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Now what?! wins Comeback of the Year

Deep Purple have won in the Comeback of the Year category at the Golden Gods 2014, an awards show organized by the Revolver magazine. The awards are based on the results of online fan voting, and the comeback in question apparently refers to the excellent last year album Now what?! The band came on top of stiff competition in the face of Black Sabbath (they’ve won Album of the Year instead), Carcass, Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, and Suicidal Tendencies.

The awards were presented on April 24 at the Nokia Club in Los Angeles. The band did not attend, opting for a prerecorded video appearance to a largely indifferent crowd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA3ZlEyvYxg

Thanks to Andrey Barabanshchikov for the info.



54 Comments to “Now what?! wins Comeback of the Year”:

  1. 1
    paul anderson says:

    I didnt think they had been away!! What constitutes as a come back? Although it has been a gap between recrodings (cds), they havent been idle. They have constantly toured. But some recognition at least.

  2. 2
    Kim Peters says:

    Bravo DeePurple.

  3. 3
    David Guenther says:

    What about the hof they should have been inducted 20 years ago

  4. 4
    Nick says:

    Indifferent is an understatement describing that lame crowd. This is an example of why Deep Purple is indifferent to awards.

  5. 5
    The Highway Star says:

    The HoF deserves no mention here. This is a fanbased award.

  6. 6
    Κωστας Κοτσωνης says:

    Fuck Hof…

  7. 7
    Jack says:

    Yeah!! Rightly deserved this award, given by a real rock magazine, not the fucking crap of rolling stone!! Congratulations boys!! Now What?! is a superb album!! And by the way…much, much better than Sabbath’s!! You Rock dudes!! Purple forever!! P.S. Tour Mexico!!

  8. 8
    Boswell's Johnson says:

    The awards are ludicrous, and Scott Ian has always been a putz. I mean, really. And what’s with the beard? (I guess to distract from from the rest of his face).

    When I think of the Golden Gods, I think of:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw8sNoodIDk

  9. 9
    Mark Bryant says:

    Purpendicular started this era of Deep Purple — A GREAT album on its own merit. Now What!? is just as GREAT if not a little bit better. Man, this is a GREAT band. Always has been and always will be.

  10. 10
    Ole Martin Glørstad Meisdal says:

    But, comeback? Whatever

  11. 11
    Scoot says:

    They have never been away, but it’s nice to be recognized…

  12. 12
    Mike Quinlan says:

    That little Anthrax gnome was a little less than respectful of his betters. Even if this award is ridiculous for the most hard working, long lasting group in rock.
    He continued his crap on his Facebook page.Funny how most of his fans focused on the amazon towering over him.
    And screw the hof!

  13. 13
    Tracy(Zero the Hero)Heyder says:

    All I can state here is…… “That’s it in a nutshell as to why Purple is where they are regarding their attitude towards playing the US”. Basically, “What the Hell For?” Either way, glad they Pissed Off those Ass Holes!!!!

    !Ch-BeerZ?

  14. 14
    Alexander Taylor says:

    Great album, band still superb live.

  15. 15
    Marije says:

    Come back??!! Don’t these people even know that the band has not been away, but has been very much alive and touring?! A pretty silly and meaningless award, and I’m sure the band couldn’t care less about it!

  16. 16
    MacGregor says:

    I didn’t think they ever went away, so the ‘comeback of the year’ title is a little misleading! Maybe some people were not aware they still existed, in whatever form! Sabbath should have won it, they should win everything! Cheers.

  17. 17
    Andrew Fenwick says:

    Deep Purple still the best/

  18. 18
    Roberto says:

    They should have not even done a video for this fake occasion. Rubbish exactely like the RNRHOF.

  19. 19
    Buttockss says:

    Glad to see they optid to record instead of going on live. The indifferent crowd would be just a bunch of justin beibers.

  20. 20
    Drdp says:

    Word is that there was an uproar that the honor should have gone to Black Sabbath for “13” !
    THINK NOT!

  21. 21
    Frank Hall says:

    What did they come back from? For true fans they never went away!

  22. 22
    al says:

    what a weird ceremony with some so called musician like Scott Ian.

  23. 23
    Mike Tfirn says:

    Great cd great band screw that little douchebag

  24. 24
    Carl Sampson says:

    fantastic band and made in japan remastered on its way what a week love them 2 bits

  25. 25
    Errol Arias says:

    Good for Deep Purple!

