How Black was our Sabbath by David Tangye and Graham Wright (Pan Books)
From Aural Innovations #31 (June 2005)
This is a fairly short paperback book that I picked up for cheap in Oxford, England. It is written by former roadies who worked for Black Sabbath from 1969 until 1980 (they split when Dio came into the band and Bill Ward left). You really get an insight into what it was like to be a roadie in a major band like Black Sabbath, who were huge in the 70's. Black Sabbath were actually quite normal folk, except Ozzy, who was always a little bit crazy. You hear a lot about the band members trying to balance this normal family life with wives and kids (Ozzy's wife before Sharon was Thelma and they had two kids and were married for like 10 years) while working as a touring band. Some stories about cocaine and pot but not much really. You really get into the working life of these roadies. They had a lot of fun but it was also hard work. A fun book to read.
Reviewed by Scott Heller