“I started out because when my parents died I always wished I’d asked them a lot more things than I knew about,” Butler tells Cleveland.com. “I don’t really know much about my mum and dad, ‘cause they were always just there. So, I started writing a memoir for my grandkids to read, and that’s been fun going through stuff - old times and growing up in Birmingham and all that. I’m right in the middle of doing that at the moment.”
The project will trace the story of the rocker’s upbringing in Aston, Birmingham in the 1950s and 1960s, forming his first band – Rare Breed – with Ozzy Osbourne in 1967, and teaming up with his future Black Sabbath bandmates the following year.
As bassist and lyricist, Butler’s autobiography would mark the third memoir by a member of the band: Ozzy published “I Am Ozzy” in 2009, and guitarist Tony Iommi released “Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath” in 2011; drummer Bill Ward recently revealed that he is also currently writing his own life story.
The iconic metal band released their self-titled debut in 1970 and went on to sell more than 70 million albums worldwide; they were inducted into the UK Music Hall Of Fame in 2005 and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2006.
Black Sabbath wrapped up a farewell tour in their hometown of Birmingham, UK in February of 2017; their final performance is featured on the live package “The End.”
Asked for his thoughts on why the group’s music has endured more than five decades after their launch, Butler says: “I think it’s because Tony’s riffs were absolutely amazing, and I think every guitar player tried to play ‘Iron Man’ or ‘War Pigs’ or ‘Paranoid’; I’ve had so many people over the years come up to me to say, ‘The first thing I ever learned on guitar was ‘Iron Man.’’
“It’s not mind-boggling science or anything, the stuff we were doing. The first three albums were, like, live in the studio. It’s just raw. Because it’s so live-sounding, it doesn’t date. And the subject matter was a lot different to what everyone else was writing. So, we had our own integrity kind of thing.”
See also:
Tony Iommi comments on unreleased Black Sabbath song leak
Unreleased 1979 Black Sabbath song surfaces online
Black Sabbath stream 1982 performance of Heaven And Hell
Black Sabbath stream Heaven And Hell album in sync with reissue
Search Black Sabbath at hennemusic
Search Ronnie James Dio at hennemusic
