- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 405,483
- Reaction score
- 43
You must be registered for see images attach
Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has been a Villa fan since he was a toddler - Getty Images/Jonathan Ferrey
Black Sabbath bass player and songwriter Geezer Butler recalls the only occasion he went to a football match with the band’s frontman Ozzy Osbourne.
“It was England against some Soviet-era team, I can’t remember which one,” he starts. “But when England scored Ozzy pretended to be a Russian supporter and put on this really silly, ‘crying and howling in despair’ act, really loudly, and the England supporters around us were trying to console him. Nobody knew who he was.”
Ozzy recently manifested to the size of a mountain at the Aston Villa versus Celtic match in the Champions League, in the form of a tifo. The Prince of Darkness was an imposing and unexpected presence from the Holte End. “The Ozzy Tifo was a surprise,” says Butler, “especially as he’s never been to a match! But he’s probably Aston’s most famous person. People were saying it should have been me on the banner since I’ve been a Villa fanatic since I was a toddler, but unless you were a diehard Sabbath fan, you wouldn’t have had a clue who I was!
You must be registered for see images attach
Aston Villa paid tribute to one of the club’s most famous sons - Getty Images/Catherine Ivill
“I thought it was a good game, Celtic gave a good example of themselves. Because of my Irish heritage, Celtic has always been my ‘second’ team. I always look for their results.”
As well as Villa, Aston can lay claim to inventing heavy metal, with all four members of Black Sabbath coming from the area. However, it is safe to say that Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler – who has associated Villa with the “smell of pipe tobacco” from when he “sneaked in as a kid” – is Sabbath’s most ardent fan.
You must be registered for see images attach
Black Sabbath’s original and current line-up (left to right): Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne - WireImage/Chris Walter
“The only other member I went with was [guitarist] Tony [Iommi], who only went because I was being honoured with a Birmingham Hall of Fame-type thing at Villa Park. While I watched the match, Tony stayed in the bar. He has absolutely no interest in football, but ironically was best mates with Trevor Francis and Andy Gray.”
Gray, the former Villa and Wolves player, is a favourite of both Butler and Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. Both enjoyed watching the Glaswegian striker play a vital role in securing the League Cup for their club. “Andy Gray was a fantastic player,” says Butler, “one of my all-time favourites. I remember one special goal he scored when he dived and headed a ball about four inches off the ground into the net…marvellous!
“Charlie Aitken [Edinburgh-born player who made a record-breaking 660 appearances between 1959 and 1976] was also a hero of mine and I sat next to him a couple of seasons ago, not long before he passed away, and the insight he had about the match was unbelievable. He saw things that only a master player could see and it amazed me.”
The compliment was returned by Andy Gray, who was also a metalhead. “Andy and Trevor Francis often came to see us, and Pat Cash, the tennis player, was a huge fan.”
With just a 12-mile distance you might expect more of a rivalry with Wolves but a cordial relationship between fans is extended between the members of Sabbath and Zeppelin. As Butler explains: “Robert Plant was at a match when Villa played Wolves and he was very impressed with Villa. When Wolves played a showbiz team, with Plant and Elton John on the team, John Bonham [late Led Zeppelin drummer] took me to the match at Molineux.”
Butler describes the Villa kit featuring Sabbath’s band logo as “the ultimate dream come true,” adding: “There’s nothing that could top that; Villa and Sabbath on an official match-day shirt – heaven!”
You must be registered for see images attach
The customised signed Villa shirt that features Black Sabbath’s logo
How about starring in an ad for the 2024-25 kit launch alongside Ozzy? “Well, Ozzy did his part in Los Angeles, I did mine at Villa’s training ground, Bodymoor Heath. It was quite nerve-wracking for me as I hate being on camera or using the phone or anything out of my comfort zone. But because it was Villa, I put on my best acting and stuttered my way through it. I must say, I was very impressed with the player’s cars out in the car park. Almost all custom jobs… jealous.”
Also appearing in the advert were Ollie Watkins and John McGinn, two players he admires, but he says that the team have been “inconsistent” this season. “I don’t have a favourite player – maybe McGinn or Watkins or [Youri] Tielemans, and then there’s [Emiliano] Martínez.” On the Villa captain, McGinn, he adds: “He always gives 100 per cent, and he’s not afraid to change position when needed. Plus he doesn’t roll around like he’s been shot when he gets fouled.”
For Black Sabbath’s The End tour a few years back, a custom Aston Villa bass was commissioned, but fans can still see it slung across Butler for the closing number.
You must be registered for see images attach
Buttler’s custom Villa bass was made by Lakland
Butler says: “I wanted something special for Sabbath’s final gig, which was in Birmingham in 2017. Since we are all from Aston and playing the final show in Brum I had Lakland, a Chicago company that makes my custom basses, make me a Villa bass, which I used on the very last song – Paranoid. After the show Jasper Carrott, a long-time friend but a Small Heath [Birmingham City] supporter said: ‘Great show, except for that bloody bass!’”
Paranoid remains one of Sabbath’s most loved tracks and is now played at Villa Park. It was not the bassist’s first choice when he was asked by the club what song he’d like to hear played at the ground.
As he recalls: “I said Iron Man; they said, ‘Heavy boots of lead? No thanks’. I said War Pigs; they said, ‘No’ – even though the Cleveland Browns did a great job with it as their opening matchday video. I suggested Paranoid – they said, ‘We can’t have a team being paranoid’. So I gave up.
“They eventually went with Crazy Train [Ozzy’s solo track]... no comment. They do play Paranoid now, but before Crazy Train.”
Butler will pick up the bass for a one-off gig at Villa Park on July 5, allowing Sabbath’s original line-up to take a final bow with drummer Bill Ward, who last played with the band in 2005.
“I always missed doing the Sabbath shows with Bill; we built up a unique playing style between us in the old days. He vastly improved me as a bass player, playing along to his drumming. There’s never been anyone like him, a heavy hitter but with a jazz swing. To finish with the original four will be the perfect, happy ending.
“To start and end in the place we all grew up in and forged our future in, against all odds, is the ideal way to finish. Not many bands can say that. To end my career in the place I loved and spent my early years in, some of the greatest memories and times of my life, it’s the dream ending.”
Black Sabbath will headline Back To The Beginning on July 5 at Villa Park. Profits will be donated to the following charities: Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Continue reading...
