Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi remembered the days when he, his former bandmate Ozzy Osbourne, and other members weren’t famous and popular for a special guest vlog. The musician revealed that mostly the clubs in Birmingham didn’t let them spend time for a particular reason.
In 1968, former Mythology members Iommi and Bill Ward decided to form a new band and wanted to work with bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. Its original name was the Polka Tulk Blues Band which later became Earth, but they couldn’t continue with that name. The main reason behind that was another band with the same name, so they came up with Black Sabbath, inspired by the 1963 horror film ‘Black Sabbath.’
The band’s heavy sounds and lyrics full of dark themes in a world ruled by flower power, folk music, and hippie culture made them a pioneering group in heavy metal music. However, especially before their debut studio album, the Black Sabbath icons had hard times in Birmingham clubs because of their style and look. Iommi detailed the situation, saying he, Osbourne, Ward, and Butler tried to get into other famous clubs like the Cedar Club.
They probably wished to spend time with other musicians and watch some of their performances. Still, Iommi reminded everyone that those places had a strict dress code and wouldn’t wear jeans or other casual clothes back then. The Black Sabbath guitarist defined his and others’ look as ‘scruffy.’ Also, the only exception was the Rum Runner, in which his dear and longtime friend Albert Chapman was, and he used to go there with John Bonham and Jeff Lynn.
Here’s what Iommi said about the band’s look:
“Sometimes I’d go with John Bonham from Led Zeppelin or Jeff Lynn from ELO to a club called the Rum Runner on Broad Street, which was one of the popular places for other musicians to go and me, mainly because my dearest and oldest friend, Albert Chapman, from my old school, was the manager and bouncer there.
Before Black Sabbath got to be known in Birmingham, it was very difficult to get into lots of places. Ozzy, Bill, Geezer, and I tried to get into another popular club in Birmingham called the Cedar Club, where Ben Bevan would play a residency when he was in a band called The Move. We have promptly turned away. We were too scruffy, and in most clubs, there was a definite dress code, and you weren’t allowed to wear jeans. So that was us out.”
You can check out the video below.
