wake of terrorist atrocities committed in the name of religion. It’s also the last one out on the record – an honorary spot, as everybody into vinyl knows.” - Mikael Åkerfeldt, Opeth “It’s a beautiful piece of music, mostly based around Ozzy’s voice, Iommi’s acoustic guitar and Will Malone’s string arrangements. ‘ There’s no escaping the power of Satan’, sang Tony Martin, making a convincing case for Sabbath entering the 90s as a band reborn. The title track from Sabbath’s 14th album Headless Cross, and their finest since Heaven And Hell. For the closing track of Technical Ecstasy, inspiration came from the prostitutes on the streets of Miami, resulting in a ‘tribute’ to the healing properties of ‘take away women for sale’. “I got a song out of it at least,” a more chilled Ozzy reflected later.īy 1976 Black Sabbath were in search of direction.

Ozzy’s acerbic open letter to former manager Patrick Meehan (‘ Are you Satan, are you man?’), venting the singer’s fury at the legal “bullshit”.
