BBC HomeExplore the BBC


Accessibility help
Text only
BBC Homepage

Contact Us

Like this page?
Send it to a friend!
 

Black Sabbath

Formed 1966

  • Principal Members
  • Geezer Butler
  • Ronnie James Dio
  • Ian Gillan
  • Tony Iommi
  • Ozzy Osbourne

Biography

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham. The original band line up of Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terence 'Geezer' Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums) is the same as the current line up (2007) although there have been shifts of personnel in between.

Black Sabbath remain a dominant influence in the genre they helped create. VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock ranks them second, behind Led Zeppelin.

Read more at Wikipedia

Wikipedia

This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (more info) and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Any changes made to the Wikipedia article will not be immediately reflected here.

Artist Timeline

  • 1966 Formed in Birmingham, UK as Polka Tulk, then Earth
  • 1970 'Black Sabbath' released on Friday 13th February
  • 1971 'Paranoid' goes to #4 in the UK singles chart
  • 1979 Osbourne is asked to leave and is replaced by Ronnie James Dio
  • 1980 Bill Ward leaves temporarily
  • 1982 Dio leaves, Ian Gillan replaces him
  • 1984 Gillan leaves
  • 1985 Original line-up reforms for Live Aid
  • 1985 Butler quits temporarily, and later tours with Osbourne's band
  • 1992 Rob Halford performs with Sabbath for one gig
  • 1992 Osbourne pulls out of plans to record with the band
  • 1995 'Forbidden' released - the last Sabbath album to date
  • 2005 Inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame
 

Key Releases

  • Black Sabbath

    Formed 1970

    Sabbath bludgeon the blues into something dark, scary and deeply influential.

    Review on BBC Music

  • Paranoid

    1971

    Sabbath leave the blues behind and score a hit single.

    Review on BBC Music

  • Volume 4

    1972

    Sabbath hint at prog and even classical influences, but still manage to rock...

    Review on BBC Music

  • Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

    1973

    Rick Wakeman adds prog cred on keyboards - their most accomplished, inventive work.

    Review on BBC Music

Related Pages

 

Fans' Photos

These pictures are photos that have been uploaded by the public to Flickr, the photosharing website. Click on a photo to see the large image there.

View images related to this artist or band on Flickr.com

These pictures are not hosted by the BBC. Please alert us if you spot anything inappropriate. This product uses the Flickr API but is not endorsed or certified by Flickr.

Top 10 Tracks

These are the tracks that are most listened to by users of Last.FM.

Chart from Last.fm

This chart is not created by the BBC and is only reflective of the listening habits of users of Last.FM.

 

Inspired

Influences



About the BBC | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy