Sabbath… setting the record straight

NEXT week sees the start of the 41^st Birmingham Jazz and Blues festival.

Running from Friday, July 18 until Sunday, July 27, the festival programme is packed with some of the best jazz, blues, swing, big band, Dixieland, bebop, rhythm & blues, New Orleans, jug and boogie on today’s music scene.

The festival is the brainchild of legendary Birmingham musician and entrepreneur Jim Simpson, who has played a major part in the story of Midlands music-making over more than six decades.

A talented photographer, he was not only instrumental in bringing American blues legends such as Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, Champion Jack Dupree and Lightnin’ Slim to Birmingham in the early 1960s, but also captured their images on film, the photographs now forming a valuable record of the times.

Jim subsequently founded Big Bear Records, said to be Britain’s longest-running independent record company.

By anyone’s standards, these are achievements on which anyone might be content to rest their laurels. But there’s more… and a lot, lot more.

For Jim discovered heavy metal legends Black Sabbath – then known as Earth – when they were a blues band playing in the top room of a Birmingham pub. He immediately saw their potential and became their first manager.

As thousands of fans will know only too well, the iconic band played their farewell gig in their home city of Birmingham at the weekend.

But now, I need Jim to take over the narrative, as he wants to make a few things clear in the wake of the imminent release of the album Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes which he says has caused quite a stir and not a little controversy in recent times.

And he reckons there’s also been a fair bit of misunderstanding going on.

So here he is folks, aiming to set the record straight - and I’ve deliberately let his narrative run. Over to Jim Simpson…

“We would like to make it clear that this is not a recording by Black Sabbath, and Big Bear Records has never suggested that it is.

“These studio sessions were recorded by Big Bear at Zella Studio in Birmingham in January and March 1969 and featured Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

“The band was Earth, the Birmingham-based blues band who were just beginning to develop a style that was eventually to become heavy metal.

“These recordings are particularly interesting, capturing, as they do, the development of this band as they progressed from playing the blues to the very brink of super-stardom.

“The first three tracks are straight from their time as a blues band, followed by two versions of Song For Jim, one with Iommi on guitar, the other with him playing flute in a brief excursion into jazz.

“What follows, is a steady but inexorable journey that takes us to the very threshold of metal. The release of this album, on CD and on vinyl, has nothing whatever to do with the recent Back To The Beginning concert as has been suggested and discussed.

“In fact, the remastering of those original tapes took place during September 2024, more than four months before the Villa Park event was even announced.

“Furthermore, we want to make it absolutely clear that Big Bear Records and Jim Simpson is not, and has not, been endorsed by or associated with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, Bill or with Black Sabbath in any way at all since mid-September 1970.

“In the early 1960s, something remarkable was happening in Birmingham. Home-grown groups began to emerge at a bewildering rate, sustained by what appeared to be a joint resolve by an increasing number of the city’s pubs and clubs to present live music – with many of them featuring nine shows a week – every weekday evening, and lunchtimes and evenings at weekends.

“The movement spread throughout the Black Country, that’s the neighbouring areas of Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

“It wasn’t long before the movement had its own publication, the monthly, distributed region-wide, appropriately named Midland Beat, which became essential reading for the burgeoning army of fans that quickly emerged to follow their local bands.

“Midland Beat was an informative, detailed and professionally written publication, owned and edited by local journalist Dennis Detheridge, and played a significant part in promoting, developing and sustaining this grass roots movement.

“At one point, Midland Beat decided to compile a register of the region’s Beat Groups, as they were then known. To qualify for inclusion, a group had to own a PA and its own band van. The subsequent edition listed almost nine hundred local bands.

“As the audiences grew, it became commonplace for venues to charge an admission price, with some bands attracting audiences of significant numbers, so much so that clubs and ballrooms decided to come on board and join the party.

“The Cedar Club, owned and operated by Eddie Fewtrell, was a clubland pioneer, with live music the main feature every night of the week. It wasn’t long before Eddie, flushed with the success he had built on presenting live music, began opening a series of other clubs, many supposedly named after his daughters - Rebecca’s, Barbarella’s, Abigail’s, as well as Paramount, Goldwyn’s, Boogies, Edward’s No7 and Edward’s No8. Which justified his name as Birmingham’s King of Clubs.

