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Knives Out: When Ozzy (maybe) stopped Geezer Butler from stabbing Malcolm Young of AC/DC in 1977


Black Sabbath in 1977.
 
Kind of like when Van Halen toured with Black Sabbath, when AC/DC teamed up with Sabbath to open shows during the twelve-date European leg of their Technical Ecstasy Tour, they were a formidable, almost impossible act to follow. Many accounts would boldly state AC/DC was regularly blowing Black Sabbath off the stage. However, AC/DC also experienced technical difficulties early in the tour. At a show on April of ‘77 in Paris, a bunch of AC/DC’s new gear explicitly purchased for the tour malfunctioned, including equipment exploding on stage mid-set (noted in the book AC/DC: Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be). The band lost it and trashed the stage, stopping the gig twenty-minutes in. This would be the catalyst causing tensions between the bands to rise. On many occasions, AC/DC would leave the stage in such a state of disarray, it would take Sabbath longer to get set up. Needless to say, this didn’t go over well with some of the members of Black Sabbath. Especially Geezer Butler. But not everyone in AC/DC was on Sabbath’s last nerve.

Bon Scott took the tour as an opportunity to rekindle his friendship with Ozzy (also noted in AC/DC: Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be), as the pair shared common interests like checking out local brothels and the love of booze. Bon was often found hanging out in Sabbath’s dressing room, a bold choice given the strained relations between the bands. But it probably had everything to do with Sabbath having better party favors. On April 21st, 1977, everything would come to a head by the time the tour rolled into Lund, Sweden, and depending on who you chose to believe, Ozzy may have prevented Geezer Butler from going stab-happy on Malcolm Young. Let’s start with an account of the incident from the late Malcolm Young given during an interview with the guitarist in 2003:

“We were staying at the same hotel, and Geezer was in the hotel bar crying into his beer. He was complaining about being in the band for ten years and told me, ‘wait ‘til you guys are around ten years. You’ll feel like us.’ I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ I was giving him no sympathy. He’d had many too many (drinks), and he pulled out this silly flick knife. As luck would have it, Ozzy walked in and says to Geezer, ‘You fuckin’ idiot, Butler—GO TO BED!’ Ozzy saved the day, and we sat up all night with him.”

 

An image of AC/DC on stage in Lund, Sweden prior to getting kicked off the tour later that evening. Image source.
 
Usually, Ozzy the Friendly Drunk was the one causing problems by going missing and presumed dead, or getting arrested, but this time we maybe get to thank Ozzy for making sure things didn’t get out of hand between his pal Geezer and Malcolm Young. Geezer Butler has addressed this story many times over the decades. In an interview in 2016 he again gave his side of the mysterious knife-pulling incident with Malcolm Young in Sweden. When the tour arrived in Oslo, Butler made a bee-line to the nearest store to purchase a “flick-knife” (similar to a switchblade), which were banned for sale in England. Here’s Geezer’s account of his run-in with Malcolm Young:

“No, I didn’t pull a knife. I always had flick-knives when I was growing up because everybody used to go around stabbing each other in Aston (Butler’s birthplace in Birmingham, England). Flick-knives were banned in England, but when we were playing Switzerland, I bought one. I was just flicking it when Malcolm Young came up to me and started slagging Sabbath. I was just playing with the knife. I was really excited to get one again. I was having a drink and flicking my knife—like you do—and he came over and said: ‘You must think you’re big, having a flick-knife.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And that was it. Nobody got hurt.”

