Black Sabbath bassist, Geezer Butler, reflected on a challenging period in the band’s history marked by constant lineup changes, leaving Tony Iommi as the sole original member.
In a recent interview on The Rock Experience with Mike Brunn, Geezer Butler discussed these frequent lineup changes, often admitting his limited involvement. When asked if these shifts and the peculiar period enhanced or harmed the band’s reputation, Geezer asserted that it had a negative impact. He explained:
“For me, it hurt the band because they were playing really small venues, and they weren’t selling many albums or anything.”
To illustrate his perspective further, Geezer offered an analogy:
“I always thought, well, you wouldn’t get Mick Jagger performing as The Rolling Stones, and you wouldn’t get Jimmy Page going out as Led Zeppelin. So I always thought of it like that. But Tony wanted to do it, so good luck to him.”
During this era of lineup uncertainty, Black Sabbath faced challenges that affected their commercial success and reputation, but Tony Iommi’s determination to continue kept the band moving forward.