Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler recalls first time he met 'lunatic' Ozzy Osbourne
Black Sabbath star Terence 'Geezer' Butler recalled the first time he met Ozzy Osbourne all those years ago. The bass player, along with his former bandmates, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward, recently issued respective statements to fans following the news of Ozzy's heartbreaking death this week.
The news comes just weeks after he took to the stage with his former bandmates at Villa Park stadium in Birmingham on July 5 for his farewell concert, Back to the Beginning. The sold-out charity gig reunited Ozzy with guitarist Tony, 77, bassist Geezer, 76, and drummer Bill, 77, who are the original members of Black Sabbath.
Geezer paid tribute to his pal in a post which read: "Goodbye dear friend – thanks for all those years - we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston - who'd have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you."
A post was also shared on the band's Instagram page tonight following the news of singer-songwriter Ozzy's death this week. Alongside a photo of him taken at his final concert, the caption of the post simply read: "Ozzy Forever."
The bass player previously opened up about the first time he met Ozzy, which happened after Geezer spotted the Prince of Darkness' 'Ozzy Zig Needs Gig' advertisement at the local musical instruments store.
Geezer noticed he lived nearby in Aston and went to knock on his door, but no one answered. Later that day, Ozzy showed up and casually knocked on his front door.
"My brother told me, 'There's something at the front door for you'," he said. "It was a skinhead in his dad's toolmaker's work gown, with no shoes; he had a chimney brush over his shoulder and was holding one trainer on a dog lead.
"It was raining and he was soaking wet. I just burst out laughing. I thought he was the local lunatic."
The 'local lunatic' turned out to be Ozzy, who just served six weeks in Birmingham's Winson Green Prison for burglary.
Geezer previously revealed the first three Sabbath albums were recorded in a "reasonably straight" fashion before the group started using hard drugs while making Vol. 4 in Los Angeles in 1972.
'The serious stuff was imbibed when we recorded that one in L.A. ... and then later on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,' he explained. 'None of it made me play better. I'd think so at the time – then when listening to it back sober, I'd have to redo everything.
"Alcohol is by far the worst for performing. I only ever did that once, and that was enough.'
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