    And BTW, at 45,Paullie Perette still looking Beautiful indeed! 🙂

  26. 26
    Tracy(Zero the Hero)Heyder says:

    After looking at the list of Nominees in all the categories, it’s quite remarkable that Purple was even considered here at all. The majority of candidates were much more aimed towards present day superficial metal. Plus, Sabbath was in on 4 categories. Iommi for Guitarist, Sabbath for both Album of the Year and Comeback, and Geezer Butler for Bassist. As for the Purple entry, I feel it was backwards. Since Purple haven’t been ‘gone’ and Sabbath was, the results should have been Purple getting the Album of the Year due to the notoriety they received from !Now What? and Sabbath receiving the Comeback of the Year Award due to actually reforming and returning. This would actually make a lot more sense. Either way, the crowd and presenters obviously would have maintained their mundane response towards Purple not fitting into the ‘cartoonish’ style of bands in this ceremony. Them being considered at all is astonishing. Receiving ANY award and seeing the reaction from the presenters and crowd…. PRICELESS!!!

    !Ch-BeerZ?

  27. 27
    Scott W. says:

    From my experience growing up in California, in the 70’s if you liked harder more aggressive music you had Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, and UFO along with crap like KISS, etc thrown in. Now days, out of those bands, Sabbath and Zep are still ‘in vogue’ to younger ‘Fans’ and bands like Purple are considered “old’ and boring. I worked with a guy (and know many like him) who HATED Dio and considered his music ‘Gay’ but at the same time, LOVE Black Sabbath with Ozzy! (and of course Dio was in Sabbath too)!
    And what ‘Music’ does he think is ‘cool’ you ask…?.. well, crap like Lamb of god, Slayer etc. Bands that have NO Melody in their ‘songs’! Music by definition, consists of having a ‘Melody”! These band’s Guitarist’s cannot construct or play a meaningful solo, just fast random notes. Full throttle riffing and unintelligible ‘vocals'(?) are the only thing that can arouse any feeling of emotion (hate, satanic power, animosity?). That said, many of the New Metal Bands members (once they start to become somewhat skilled on their chosen instruments) DO acknowledge the groundbreaking Music and technical expertise that Deep Purple and other Hard Rock bands from the 60’s and 70’s produced. Unfortunately many so called Fans just do not want to know now days.

  28. 28
    metaljim says:

    Some of the comments here are a little ridiculous. This was a fan based award, which Purple won fair and square. That means people like all of US, got online and voted for them. It’s an award well earned. As for those saying they didn’t make a comeback, no one said “comeback” meant they’d been away. A comeback can refer to a long time since a new album, which most certainly fits in this case. Add in that Now What?! is their best album since a least Abandon, if not Purpendicular and Purple definitely have made a HUGE comeback. We should be happy that they got some recognition. Those damning Black Sabbath for getting album of the year or upset that some of the audience booed because Sabbath didn’t win Comeback of the Year are missing the point.

    You can’t compare Now What?! to 13 on any scale. The bands are light years apart musically. Sabbath gave the fans the album they wanted and the album they expected, no more, no less. I like the album, because it sounds like classic Sabbath. That’s why it’s so popular, not to mention Ozzy is a household name here in the U.S. Purple have rarely given fans the album they expected. Each one is different than the one before it and has been since the beginning. The only time I’ve seen them do that was with Bananas and Rapture of the Deep. Two very similar albums, but nothing could have prepared me for the shock of Now What?! Superb! Definitely a comeback if there ever was one.

  29. 29
    al says:

    @16 I love Sabbath and the album is ok,but very predictable and nothing special. i will take Now What?! over Sabbath 13 at any time!

  30. 30
    GerAssenNetherlands says:

    Nice thing, but comeback isn’t relevant, they were never gone !!!

  31. 31
    Aussie Paul says:

    Scott Ian=Wanker!!!!!

  32. 32
    MacGregor says:

    Tracy@26, Scott W@27 & metaljim@28- I agree with all your comments. Sabbath or more to the point in some ways Osbourne, have received ‘enough’ publicity over the past 12 months or so! Who would have thought in the year 2014, that these 2 bands would be still be in the ‘popularity’ zone! Cheers.

  33. 33
    MacGregor says:

    I just reluctantly watched the ‘clip’ to see what people were talking about. Pretty much what I would expect from the 2 so called presenters on stage! I thought she was going to say, ‘they don’t call it hard cock for nothing’ for a second! Who is she, a tossed out wanna be porn star? As for Anthrax, I have always despised that Neanderthal rubbish. Sorry, that is an insult to the Neanderthals.
    The beginning of the end, that’s what those low life bands represent, crap music, if you can call it ‘music’ that is, no half decent vocal at all, bottom of the barrel mentality! Talk about de-evolution! Cheers.

