Founding Black Sabbath manager Jim Simpson was given a hero’s welcome by an ‘Ozzy Osbourne’ tribute star at a gig celebrating the 53rd anniversary release of Paranoid, the band’s first chart-topping album.
The officially-approved tribute band Sabbra Cadabra performed two blistering sets at the event on Sunday 17 September at Velvet Music Rooms.
Frontman Kevin McGillian – aka ‘Ozzy’ – then told the packed audience: “No Jim Simpson, no Black Sabbath.” Watch Graham Young’s video here:
A counsellor by day who becomes Ozzy Osbourne at night, Kevin had travelled down from Manchester along with band mates including graphic designer Neil Priddey, who has legendary guitarist Tony Iommi’s pioneering riffs down to a ‘T’.
Jim helped to oversee the transformation of Earth into Black Sabbath when he began to organise ‘Henry’s Blueshouse’ nights at The Crown pub on Station Street, Birmingham back in 1968.
The release of debut album Black Sabbath in February 1970 followed by their second LP Paranoid some six months later is seen by many to represent the birth of the global heavy metal movement.
Sabbra Cadabra played the whole of the Black Sabbath album in February at Velvet and returned on Sunday, 17 September to put the focus on Paranoid in their first set.
Other classic tracks in the second set included: Children of the Grave, Snowblind, National Acrobat, NIB, Lord of this World, Symptom of the Universe, Dirty Woman, Killing Yourself to Live and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
Jim told Westside World: “Not that many people saw Sabbath playing in clubs the size of Velvet Music Rooms before the band became stars and were later more like specks on a stage in bigger venues.
“Watching Sabbra Cadabra playing here brings it all back – Bill Ward’s drum rhythms [thrillingly recreated by Matt Bates from Newcastle] are a reminder of just what a powerful band they were especially in venues of this size.”
Guitarist Neil Priddey said: “When Tony Iommi and [bass player] Geezer Butler saw us on the day [in June 2019] when they unveiled the Black Sabbath bench on Broad Street, they gave us a very warm welcome and we have never forgotten that. It was really kind of them.
“As I told Tony Iommi at the bridge ceremony, ‘We can’t shut our ‘Ozzy’ up!’. To which Tony replied: ‘It’s alright, we can’t shut ours up either! But at least we can understand yours!’”
As well as reinventing the Henry’s Blueshouse nights at Velvet every Tuesday, Jim’s Big Bear Music company also books other live bands at the venue on Sundays and Fridays.
Jim is also masterminding the 40th anniversary of the Birmingham Jazz Festival for next July – an annual event he founded in the mid 1980s.
Main picture: Sabbra Cadabra’s Kevin McGillian as Ozzy Osbourne with fan.
Pictures and video from Westside World’s reporter and videographer Graham Young.
ENDS
