“Understanding the music Black Sabbath makes, begins with understanding Aston.” Güzin Paksoylu
Aston: The Neighborhood Where Black Sabbath Is Born
All the members of the Black Sabbath band are from the low-income blue-collar factory workers neighborhood of Aston in Birmingham. The texture of the neighborhood where Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler would invent heavy metal music, permeates the sound of Black Sabbath, their album covers and their lyrics. Understanding the music Black Sabbath makes, begins with understanding Aston.
Aston has been a settlement for immigrants who came to the city to work in industry since the Black Sabbath members were kids: today, the streets of Aston are full of people with Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Indian origins. I was surprised to notice some writings in Arabic on the doors of the buildings standing next to the tiny house where Ozzy Osbourne grew up on 14 Lodge Road. Black people in long dresses come out of the mosques and Quran courses in Aston (yes! you read that right!) and women in hijab roam its streets.
(Ozzy Osbourne grew up on 14 Lodge Road in Aston- Birmingham)
Aston, as in the past, is still marked with its high violence and crime rate. During Geezer Butler’s childhood and youth, ethnic groups fighting and stabbing each other in its streets, criminals throwing acid, tension between black-white and Irish-English communities (IRA incidents) and hooligan terror was always there, leaving an ill mark on the neighborhood.
(Prince Albert Junior School Ozzy attended as a student-Aston)
Villa Park, home to the Aston Villa football club, is located on Trinity Road in Aston. Geezer Butler recalls that for the residents of Aston, it was a must to support their football club Aston Villa. It is exactly like being a resident of Bağdat Street in İstanbul and supporting Fenerbahçe football team by default. According to Geezer’s memoirs, his childhood was exactly like something out of a Charles Dickens novel: houses with no indoor toilet, no bathroom, no heating, with just an outside toilet (for the lucky families who didn’t have to share it with the neighbors). A tin bath was dragged to warmest room of the house and the kids of the family would take their baths in turns. A childhood marked by poverty, where newspaper was a substitute for toilet paper. Geezer Butler remembers that once, while walking down the street in Aston, a man of Asian origin pulled a knife and tried to kidnap his girlfriend. Aston has never been a safe neighborhood since the 1950s that is.
(Villa Park Stadium – Home of Aston Villa football club – Aston)
“Ozzy Zig needs a gig: singer with own P.A. 14 Lodge Road, Aston.”
The Black Sabbath Story Begins
Geezer Butler was the best educated person in the band: his family was certain that he would change his fate and become a white-collar worker. Yet, fascinated by music, Geezer started playing the guitar. At first he had an acoustic one with only two strings because he couldn’t afford buying the other four. Ironically, his complete mastering of these two strings would later make it easier for him to switch to bass guitar.
(Young Geezer Butler)
Geezer’s interest in English literature and his school success would help him becoming the lyricist of Black Sabbath. Before Elvis Presley who stunned Geezer with his music in 1957, his family used to listen to a type of music called the Skiffle (a cheesy mix of blues, jazz, country and folk). When Geezer heard The Beatles‘ song “Love Me Do” for the first time, he was stunned. He was way more surprised to discover that this band he heard was from Liverpool, just a stone’s throw from Birmingham. Very much influenced by The Beatles, he started to grow his hair long: his reluctance to cut his hair would make it hard for him to find a white-collar job. Geezer and Ozzy, who did not know each other then, would be part of the same young crowd attending the Beatles concert at the Birmingham Odeon in 1965. Geezer, who watched The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner, and Cream for the first time in Birmingham, would then completely devote himself to blues music and form the band “Ruums” with his friend Roger Hope at the age of 15-16.
Geezer was always broke and couldn’t afford to buy a case for his guitar, carrying it in a plastic bag. Despite the family pressure to pursue his studies, Geezer was determined to become a professional musician. Once at the Penthouse, where Rumms performed, Geezer and Roger have met Tony Iommi and his friend Bill Ward for the first time (their band’s name was Mythology then). Among the regulars of the Penthouse club were artists such as Robert Plant, John Evan’s Smash (later Jethro Tull), Steve Winwood, and Christine Perfect (Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac). Geezer’s dreams of becoming a professional musician were crushed when the lead singer of his next band, Rare Breed, left. He immediately started looking for a new vocalist. One day he saw a notice pinned to the wall of the record store Jones & Crossland in Birmingham:
“Ozzy Zig needs a gig: singer with own P.A. 14 Lodge Road, Aston.”
