Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath (Paperback)

~ Garry Sharpe-Young (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For over a full decade Black Sabbath had dominated Heavy Metal. As much as Led Zeppelin scorned the term Black Sabbath embraced it. In an age of bona fide supergroups Sabbath were unquestionably the heaviest thing stalking the planet and quite remarkably had remained a solid unit where others around them suffered ongoing membership fall outs and line-up reincarnations. Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward had weathered internal storms just as ferocious as every other band out on the circuit but had remained resolute. They had conquered the globe, sold close to 50 million albums and without concession had not pulled back one iota from delivering absolute, pure Heavy Metal.

In 1977 the unthinkable happened. Ozzy Osbourne decamped. He would be lured back for one last album 'Never Say Die' before flying solo, rapidly building a band unit that would equal the repute of the mother-ship.

Between 1979 and 1997 Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne were pitched against each other in a titanic struggle unprecedented in Rock n' Roll. Both stars would employ the very finest players of the genre in the conflict and produce some of the finest Heavy Metal of the generation in the process. Tony Iommi, the man who without question invented Heavy Metal, fronted up Sabbath with vocal legends such as Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin against Ozzy's awesome arsenal of guitar innovators Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde.

Both Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne reinvented their bands time and time again. The huge array of elite players that travelled through the ranks is now a constant source of fascination and rumours for Sabbath fanatics.

'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath' reforges the author's two previous landmark tomes 'Ozzy Osbourne: The Story of the Ozzy Osbourne band' & 'Black Sabbath: Never Say Die!' along with additional material into this one definitive Metal milestone. Complete! with over 100 photographs, many never seen before, and unique interviews, including with the late Ray Gillen and Cozy Powell as well as the highly controversial figure of Jeff Fenholt and mysterious Dave Donato, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the definitive account of those years (1979 to 1997) before the reunion.

Exclusive interview content with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Cozy Powell, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholls, Rob Halford, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, Carmine Appice, Tommy Aldridge, Neil Murray, Dave Spitz, Eric Singer, David Donato, Jeff Fenholt, Bobby Rondinelli, Rudy Sarzo, Phil Soussan, Randy Castillo, Bernie Torme, Brad Gillis, Jo Burt, Pete Way, Dana Strum, Terry Chimes, Lita Ford, Steve Vai, Don Airey, Lindsey Bridgewater, Terry Nails and many, many more.

Additional 2nd edition details: 8 page discography appendix detailing 264 career albums and singles from Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Bill Ward, Geezer and Tony Iommi; plus 7 page index with 694 entries. Product Dimensions: 8.25 x 11.0 inches (210 x 279 mm). Weight: approximately 1.7 lbs (0.8 kg).

From the Publisher

The content of this second edition is the same as the first edition except for minor corrections and 10 additional images in the new book. This second edition has less pages than the first edition because the type is set at a smaller 10 point size and a few of the images are smaller too.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Zonda Books Limited; 2nd edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0958268428
• ISBN-13: 978-0958268424
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #420,647 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sabbath Book!, November 10, 2006

By	Geoffrey Chadsey (St-Lambert, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I`ve read some negative reviews online for this book, but that didn`t stop me. I am very happy that I gave it a chance because this is one hell of a book. I have read some reviews that talk about the spelling and grammer problems but all that has been fixed with this second edition. Yes there is the odd spelling error but you can find that in most books. This author has gone to great lengths to provide detailed and accurate accounts of what went down, and most of the story is told through interviews done with actual band members throughout Sabbaths career. There is none of that third and fourth hand accounts of what went on during those times. I was really impressed with the stories of how albums were recorded, road stories, or even how various people got selected to play in Sabbath. I like the fact that the book covers Sabbath after the Ozzy years and also looks at Ozzy`s solo career. It goes album by album, year by year and nothing is left out. There are some real funny stories in the book, that I actually caught myself laughing out loud. I have never seen a book like this with this much info in it on the market. I read things that I had no clue about and it`s nice to have information regarding the "lean" sabbath years. Any Sabbath, or all around music fan would love this book. The price is right so check it out. Reading this book has actually inspired me to check out past Sabbath albums that I never really got around to buying. For instance I never owned the "Dehumanizer" album and after reading that chapter in the book, I ran out and picked it up. What a great album, I cannot believe that came out in 92` and I never owned it. I will also be trying "Headless Cross" and "Tyr". With news that Sabbath will reunite with Dio as "Heaven and Hell", there is no better time to get the book and read about everything that happened to make Sabbath what they are today.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sabbath Bloody Excellent, May 19, 2006

By	Richard Galbraith (Enid, OKlahoma USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath (Paperback)

I think I've started a review about 10 times now, I'm not a writer but trying to find the right words to tell you about this book. I assume that you must be a Black Sabbath or Ozzy fan if you are here reading this. I read through the editorial review several times and some of the past reviews on Garry Sharpe Young's previous books on Black Sabbath & Ozzy and feel those for the most part describe the book very well. So what can I really add..........

I found the book excellent in its detail given from all the band member's interviewed, clearing up all the holes and rumors floating around over the years. I've not read any of the other books out there on Black Sabbath or Ozzy so I can't really give you a comparison and perhaps none is really needed. The book should be in any Sabbath or Ozzy fans collection due to the array of pictures within, some never before seen concert shots as well as promotional pictures and offstage shots. Loaded with interviews from the array of band members that took part in this battle, reading what really went on in their own words. Garry has done a great job in getting interviews and getting all the different members to give their side of the story, again clearing up much of the void and silence on some subjects. Recent interviews, so this is going to be the most updated information out there........... So if you ever wondered about what really went on over the years I would highly recommend getting the book. It's a big read so get out the old LP's and Cd's and get started.
*Since this review was written a 2nd edition of the book has since come out. Over all it is the same except a slight change in print style allowing for a more compact book, yet also allowing for a few more pictures to be added. As the title states "The Battle for Black Sabbath" was written to cover the years after Ozzy left the band and everything that went on behind the scenes. Even though there is suppose to be freedom of speech it is my understanding that at times some of the interviews had to be withheld or not used. I feel that the author wrote from a neutral perspective, giving everyone a chance to tell their part of a story........so once again dust off those LP's, Cd's, crank them up and forget about that boring day job and relive a part of Rock history through the words of Garry Sharpe Young as told by the players that were Black Sabbath.......

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most insightful Sabbath book!, July 31, 2006

By	Dave Haines - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath (Paperback)

I haven't found myself compelled to write a book review for Amazon before but after reading J. Fincher's review of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath, (displayed below) I can see it's worth giving my two cents to defend a book that really impressed me. I must say I'm a little confused that this person can give the book a 3 out of 5 without even reading past the first several pages - actually that's quite an impressive grade to give a book without having really read it huh?

I've been a fan of Black Sabbath for many years and it's great to see that even after all this time, the author Garry Sharp-Young can still bring forth new and interesting facts about the band. I never realised just how much was going on between Ozzy's departure from Black Sabbath in 79' and the mark-1 reunions of 1997! Isn't it crazy that the band actually saw an increase in new album sales AFTER they fired Ozzy in 79' and replaced him with Ronnie James Dio!

Take the time to read this 5-star quality book by an author who has obviously been immersed in the Rock / Metal scene for a very long time.