BLACK SABBATH

Who are Black Sabbath?

Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. Often considered the inventors of heavy metal – thanks in part to Iommi losing the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his right hand in an accident, an event which crucially impacted his playing style - Black Sabbath's mostly doom-laden songs such as Iron Man, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sweet Leaf inspired no end of musicians to get heavier.

Black Sabbath replaced Ozzy with Ronnie James Dio in 1979 after sacking Osbourne for his frankly insane booze and drugs intake, but eventually reunited with him in the 1990s.

Black Sabbath scored the first of their two UK Number 1 albums with 1970’s Paranoid and set an Official Chart record for the longest gap between Number 1s when their 2013 comeback album, 13, took pole position on the Official Albums Chart some 43 years later. In 2019 the band were presented a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as being inducted into both the UK Music Hall Of Fame and the US Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Ozzy sadly passed away in July 2025, just a few weeks after Black Sabbath's farewell concert at Birmingham's Villa Park.