Black Sabbath FINALLY get their 'Hammer Of The Gods'!! Unfortunately, this book has only been published in England. Fortunately, the Internet means you don't have to travel to Albion to Ye Olde Book Shoppe to get a copy. I'm sure most folks imagine that Ye Olde Book Shoppes in Britain only stock Harry Potter and Charles Dickens titles... until now. I can't believe this book hasn't created Potter-like mania with bookstores staying open past closing to accomodate the long lines of readers (many in Sabbath costumes) waiting to buy their copies!
The authors were members of Sabbath's road crew / inner circle in the 70's. Thinking back, in my 25 years of Sabbath fandom I haven't read very many war stories about them on tour... until now. Also, out of the 32-pages of photos from the authors' collections I can safely say I haven't seen ANY of the pics before.. Including 1968 pics of the band Mythology featuring Bill Ward and Tony Iommi (pre-Earth for you Sabbath Geeks..).
There's still 4 months to wait until the next Harry Potter book is published.. Umlaut can think of no better way to pass that time (and keep your reading skills sharp) then reading about England's original "wizards"..!
Today I almost got into an argument with a co-worker who didn't agree with me that Black Sabbath deserved to be in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Even my point that BILLY JOEL has been inducted over Sabbath did not convince him that the HOF has no credibility. I asked him to name one band that was inspired / influenced by Billy Joel. He couldn't and started to get condescending with me (he's "older" than me and tends to belittle most music recorded after 1981) so I politely walked away.
Yes, it bums me out how mainstream Ozzy has become in recent years.. but I'd rather have the airwaves and newstands saturated with him than fucking Billy Joel.
"Misty morning, clouds in the sky.. Without warning, a wizard walks by..."
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ADDENDUM:
From: SLACKHADDOCK@aol.com
Date: May 8, 2005 5:56 AM
Subject: BOOK: How Black Was Our Sabbath; An unauthorised view from the crew.
To: umlaut
Hi Umlaut,
I have just been reading your blog regarding our book. Many thanks for your kind words, and support. We take great comfort from articles such as yours.
Very best regards,
David Tangye. (Co-author HBWOS)
www.blacksabbath.co.uk