Well, the rest is history.
(Geezer Butler’s family house – Victoria Rd. Aston)
“The architectural style of the houses and buildings such as the Prince Albert School, St Peter & St Paul (Aston Parish Church), The Sacred Heart Church and Aston Hall (“UK’s most haunted building with its paranormal past), all these characteristic structures in Aston and the neighborhood’s historical ties to the occult are an integral part of the fabric that Black Sabbath is woven from.” Güzin Paksoylu
(Aston Hall – Birmingham)
(Streets of Aston and the neighborhood’s characteristic architectural style)
Enter Ozzy!
Geezer heads straight to the address on the notice in search of a new vocalist (very close by in Aston), knocks on the door and leaves his own address to Ozzy’s sister. The next day, Ozzy shows up in front of Geezer’s house, and the family members are shocked at the sight because Ozzy is a barefoot skinhead!
(skinhead or skin: a left-wing subculture movement initiated by low-income English working class youth of the late 1960s. Skinheads had very short or completely shaven hair, wore work clothes and boots, listened to ska, rocksteady and reggae, the music of Jamaican immigrant youth with whom they were in constant interaction in the same low-income neighborhoods. Skinhead philosophy was in direct opposition to the peace and love motto of the hippies).
Geezer’s first words to Ozzy were “Oh no, a bloody skinhead!” to which he replied “I’ll grow my hair!”. Ozzy, who is a drug addict and a thief, joins the band: in time Ozzy would surprise his fellow band members with his other nasty talents as well. When fed up with Rare Breed, Ozzy and Geezer leave the band and go to talk to Bill Ward and Tony Iommi, to start a new band together. When the duo arrive at Tony’s house in Park Lane (one should keep in mind these events happen within very short distances in Aston) they are not very well welcomed: because Ozzy is the kid from Tony’s Prince Albert school, a year below Tony, a kid he used to bully 24/7. Upon seeing Ozzy, Tony looks disgusted and his first reaction is “Oh no, not Osbourne. What do you want?” According to Geezer, Ozzy never stopped being the kid from the year below Tony and Tony never stopped being the band leader.
When they could not find a bassist, Geezer, who left the rhythm guitar years behind, started playing the bass. He was already used to play on a few strings which has made things easier. The four sidekicks, who were now looking for a new name for the band, decided on Polka Tulk, after a shop selling traditional Indian clothes that Ozzy has seen on the street.
(The Pre-Black Sabbath years)
The story of Black Sabbath is at times sad and at times hilarious: their old banger van with a big hole on its floorboard which showed the asphalt, crappy venues where people booed them and threw their empty bottles of beer at them. Their road to rock stardom was indeed paved with thorns.
As Jez Collins told me while we were touring Aston, to be able to fully understand the story of Black Sabbath, one should try to understand and see through Aston: like the proximity of the places where the band members lived and the texture of the neighborhood. As Jez Collins of Birmingham Music Archive (BMA) pointed out, the architectural style of the houses and buildings such as the Prince Albert School, St Peter & St Paul (Aston Parish Church), The Sacred Heart Church and Aston Hall (“UK’s most haunted building with its paranormal past), all these characteristic structures in Aston and the neighborhood’s historical ties to the occult are an integral part of the fabric that Black Sabbath is woven from.