  34. 34
    al says:

    @28 we get your point.As for Classic Sabbath,13 has nothing to do with that time.It is a nowadays sounding album,like it should.
    @27 wow man! you wonder about this kids of nowadays,if they hear melodic ,hard rock bands,they call it “gay” …@32 amen to that MgGregor,never got into this bands like Anthrax,slayer and whatever,with exeption of Metallica,early stuff.

  35. 35
    Peter says:

    Sorry guys, but I have to write some “corrections” here….

    Sabbath reunion did NOT happen – why? Because the band did NOT break up! They just stopped touring in 2005 (at that time real original lineup with Bill Ward) after well-known Sharon´s clanger with Iron Maiden on Ozzfest. Tony Iommi had very tart comments regarding this…. but the band never broke up! So no reunion, and in this meaning also no comeback! Its like Rolling Stones would announce reunion before each concert tour they are going to do…. Just imagine RS to announce “reunion” before concert tour and then announce a new drummer instead of Charlie Watts…. 11/11/11 was just charade for press, but sadly it obviously worked.

    I would not compare 13 with Now What?!…. 13 is highly praised, because its first album with Ozzy since 78 and BS now tries to create feeling there was nothing between that and now…. and it´s fake. Its truth that 13 is probably better than previous two albums with Ozzy, but in fact – its mediocre at the very best. It´s even better not to talk about Rubin´s murdering of the album sound again (but I would not be suprised if it would win any award for best produced album of the year in today´s world…). The album is disappointment for me and that positive reaction from majority of people disappoints me even more, because that´s what I say to myself “this is really enough for you to be satisfied?”… IMO – NW?! offers much more, NW?! is miles ahead – because it really offers something NEW, suprising, exciting….. 13 offers just stuff which you could hear on previous BS albums (I call it as Black Sabbath from 2nd hand store), nothing new, nothing outstanding – but maybe that´s reason of his success – and that´s disappointing!

  36. 36
    Thunderhawk says:

    True that most kids these days choose bands as Sabbath, Lamb of God and Slayer just to name few above the Likes of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep (bands that i choose above the likes of Sabbath, Slayer ect.).
    Harder is better comes to mind, and that’s all they want, the harder and agressive the music, the better they like it.
    I myself am 24 now, but i always chose Uriah Heep and Deep Purple aboveSabbath and Zeppelin.
    The music was more melodic and there was a lot more going on.
    Just take the 16 minute long epic “Salisbury” from Uriah Heep, most of the kids nowadays don’t see the beauty in something like this, and only want hard guitars meaningless solo’s and screaming vocals and they’re happy, i myself see this as a limitation within the evolution of music.

  37. 37
    metaljim says:

    I’m 57, so hardly a youngster. I love heavy music and have for decades. The kinds of sweeping generalizations being made here are kind of sad. Joey Belladonna of Anthrax has a fantastic voice and their music, while frequently very heavy, always has a melodic sense to it. There a countless great bands out there playing and recording today. People in their teens all the way to the elder statesmen like the Purps and Sabbath are making great music. You can’t live in the past forever, some of you should check out some newer bands. The Sword, Gypsyhawk, Black Tide, Trivium, Wolfmother, The Datsuns, Rival Sons, Heaven’s Basement, Alter Bridge, Iced Earth, Symphony X, IQ, Satellite, Riverside, Primal Fear, and many, many more.

    Most of the above bands show great respect for the music I grew up on and it’s reflected in their own music. The minute someone includes the statement “kids these days don’t know/make good music” has officially become an old person. Do you remember them? Your parents or aunts and uncles? The ones who called Purple, Sabbath and Zeppelin crap? We didn’t know good music, because it was all made in the 40’s or 50’s.

    Sad, really sad….

  38. 38
    Tommy H says:

    @ 26, Tracy:

    Let’s face it: Sabbath is a lot bigger in the States than Purple ever was. The fact that Purple is touring permanently around the globe is not of big interest in the U.S. because they don’t really tour there – which is almost equally to non-existance. And they didn’t record anything new for about 8 years. It seems strange at first that they receive a comeback-award but after some thinking it starts to make sense.