Hmmm. No Ozzy to the rescue? No flick-knives vs. drunken-fists brawling? In the book AC/DC FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the World’s True Rock ‘n’ Roll Band, it was alleged that Malcolm started throwing punches at Butler. I would not want to cast doubt on Butler’s version of the story. And the fact is, after the stop in Lund, AC/DC exited the tour prior to its conclusion, forcing Sabbath to cancel the last four dates. Still, I can’t help but think of his arrest in Death Valley, California in 2015 for punching a “drunken Nazi bloke” in the mug. Sure, he was drunk just like in 1977, but we all know punching Nazis is a forgivable act of well-deserved violence. It should also be noted the man Geezer attacked has told an entirely different version of the story, but stopped short of denying he was a Nazi. Geezer isn’t allowed to talk about the incident anymore because he had to sign an NDA and pay, in his own words, “the git” off. So what really happened in Lund, Sweden? Most of us probably prefer Malcolm’s “Ozzy saves the day” version, but I’m not as far to say Geezer Butler’s version isn’t the truth. Mostly because it’s pretty clear he does not fuck around when being fucked with.
 

Audio of Black Sabbath performing “Gypsy” from ‘Technical Ecstasy’ in Lund, Sweden, April 21st, 1977.

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Did Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler put a curse on a thief who stole Tony Iommi’s guitar?
David Lee Roth and Ozzy Osbourne’s insane ‘cocaine challenge’ of 1978
‘Anyone here tonight ever had gonorrhea?”: AC/DC’s dirty autobiographical version of ‘The Jack’
Glamtastic footage of AC/DC *before* Bon Scott
Photos of AC/DC live at CBGB’s in 1977

Posted by Cherrybomb
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05.07.2020
11:48 am
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Did Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler put a curse on a thief who stole Tony Iommi’s guitar?
06.14.2019
07:55 am
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Tony Iommi circa 1980 alongside his SG Custom guitar with crosses on the neck made by luthier John Birch.
 
Cocaine was the most popular party favor during the 1980s. In light of this, it’s reasonable to think that cocaine might have helped fuel a strange article edited by a journalist going by the name of Andrew Epstein, published in the December 1980 issue of Record Review magazine. In a feature called “Bits & Pieces,” Epstein relays a story regarding the alleged theft of Tony Iommi’s prized SG Custom guitar with a 24-fret neck with cross inlays made in 1975 by luthier John Birch who has also made instruments for Iommi’s bandmate, Geezer Butler. The guitar is significant for several reasons including the fact it was the primary guitar Iommi used on the albums Technical Ecstasy, Never Say Die, Heaven and Hell, and Mob Rules. Iommi used this SG heavily in live performances during this time period and fans would get to eyeball the machine, synonymous with the guitarist himself. Now that we have established the importance of this mighty axe, let’s get back to the maybe true story of how some lunkhead thought it would be cool to lift Iommi’s iconic guitar from Black Sabbath’s equipment van during, what I can only presume based on the “facts” in Epstein’s piece, the U.S. leg of the Heaven and Hell Tour.

In the article, it’s noted that the guitar was stolen while the band was in Chicago—this would mean (according to Sabbath’s tour schedule for 1980) this was when the band played the International Amphitheater on August 18th. This is also where the article starts to sound like Black Sabbath fanfiction.
 

Iommi and his John Birch 1975 SG Custom.
 
The story goes on to dramatically describe how Iommi mourned for his sweet SG until it was returned to him on a “cold, moonlit night” with a note attached. The note was not-so-shockingly from the “thief” who felt the need to return the guitar to Iommi after his life was turned upside down (and not in a good way) after he had lifted the instrument. The thief describes how his life has become one of “unending misery,” which culminated with a traffic accident which sent him to the hospital. Here are more alleged words from Iommi’s guitar grabber:

“Take it, take this cursed thing from my life so that I may never see it again.”

After reuniting with his SG, Tony’s guitar would be stolen again in Dallas—this would have been at the Convention Center Arena, though a quick review of Sabbath’s tour schedule, it would appear Epstein might have gotten his dates confused as Sabbath stopped in Dallas on July 5th, 1980, and then hit up Chicago on August 18th. The distinct possibility Epstein transposed locations does give this bit of magazine mythology some legs—until we get to the part where it reports that Geezer Butler put a “hex” on the second thief who likely only existed in Andrew Epstein’s imagination. Here’s the “warning” issued by Iommi to the thief:

“I know there are a lot of people who won’t believe this, but I’m very concerned about the person who has stolen the guitar. It’s bad luck for anyone other than me to have that axe, and I don’t want anything terrible to happen.”