(Holte Grammar School attended by Geezer Butler – Aston)
(St Peter & St Paul Church in Aston)
(The Church of The Sacred Heart – Aston)
(Debut studio album “Black Sabbath” cover -1970)
The “Earth” Years
The band, with its name changed from Polka Tulk Bluesband to “Earth” upon Bill’s suggestion, began performing at Henry’s Blueshouse in Birmingham, the hub of “good music” and was even the opening act for Jethro Tull a couple of times. Tony Iommi caught the eye of Ian Anderson during these acts and Ian invited him to join his band as a guitarist for the Jethro Tull US tour. Earth band broke up once again when Tony accepted Anderson’s offer and Geezer was devastated. However, Tony was not pleased with the Tull atmosphere where he was dictated what to play and how to play: and to everybody’s surprise, he bounced from Jethro Tull, and landed back to “Earth”. This time, Ozzy, Bill and Geezer decided to be more committed to the band and their music and not to make their friend Tony regret rejecting the famous Jethro Tull. The most important lesson they learned from the Jethro Tull rehearsals though, was the necessity to take musicianship seriously like a full-time job, if they wanted to succeed.
(Ozzy in flip-flops and Henry’s Blueshouse tshirt- The Earth years)
“The Japanese company wanting to demolish The Crown and build a budget hotel complex in its stead, does not care about its value and meaning for rock music: The Crown was famous venue hosting the most important bands and artists of rock music in the late 60s, such as Earth (pre- Black Sabbath), Judas Priest, Robert Plant, John Bonham, Supertramp, Thin Lizzy, Fleetwood Mac and many more. It is full of memories of music and a whole culture of rock and punk, with graffiti and writings from this golden era still lingering on its walls.” Güzin Paksoylu
(The Crown building is located just across the New Street train station)
Henry’s Blueshouse and The Crown: The Birthplace of Heavy Metal
The starting point of our music tour of Birmingham with Jez was in fact the New Street Station, the permanent residence of Ozzy The Bull. As you may recall from my previous articles, the symbol of Birmingham is the bull, and the mechanical steampunk bull, designed for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was destined for scrapyard after the games. The people of Birmingham -Brummies – wanted this charming statue to be permanently displayed in the city and the bull was placed at the New Street Station after the Commonwealth Games. In 2023, it was named “Ozzy” by public vote, after rock star Ozzy Osbourne.
(Station Street view showing The Electric, the first movie theater of Birmingham)
When you look in the direction of Station Street while standing in front of New Street Station, The Crown building at the corner of Hill Street, greets you with its colourful, distinctive and low-rise architecture. Just like Birmingham’s first movie theater, The Electric (1909) in art-deco style, The Crown (Henry’s Blueshouse), will be 150 years old in 2026. Sadly, these beautiful buildings which are part of Birmingham’s cultural heritage and memory, are now closed and abandoned. The Crown has been closed for 14 years now and the building is the property of a Japanese budget-hotel chain.
(Trees grow in The Crown building due to neglect)
(The alley on the side of the building is full of junk).
The fact that the building it is located just across the train station (with a very high traffic of approximately 45 million people per year) makes The Crown building very attractive for the Japanese hoteliers. Unfortunately, this Japanese company does not care much about the past of this building, its value and meaning for rock music: The Crown was the venue hosting the most important bands and artists of rock music in the late 60s, such as Earth (pre- Black Sabbath), Judas Priest, Robert Plant, John Bonham, Supertramp, Thin Lizzy, Fleetwood Mac and many more. It is full of memories of music and a whole culture of rock and punk, with graffiti and writings from this golden era still lingering on its walls. The Japanese company is unfortunately planning to demolish The Crown and the bordering buildings they own, to build a brand new hotel complex (which no doubt is going to lack a spirit and a past). If this happens, a part of Birmingham’s cultural memory will be lost for good. To prevent this from happening and to save The Crown, Jez Collins and his colleagues managed to register the building as a Grade II-listed heritage building ( just like the historical buildings and monuments in our country, there are “Graded Buildings” in the United Kingdom and their demolition or alteration is prohibited.)
(Robert Plant, Ian Anderson, Fleetwood Mac)
Henry’s Blueshouse
“For me, Henry’s Blueshouse is the cradle of heavy metal music. Later another huge band, Judas Priest from Birmingham, would play some of their very, very first early gigs here at The Crown.” Jez Collins (BMA)
(Ozzy at The Crown – Cr: BMA)
Now let’s hear Jez Collins on Henry’s Blueshouse:
“Henry’s Blueshouse was a music venue upstairs in the mid-1960s where folk revival bands performed. It was the place where the first ever live folk album was recorded by a band called the Ian Campbell Band: and you know, Güzin, Ian Campbell was the father of Ali and Robin of UB40. So the musical legacy runs in the family!