  39. 39
    Scott W. says:

    @34 Yes Al, I wouldn’t make that up! I hold Dio in the highest regard like most fans here. Maybe they (these ‘Fans” of rock music) only caught one of his cheesier videos from the 80’s where him and his band got a bit caught up in the trends of the times (Eyeliner and teased hair)! Whitesnake certainly got into that as well! While certainly not trying to offend any one here that may have an alternative lifestyle, but in the states, using the term gay is basically widely used to describe something that is looked down upon, ridiculous and lame if you will…Bring on the manly death metal garbage…Grrrrrrr!!

  40. 40
    al says:

    @36 sorry dude,as much as I tried to listen to some of the bands you mentioned,nothing memorable,or things that sticks out.I’m not saying that there are not good musician out there,but boy you have to look harder to find one.Of course this is only my opinion.I,myself found out about this band lately ,Porcupine Tree,and I found em really interestingand they have really good stuff.Just sayin..

    @ Peter you are right buddy.As much as I love and respect Sabbs,the last album is sitting in my shelves and honestly I don’t want to listen to that anymore.As soon as we heard Rick Rubin involvement,we cringed of that idea.But of course,his connections with Sharon Osbourne and Ozzy made him the obvious choice.So predictable and formulaic.Of course we know the Sabbs are really popular in The States,and whatever they do and play they will be all over the news.Imagine my wife has no idea who Black Sabbath are if she listened to the music,but she knows Ozzy and she thinks,Ozzy IS BLACK SABBATH! lol But I cannot stop listening to Now What?! even after a year of heavy rotation,You can find song for some adrenaline rush and work out or just simply close your eyes at night and listen to Uncommon Man or All the time…..just great ! A follow up of that will be a logical thing,another classic great album with Mr Ezrin!

  41. 41
    Jeff Summers says:

    @38 Tommy H

    “Let’s face it Sabbath are a lot bigger in the States than Purple ever was” that is fundamentally untrue my friend. In 1974 DP were the biggest selling band in the world and had 5 albums in the billboard 100. They also headlined over Sabs at the Cal Jam in the same year. Sabbath have grown exponentially since Ozzies solo success and TV show.

  42. 42
    Tracy(Zero the Hero)Heyder says:

    Peter #35:

    The Sabbath Reunion was based on 2 things…. The Return of the Original line-up which didn’t actually happen due to Bill Ward bailing out and the fact they recorded a new album. The first with Ozzy since 1978 and the first Sabbath record since ‘Forbidden’ in 1995. That’s 35 years for Ozzy and 18 years since Any Sabbath album period. As for them not being broken up, that’s not true. Sabbath played together on the coat tales of Ozzy at OzzFests and for a few years playing their Greatest Ozzy era hits but never put out any new material. So 13 truly does mark an Official Reunion for the fans due to Ozzy coming back and offering a new album.

    Tommy H @38;

    Yes, Sabbath is much bigger than Purple here in the States. Hell, almost ANYBODY is. That’s an old and obvious argument which has gone on and on. As for your reasoning in comparison to Sabbath’s existence here, well that is even more unreasonable. Sabbath has been much less available than Purple here in the States for decades plus Purple has been putting out new material even with the 8 year void. Compared to Sabbath (see my points above) they are world winds which leads us right back to the old argument of their poor promotion here which has lead to their unfortunate obscurity.

    metaljim @37;

    You are quite correct and we see eye to eye on this. Being 57 myself and going to see Purple in Biloxi for my 58th in August, I also try out some of the newer bands out there and have found quite a few that I enjoy. Some of which you have listed. I do not care for the Thrash stuff with growling vocals and machinegun bass pedals, but there quite a few Hard Rock bands out there that are quite impressive. Your point regarding our Parents remarks back in the day was PURFECT. Is there a lot of garbage out there? Obviously. But there is also some outstanding stuff worth the listen and staying locked in the past, only wanting your favorite band to maintain their original sound forever is quite a boring approach to music enjoyment.

    !Ch-BeerZ?

  43. 43
    purpoz says:

    @ 37 metaljim

    I think you make a really good point about today’s impressionable youth – kids (like my teenage daughters) are making their musical choices in exactly the same way as I did as a teenager, and are probably getting the same reaction from their elders as I got from mine. Regrettably, I have to admit making derogatory statements at times, but it’s almost impossible not to when faced with One Direction and some (many?) of the other contempory air-fillers which abound now. So, yeah, in that respect, I am an ‘old person’ and resigned to it.