"An Irish husband and wife, Joe and Mary Regan, affectionately to become known to hundreds of musicians as Ma and Pa, had taken over a former cinema, converted it into a snooker hall and then, when the Beat Boom hit, turned it into The Ritz in Kings Heath.

“They swiftly followed up by acquiring, converting and then opening three more large capacity venues, The Plaza in Handsworth, The Plaza in Old Hill and The Brum Kavern.

“Billing their enterprise as Regan’s Dances: The Best in Beat in the Midlands, they booked the leading Brum bands into what became known as The Regan Circuit and billed them alongside such attractions as The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield, The Kinks, The Who, The Animals and The Beatles, giving these bands their first appearances in Birmingham.

“When The Beatles first played in Birmingham, there was nowhere for them to stay, so Ma and Pa put them up in their Edgbaston home with Ma cooking chicken and chips for them in the early hours.

“It wasn’t long before the London-based record companies, having scraped the bottom of Liverpool’s barrel and failed to find another Beatles, turned their attention to Birmingham. During 1964, not one – but three – major labels each released an album featuring Birmingham bands, each album unimaginatively titled Brum Beat.

“The Columbia Records release came first, produced by the well-respected Norrie Paramor. This was swiftly followed up with the Decca Records release and then the contribution of Dial Records that featured 14 bands, each contributing just one track.

“Meanwhile, leading bands such as Denny Laine & The Diplomats, Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders, Carl Wayne & The Vikings and more were making plans, often in the early hours at venues such as The Elbow Room, to form what were veritable supergroups.

“The year of 1964 was when Birmingham bands began to enjoy national success. The Applejacks from Solihull, neatly named after singer Al Jackson, were the first to chart nationally in February of that year with the single Tell Me When.

“ It was also the year that Denny Laine quit his band, The Diplomats, to team with individual members of El Riot and the Rebels, Danny King and the Dukes and Gerry Levene and the Avengers to form the first of Birmingham’s supergroups.

“Initially they were named The M&B Five, in anticipation of sponsorship by local brewery Mitchell and Butlers. The sponsorship failed to materialise and there they were – left with band uniforms, bass drum et al carrying the M&B logo.

“What could they do but come up with the name The Moody Blues? Their cover of the Bessie Banks single Go Now made it to number one, and The Moody Blues were eventually to sell more than 70 million albums worldwide – including 18 platinum and gold LPs – a band that significantly contributed to Birmingham’s justifiable claim to be The UK Capital of Rock and Roll.

“Then the floodgates opened with a seemingly never-ending stream of Brum bands on the charts – The Move, Rockin’ Berries, Roy Wood’s Wizzard, The Spencer Davis Group, Steve Gibbons Band, ELO, The Fortunes, Locomotive, Slade and so many more.

“Groups that have now passed into the history of Birmingham’s glory days would have to include The Rockin’ Berries, who in 1963 were the first Brum group to record and in 1964 had a hit with He’s in Town. Keith Powell and the Valets made it onto radio and television shows such as Thank Your Lucky Stars and even got to open for The Rolling Stones. They signed to Columbia Records, but never quite managed to land that elusive hit single.

“Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders were a major attraction around Birmingham’s pubs and ballrooms but are particularly remembered for having future superstars Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood in their line-up.

“Jeff, of course, went on to enjoy world-wide success with The Electric Light Orchestra and was also responsible, many years later, for forming maybe the most all-star of all-star bands, The Travelling Wilburys, which included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and George Harrison along with Jeff.

“Roy Wood became co-founder of The Move and The Electric Light Orchestra before forming the multi-hit-making Wizzard.

“The Move were yet another supergroup with members pulled together from a variety of fairly successful bands. Formed in December 1965 by Trevor Burton, Ace Kefford and Roy Wood who recruited Carl Wayne and Bev Bevan, they were picked up by the London management of Tony Secunda who immediately got them a weekly residency at The Marquee where they appeared dressed as gangsters.