Continues after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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06.14.2019
07:55 am
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Remember the Alamo: The lengthy list of crimes committed by the members of Black Sabbath


Black Sabbath clearly thinking about doing all kinds of illegal stuff.
 

“I wonder what jail I’ll wake up in tomorrow?”

—Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne musing about what might happen after one of his routine drug and alcohol induced blackouts back in the day.

If you could only use one word to describe what it’s like to be a part of the world of rock and roll it is this one: dangerous. First of all, the job isn’t really built for longevity, and it’s well known that many notable icons punched out of their mortal time clocks before they reached the age of 28 (aka, the 27 Club). There are the non-stop parties involving two good old heathen vices—sex and drugs, which at some point catches up with you in one way or another. Another job hazard of this (apparently) illustrious gig includes the occasional skirmish—or worse—with law enforcement. Let’s face it. If you’re in a successful touring rock band and you don’t already have a mugshot in your photo album, just wait. It’ll probably happen. And this leads me to the following breakdown highlighting the many crimes committed by the members of the greatest heavy metal band in history, Black Sabbath. And since Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne’s rap sheet is the longest, let’s start with him, shall we?

Though Ozzy’s bad behavior is infamous, he was apparently never arrested while he was with Sabbath, despite the fact that he was prone to relieving himself in places other than a toilet and was stark-raving drunk most days. Prior to joining the band, Ozzy held several strange jobs including working in a factory that produced car horns, a funeral home, and even a slaughterhouse. Since Ozzy and a straight job didn’t really get along, he turned to burglary to make a living. This landed the great and powerful Ozz in Winson Green prison for six weeks for petty theft after his father refused to pay his bail. While behind bars, Ozzy gave himself his famous “OZZY” knuckle tattoo using a sewing needle and graphite polish, as well as getting the two adorable smiley faces that adorn his kneecaps.
 

Ozzy being Ozzy in the 1970s. 
 
While Sabbath’s antics are about as epic as they come, Ozz would completely run amok once he was kicked out of the band in 1979. His arrest record would grow to include public urination and intoxication after he took a piss close enough to the beloved historical landmark the Alamo in 1982 (wearing a dress no less) that he was banned from entering San Antonio for a decade. This was also the same year that Ozzy famously bit the head off of a live bat on stage in Iowa. In 1984 Ozzy was once again arrested for public intoxication and was sent off to the drunk tank after being found completely inebriated traipsing up and down the streets of Memphis’ Beale Street entertainment district. In 1989 he was charged with the attempted murder of his wife Sharon Osbourne whom he tried to strangle with his bare hands while completely blotto on whatever he could snort, pop or swill. Let’s also not forget that before Ozzy’s wife Sharon took over as his manager during his solo career, it was her father Don Arden (known not-so-affectionately as the Al Capone of pop managers), who called the shots. Arden was quite literally one of the most feared members of the music scene in England and once hung rival manager Robert Stigwood (Cream and the Bee Gees) by his feet from his office window over a dispute involving the Small Faces. Damn.

When it comes to Tony Iommi and breaking the law we start back In 1968 when the buzz-killing police raided Iommi’s home in Birmingham and found *gasp* marijuana residue for which the guitarist received the British equivalent of probation for two years. In 1973 he nearly lost his life to an overdose, technically a crime in itself, at a Sabbath show at the Hollywood Bowl. And that was after helping his bandmates snort $75K worth of blow in 1972. In 1983 he blew up a bunch of prized carp belonging to businessman and airline mogul Richard Branson while the band was recording Born Again at Branson’s studio in Oxfordshire. Then he trashed drummer Bill Ward’s car at a go-cart track and let it burn after it caught fire. Iommi has a long history of getting his kicks by blowing stuff up which he thankfully documented in his 2011 book Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath.
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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04.03.2017
09:37 am
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