The current members of Black Sabbath spoke with Rollingstone.com at length about their farewell tour, which kicks off today, January 20th. The band also addressed their legacy, the absence of drummer Bill Ward and the possibility of more music, among other things in the chat. Some highlights include:
On the excess of their early days compared to now:
Ozzy Osbourne: “When we first came to the States and we stayed at the Hyatt House in Los Angeles, I thought, ‘Fucking hell, we’re in California. The people were cool, the weather was great, we were swimming in an outdoor pool at midnight, we had drugs, alcohol, women and fucking parties. It was a great way to spend your young years.”
Geezer Butler: “Now we have private planes, the best suites in the best hotels, but the downside is there’s no drugs and no women. You come offstage and have a cup of tea and go to bed.”
Ozzy Osbourne: “I was the fucking rebel for so many years. Now I can’t understand why I was going out, getting full of Jack Daniel’s, having a bag of white powder and talking shit ’til daybreak, thinking that was fun. I would poke my fucking eyes out if I had to do that now.”
On Bill Ward:
Geezer Butler: “We still get on great. We still can talk to each other. It’s just that I have no idea what went on in the background. Ozzy says he wasn’t fit or he was too fat, and Bill says he wasn’t offered a contract. I stayed out of it. I don’t know who to believe and I don’t really delve into it.”
On playing shows while aging:
Ozzy Osbourne: “We’re not killing ourselves. It doesn’t get any easier physically. I don’t know how the fucking Stones do it. … I don’t want to kill myself on the farewell tour. I want to enjoy it. If my energy goes, I’m fucked.”
On the possibility of a new album:
Geezer Butler: “…At the time, we were given six months to write and record an album and I said, ‘There’s absolutely no way we can do it in six months.’ Then they came up with, ‘Well, you can do a blues album,’ you know, just eight 12-bar blues songs and that’s it. It’s like, ‘No. This is Black Sabbath. It’s not the Earth blues band anymore.’ It was ridiculous.”
Ozzy Osbourne: “Time ain’t on our side. By the time we’d have written and recorded another album, it would have been another three years. … I’m not saying I’ll never record with Tony or Geezer again, but I don’t think I want to go touring again with Black Sabbath after this.”
Geezer Butler: “There’s nothing stopping us from doing another album after the tour. We just couldn’t possibly spend three years in the studio and then do a final tour. We’ll probably all be dead by then.”
The band have a few deep cuts planned for the tour, including “Hand Of Doom” and “After Forever“. For a lot more on their plans, check out the feature at Rollingstone.com. Coinciding with the tour, the band will also be releasing a CD of b-sides from their “13” album along with various live tracks. That effort will be available at each stop of the trek, get more details on it here.