    For me, the critical difference is that teenagers today (in those formative, impressionable years as regards musical influence) have so much more musical history to draw from than I did. Of course, my parents had even less to draw from. So, the choices kids make now are more broadly informed and less easy to follow. My main priority is to try to educate whoever will listen about the golden age of hard rock so that there may be some of that influence in the choices made.

    As far as modern hard rock is concerned, I’d like to explore the current offerings but I simply don’t have the time or other resources (such as patience). What time I do have I prefer to spend relaxing with my ‘closest friends’, of which DP is the first.

  44. 44
    MacGregor says:

    Scott W@39- Back in the ‘old’ days the term ‘gay’ meant someones was happy, feeling fine & dandy etc! Oh how things have changed in regards to certain words & their terminology! In regards to Dio in the mid 80’s with his ‘hair’ look, yes there were plenty of others also! It was the MTV era after all! I still think during the 80’s there was enough quality rock music appearing, but by the 90’s there was & now there still is a decline in the quality big time! But then again, it is that way with many things in this world I suppose! Cheers.

  45. 45
    MacGregor says:

    Thunderhawk@36- I wouldn’t lump Sabbath in with those other 5th rate bands Lamb Of God & Slayer. Sabbath always had great songs, decent vocalists & lyrics etc! I know what you mean by the hard ‘n heavy image thing with some people though! Back in the early 70’s Heep were often linked with Sabbath, Zeppelin & Purple in the ‘heavy’ rock category! Salisbury is a good Heep album, but the 3 albums that followed were much better! Ken Hensley was a wonderful songwriter back then!
    As we have supposedly ‘evolved’ with the music from those era’s, certain people are getting more & more pissed off about things in this world! Some go to the ‘Neanderthal’ bands as they want aggro, thrashy, loud & fast to a degree, & they are more wasted also, it was never like that in earlier decades! Sure there were the hippies & the mods etc, who were wasted to a degree at times & the punk shite that followed was the start of the ‘decline’ in rock music! Anarchists, yes, pissed off, yes indeed & definitely wasted!
    Myself & other rock music fans from the ‘classic’ era certainly do not place Sabbath into that den of dens! Their songs are too ‘classy’ for that! Cheers.

  46. 46
    Scott W. says:

    I’ll give the new bands credit for the fact that the drummer has to be in very good physical condition to play double bass drums at such a furious pace! I know, i’m a drummer. I can play double bass decently but it never stops being tiring for me after awhile. Cozy Powell struck a good balance between using double bass drum technique along with the conventional (and appropriate)single bass drum technique. It just happens to be what the songs call for!

  47. 47
    MacGregor says:

    Scott W@46- I will add a few other world class ‘rock’ drummers with Cozy. Neil Peart, Carl Palmer, Barriemore Barlow & Simon Phillips!
    All these guys use the double kick drum subtly, sparingly etc! Nothing irritates me more than to hear some macho guy power double kick drumming with his ego out of control! It reminds me of reading about a ‘dual’ that occurred in Sydney a number of years ago between Mike Portnoy & some local thrash drummer. Apparently there was a challenge put down from either one of them, as to who could go the fastest for the longest duration. From what I read Portnoy lost, which I enjoyed! But the mind does wonder as to the mentality here, ‘I can go really fast, for a long time”. Yes & where are you actually going to? “I don’t know & don’t really care, but I can double kick faster than anyone else’!
    It sort of sums up many things in this world unfortunately, no quality, no substance & no class at all! Just stamina & of course EGO! Cheers.

  48. 48
    Peter says:

    42:
    Not really correct because original lineup reunited in 97 and new songs from reunited band were released on Reunion live album…. I know, I know about Bill´s role on one of those two tracks, but in fact reunion of original lineup happened in 97 and since then – there was no break-up…. => you cant have reunion without break-up…. 😉

  49. 49
    MacGregor says:

    My previous comment @ 47 regarding the double kick drumming, should have said ‘duel’ as in contest, not dual as it 2 participants, although that part is sort of correct I suppose! Sheeesh, here I am ‘splitting hairs’ as the saying goes & in regards to the Sabbath ‘reunion’ it appears the same is happening there also! It is a ‘reunion’ as Tracy & others have stated, the first album for 35 years & world tour.
    In regards to the ’97 ‘reunion’, yes that was also a sort of ‘reformation’ of sorts & there were 2 new tracks as Peter said & live appearances scattered about planet earth. Sabbath actually did cease to exist for a number of years as Heaven & Hell kicked into gear! If RJ Dio had not have passed from this earth, it makes you wonder as to the ‘original’ Sabbath ever getting back together.
    But the marketing ‘forces’ always like to make ‘a mound out of a mole hill’, to ‘milk it’ so to speak! And the reunion thing is even more ‘desperate’ these days for want of a better word, as everyone grows older & older & time is running out!
    The Pink Floyd Live 8 20 minute ‘reunion’ appearance in 05 & Led Zeppelin’s one off gig in 07, really got the ball rolling on the nostalgia level! It’s all good! Cheers.

