How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorized View from the Crew [Paperback]

David Tangye (Author), Graham Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

During the seventies, David Tangye and Graham Wright were part of the Black Sabbath crew—and they have the stories to prove it. As the group grew in fame and notoriety, incidents of bad behavior mounted alarmingly. Whether it's Geezer's lyrical journeys into the underworld or the gun-obsessed Ozzy Osbourne at home in Atrocity Cottage, this is Sabbath as you've never known them before. A real-life Spinal Tap, this is a warm, funny tribute to four mates from Birmingham who became the biggest heavy rock band in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

During the seventies, David Tangye and Graham Wright were part of the Black Sabbath crew—and they have the stories to prove it. As the group grew in fame and notoriety, touring Europe and America, incidents of bad behavior mounted alarmingly. Whether it's Geezer's lyrical journeys into the underworld or the gun-obsessed Ozzy Osbourne at home in Atrocity Cottage, this is Sabbath as you've never known them before. A real-life Spinal Tap, this is a warm, funny tribute to four mates from Birmingham who became the biggest heavy rock band in the world. Graham Wright was assistant to drummer Bill Ward. David Tangye was Ozzy Osbourne's assistant during his Black Sabbath days as well as during his solo career.

About the Author

Dave Tangye was Ozzy's assistant throughout the seventies, and Graham Wright was assistant to drummer Bill Ward.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330411942
• ISBN-13: 978-0330411943
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book on the early Ozzy Sabbath years (and more), November 29, 2004

By 

Joseph M. Siegler (Garland, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorized View from the Crew (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely wonderful book written by David Tangye & Graham Wright. There's been plenty of books on Black Sabbath before. Some good. Some not so good. This one falls in the category of being EXTREMELY GOOD. The difference between this book and the others on the Ozzy history of the band is the fact that this one was written by folks who were there. A lot of these things are written by people who retell stories, regurgitating things that are already out there. Not this one. David was Ozzy's personal assistant, and Graham was Bill Ward's assistant. So these stories are told from folks who lived them. There are some other stories by other folks who were involved with Sabbath directly as well.

This book goes into some areas of the band's history that have never been talked much about before. Specifically the days when they were known as Polka Tulk, as well as Earth. There's tons of stories about life on the road, the legendary "Satanist attacks Tony Iommi on stage with a knife" story, to one their hotel room doors being painted with a bloody red Cross, to the story about the band blowing out the candles of a group of Satanists in the hallway by singing "Happy Birthday" to 'em. There's other things, like Ozzy's first wife Thelma, and the kids Oz had with her. That's something that's almost never talked about. Graham tells stories about Bill's drive over the Australian Outback in 1974 for about 500 miles to avoid flying. And a few about how some vehicles ended up in swimming pools.

What's best about this book to me is that it's an easy free flowing style. I've read many books, and some are hard reads, but this was one that I could quite easily have read in one sitting, had I had that much time available when I read it. David & Graham are to be applauded for their work on the book, both in content and in style.

The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it's not the easiest book to get in the US. There's no direct US publisher that I'm aware of, and as such, it can be a bit expensive to get it here in the States. In fact, if you're in the US, it might be cheaper to buy it from the Amazon UK site. That issue aside, I feel it's well worth it due to the quality of the stories and the writing in the book. You can't go wrong reading this if you're a fan of Black Sabbath.

Joe Siegler
www.black-sabbath.com

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorized View From The Cre, September 14, 2004

By 

SLEEPING VILLAGE (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorized View from the Crew (Hardcover)

This is quite a fascinating book about Black Sabbath written from the insider view of two roadies.
Actually these two authors were more then just roadies for Black Sabbath, which is one reason
they are so knowledgeable on the subject.
This book is well written, enjoyable to read and I have to say I didn't find any mistakes.
The book covers Black Sabbath from the pre Sabbath days to shortly after Ozzy's leaving.
A much clearer picture of Black Sabbath is shown through this book, then most previous efforts.
This book also includes an additional 28 pages of photographs not counted throughout the book.

I generally say get every book about Sabbath you can but this one is at the top of the list.

If you are a fan of Black Sabbath or if you just like a good read then you must get this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Excellent Was This Book, May 16, 2004

By 

"sabbathology" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorized View from the Crew (Hardcover)

Fantastic view of the band as real people from the very beginnings before even the Polka Tulk Blues Band until the fateful year Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath went their separate ways. Anecdotes abound! Some hilarious and some just plain strange. Another positive thing is the roadies that wrote it were straight forward and upfront about their role. They didn't try to overgrandize or endulge their egos at all. The facts are written as they are. And done quite nicely. A real blast from the past.

This book will give you a new appreciation for up and coming musicians to with the touring/recording stories from Earth/Black Sabbath's earliest days.
No matter how die hard you are there are things in this extremely well-written book you do not know.
5 stars only because there aren't 10.