Geezer Butler
On 17/07/1949: Geezer Butler was born. His birth name was Terence Michael Joseph Butler. The nickname Geezer came during his school years, where he used to call everyone Geezer. As a teenager, he became heavily influenced by the writings of Aleister Crowley.In 1967 he formed his first band Rare Breed. Shortly after it was formed John "Ozzy" Osbourne joined as a vocalist. Inspired by John Lennon, Butler played rhythm guitar.
Tony Iommi and Butler would meet each other whilst playing in their respective bands at a nightclub. Iommi had seen Butler before when Butler dated a girl who lived near him and would walk past his house.
After a period where Osbourne and Butler were separated, they both joined Iommi and drummer Bill Ward to form the blues band Polka Tulk. Iommi did not want to play with another guitarist so Butler moved to bass. He would use Jack Bruce as his inspiration for his bass playing. The band was renamed Earth. Soon they discovered that they were being mistaken for another band called Earth. Butler noted that people were queuing for a horror film called Black Sabbath near their rehearsal studio. He cowrote with Osbourne the lyrics to a song called "Black Sabbath" which was partially inspired by a vision Butler had of a silhouetted figure near his bed. Inspired by the song and the darker style the band changed their name to Black Sabbath.
In the early days of Black Sabbath he was studying as an accountant and would take control of the band's finances.
Black Sabbath would go on to great success and would become highly influential in the metal and hard rock genres, releasing several albums.
During the recording of the 1980 album "Heaven and Hell" Butler briefly left the band to deal with personal problems.
In 1984 he would leave again after touring to support the album "Born Again".
In 1988 he joined Osbourne, who had left Black Sabbath, to take part in Osbourne's No Rest for the Wicked World Tour.
In 1991 he rejoined Black Sabbath, but left after Cross Purposes tour in 1994.
In 1995 he joined Osbourne again for his album "Ozzmosis". He then formed his own band, later in the year, called G/Z/R. They would release their first album "Plastic Planet" that year.
In 1997 G/Z/R released their second album "Black Science". Butler would rejoin Black Sabbath the same year and has remained a member of the band since.
In 2005 he released his third solo album with G/Z/R named "Ohmwork".
In 2006 he joined Iommi to form the band Heaven and Hell, which featured a previous Black Sabbath lineup including Vinny Appice and Ronnie James Dio. The name Heaven and Hell was used to differentiate it from the current lineup of Black Sabbath.
Butler is regarded as one of the most influential bassists in heavy metal.