“Still in 1964, R&B band The Spencer Davis Group, who had been formed the previous year when the star of the band, Steve Winwood, was only 15 years old, had their first single release, their cover of the John Lee Hooker recording Dimples.

“It sold well enough, failed to chart, but opened the door for a run of five hit singles in less than three years at which point Steve Winwood left to form Traffic, still only 19 years old.

“A band that occupied a unique position in Birmingham bands was Locomotive which gained a reputation as a sort of kindergarten band for the huge number of sidesmen over the years who went on to join name bands.

“Locomotive had its own share of success, starting off as a Kansas City-style blues band, stumbling across the joys of Jamaican Rock Steady, signing for Parlophone and making it to Number 25 with their 45 rpm Rudi’s in Love.

“Pete York had left to join the Spencer Davis Group. Chris Wood became a founding member of Traffic, fellow-saxophonist Mike Burney became a stalwart of Wizzard.

“Four successive drummers went on to greater fame, John Bonham with Led Zeppelin, Poli Palmer with Family, Mike Kellie with Spooky Tooth and Bob Lamb who went on to produce the first UB40 albums and to become part of the Brummie hitmaking band of Steve Gibbons.

“Other Locomotive sidemen who made their names in rather different spheres of music included trombonist Duncan Swift who became Kenny Ball’s pianist and later an acclaimed master of Harlem stride piano, Graham Gallery who featured in the band of Engelbert Humperdinck, and Roger Hill, later of Fairport Convention.

“As the decade neared its end, Henry’s Blueshouse opened its doors to showcase, initially, the talents of emerging Brum band Bakerloo. The club was destined to play a key part in the story of Earth.

“Henry’s was based in the upstairs room of the Crown pub on Station Street, a room which had seen better days, but was blessed with a capacity of 180.

“Bakerloo (formerly Bakerloo Blues Line) were an instant success at Henry’s, although they didn’t quite make it in terms of national charts, despite a contract with EMI Harvest. Bakerloo ultimately split up when guitarist Clem Clempson was head-hunted by Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum, later featured with Humble Pie and has guested with the likes of Jack Bruce, Billy Cobham and Bob Dylan.

“Drummer John Hinch became a founder-member of Judas Priest and bass guitarist Terry Poole went on to a successful career with Graham Bond, Vinegar Joe and more.

“Meanwhile Henry’s went from strength to strength, featuring U S bluesmen such as Arthur Big Boy Crudup, Champion Jack Dupree, J.B. Hutto and more as well as presenting emerging ‘progressive’ bands such as Status Quo, Rory Gallagher, Ten Years After, Chicken Shack, Judas Priest, Jethro Tull, Thin Lizzy et al – and gaining the accolade from Melody Maker of being the first and best progressive music venue outside London.

“Membership of Henry’s Blueshouse was one shilling (five pence) a year and on the opening night two local youngsters joined, one a singer, the other a guitarist, mentioning that they were in a blues band, recently re-named Earth. An intermission spot was fixed, the band members foregoing the normal fee of £5 for a Henry’s t-shirt each.

“Earth’s debut at Henry’s, supporting Ten Years After, made an instant impact. They were immediately rebooked and soon promoted to the headline spot, quickly becoming Henry’s leading attraction.

“At that time, I was managing Locomotive, Bakerloo and Tea & Symphony, and when the guys in Earth asked if I would become their manager, I agreed with alacrity.

“Thanks to the UK and European contacts I had already built up, I was able to immediately put them on the road through UK and Europe playing, not just clubs, but also radio and TV in Europe.

“These recordings clearly demonstrate what excellent musicians these four young men were and what fine music they produced right from the very beginning of their career.

“We recorded these tracks at Zella Studio in Birmingham during 1968, but held back from releasing them as their style was evolving so quickly, heading towards what ultimately they became known for. Any release during that period would have quickly become unrepresentative of what they were then currently producing.

“Now, some 57 years later they now assume a greater importance, illustrating how these four young men from Birmingham, barely out of their teens, were excellent musicians and a fine band, and fully deserving of all the success that was to come their way.

“These recordings trace the development of Earth, from their days as a blues band through an experimental period to the very threshold of the music that propelled these four young men into the spotlight and defined Heavy Metal.” Jim Simpson