Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler says The Beatles “were a massive influence”.
The 74-year-old bassist and primary lyricist of the iconic heavy metal group – which formed in 1968 – has hailed the legendary Liverpool group for inspiring a “whole explosion of British pop music” in the Swinging Sixties and beyond.
He told Michigan radio station WRKR: “They were a massive influence, because there was nobody else like them at the time.
“And up until then, it was, like, my brothers were into like Elvis [Presley] and Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, that kind of thing. And there was no real English [rock bands].
“All the English rock and rollers were trying to sound American and copy of an American [band], and they never succeeded. And then when the Beatles came along, they had a completely original sound.”
Geezer added: “And they were all literally from Liverpool, which is 90 miles from where we were born. And it just gave us some hope that British musicians could actually become successful.
“And as soon as the Beatles were successful, then you had The Rolling Stones and The Kinks and The Who, Herman’s Hermits, a whole explosion of British pop music.”
In fact, it was the ‘Let it Be’ hitmakers that inspired frontman Ozzy Osbourne, 75, to become a musician.
He previously recalled: “I come from the backstreets of Aston in Birmingham, and it wasn’t a very cool place when I was growing up. I used to sit on my doorstep and think: ‘How the hell am I going to get out of here?’”
The ‘Paranoid’ hitmaker continued: “I knew I was going to be a rock star the rest of my life.
“My son [Jack, 38] always says to me: ‘What was it like when The Beatles happened?’ All I can really say to him is, ‘Imagine going to bed in one world, and then waking up in another that’s so different and exciting that it makes you feel glad to be alive.’”
He gushed: “The Beatles are my favourites, you know. When I met Paul McCartney, it was the highlight of my life. I was so surprised at how nice he was. And I also met Ringo Starr … What a great bloke. The thing about The Beatles was they always had the best melodies. All I’ve tried to do in my career is put a melody to a dark riff.”