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the place was known as Henry’s Blueshouse and it was very, very popular. A guy called Jim Simpson would book in blues players. Really BIG Blues players would come and play at the Crown and that would attract people like Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, John Bonham, Christine McVie: all these musicians would go off to be superstars and all would come and see the blues players there.
(Pre-Black Sabbath Earth during a gig)
Black Sabbath, while still called Earth, they kept pestering Jim Simpson for a gig, they kept saying can we play, can we play and the answer was no, no, no. They kept on and on and on and in the end Jim said “Ok, you have 15 minutes in between acts.” and they played. Later they ended up in almost like the house band. They eventually changed their name to Black Sabbath, they continued to play a residence there and Jim became their manager. So it is here at The Crown is where they really cut their teeth. Black Sabbath would play for the crowds here and see how their music went down. It is where the first two albums were sort of tested on the audience, fine-tuned at home, recorded and then released with Jim as the manager. For me, it’s the cradle of heavy metal music and later another huge band, Judas Priest from Birmingham, would play some of their very, very first early gigs here at The Crown.”
“The Crown was a massive hub of progressive rock, progressive blues, blues music which then morphed and transformed into what we now call heavy metal.” Jez Collins (BMA)
(Entrance of The Crown-Station Street Birmingham)
“Here at Henry’s Blueshouse, many of the leading bands of progressive rock, progressive blues and blues (Electric Light Orchestra, half of Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac etc.) would come together, test their music, share and exchange ideas. All these bands, Sabbath, half of Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, they would play gigs all over the country and then drive back to Birmingham, would meet here in this tiny parking lot where we parked our car which used to be a pie stand, and share their music and experience. It was a massive hub of progressive rock, progressive blues, blues music which then morphed and transformed into what we now call heavy metal. Later on, in the 70s, when punk came, it has become a punk music venue and it was a home of the punks in Birmingham: so you’d have all the punks hanging out there, there’s load of graffiti, all scribbled on the walls from 1977 and 1978. That’s why these properties, they should be preserved.
(Punks in front of The Crown – 1979 cr: Wayne Large)
(Birmingham punks – 1979 cr: Wayne Large)
John Taylor from Duran Duran also started performing at this club in 1978 with his band DaDa (British New Wave) and he had a residency here, a bit like Sabbath back in the 60s and 70s. John talks about how important it was to stand up in front of people, play music, see the reaction of the audience, go away, rehearse, rewrite and then come back. According to John, without the residency in Henry’s Blueshouse, he wouldn’t be in Duran Duran, a global band..
(John Taylor with his band DaDa in 1978)
(John Taylor is the legendary bass guitarist of Duran Duran)
“I have been campaigning for the last 15 years to preserve The Crown building and to make possible its reopening.” Jez Collins (BMA)
“You see, this was the home of all these important bands and artists. I have been campaigning for the last 15 years to preserve the building and to make possible its reopening. This place needs to become a tourist attraction just like Liverpool. So we are now in the process of trying to get to the landlord who is in Japan, to convince him to work with us or either to sell it to us. He owns the building for 14 years now and you can see that trees and plants are growing out of it because of neglect. Water’s getting into the building, plaster is falling off.
(Cheerful and charming, The Crown building awaits being renovated and restored to its stature as a cultural and economic gem.)
My real worry is that the building will deteriorate to a point where actually there would be anything to do but pull it down. And it would be a deliberate act of vandalism. That is why we are working hand in hand with different institutions and organizations to prevent this. This place is a musical, cultural and economic asset. We should be sitting in that bar now, having a drink talking about this, go upstairs, watch holograms or concert footage of Ozzy, Bill, Tony and Geezer. That’s what we want to do, and that is what should happen here. The Crown should be renovated and restored to its stature as a cultural and economic gem.”
Güzin Paksoylu
NEXT: THE BIRTH OF HEAVY METAL, BLACK SABBATH
(Jez Collins & Güzin Paksoylu in front of The Crown building – Birmingham 2024)
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