  50. 50
    MacGregor says:

    Jeff Summers@41- excellent comment, the Purps weren’t the headline act at the California Jam for no reason! They blew everyone away that day! They were much more in flavour in the US back in the early 70’s than ever Sabbath were! Of course Zeppelin were also quite popular then! Cheers.

  51. 51
    Tracy(Zero the Hero)Heyder says:

    Yes Peter they did a Reunion Tour and also released a live album with a couple of tunes thrown in. The DVD that was released was called “The Last Supper” which was the last time the Original line-up recorded any new material. 2 songs. That was 1998. Since that time there were many ‘one off’ gigs with a variety of OZZY line-ups and without OZZY. Generally the majority of the OZZY shows were through appearances during Ozz Fest. No album for 15 years is pretty clear that there is no Original Sabbath Band. Many of the years throughout this period there was NO activity at all. Heaven and Hell with the original DIO line-up came to be talks started between DIO and Iommi in 2006. They were going to call themselves ‘Black Sabbath’, but Sharon Osbourne put the kibosh to that. There was no Black Sabbath at that point in all truth, but Sharon wasn’t going to let the Sabbath name take place without OZZY so they chose Heaven and Hell instead. People knew what the truth was. This was Black Sabbath and it didn’t include OZZY. Therefore aside from the legal issue launched by Sharon, the original line-up was GONE. An official studio album was released from this band along with live DVD’s and touring. DIO died. That opened the door for what we got in 2013. OZZY and a Wardless Sabbath put out an album and toured it. Reunion? Only in the sense that OZZY was back. No original line-up reunion though without Bill Ward. So, we basically get yet another Sabbath Line-up but at least they recorded an album which is what truly does attest to the point of a Sabbath Reunion.

    Since Ozzy’s departure and up through his return in 2013, there have been a huge amount of musicians that have taken part in the presence of the name ‘Black Sabbath’. Here is my list that I have come up with. There are probably more. Next time somebody bitches about Purple going through too many line-up changes, they need to check out Sabbath.

    ◾Airey, Don
    ◾Appice, Vinny
    ◾Bevan, Bev
    ◾Bordin, Mike
    ◾Burt, Jo
    ◾Butler, Geezer
    ◾Chimes, Terry
    ◾Copley, Gordon
    ◾Cottle, Laurence
    ◾Daisley, Bob
    ◾Dio, Ronnie James (RIP)
    ◾Donato, Dave
    ◾Gillan, Ian
    ◾Gillen, Ray (RIP)
    ◾Halford, Rob
    ◾Hughes, Glenn
    ◾Iommi, Tony
    ◾Keel, Ron
    ◾Martin, Tony
    ◾Murray, Neil
    ◾Nicholls, Geoff
    ◾Osbourne, Ozzy
    ◾Powell, Cozy (RIP)
    ◾Rondinelli, Bobby
    ◾Singer, Eric
    ◾Spitz, Dave
    ◾Wakeman, Adam
    ◾Walker, Dave
    ◾Ward, Bill
    ◾Woodruffe, Jezz

    !Ch-BeerZ?

  52. 52
    Scott W. says:

    @51
    Being a HUGE Sab fan since ’78, i enjoyed your list Tracy! Anyone that wants to investigate further should get the book:
    Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black SabbathBy Garry Sharpe-Young(Author).
    It is mind boggling the amount of musicians that went in and out of the band! One of the best books on Ozzy-less Sabbath. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow looks like a pillar of stability and, that said, anyone who played with Ritchie was snapped up by Iommi eventually for Sabbath!: Firstly, Dio, Hughes, Gillan, Powell, Rondinelli,Daisley,Etc Coverdale was approached at one point and i am sure there are more. . I saw an interview with Iommi a while back and he said a singer who tried out in the 80’s or early 90’s was …get this…..Michael Bolton!!!!!!!! Tony said he sang great but it did not work out for whatever reason…thank god!

    ——————————————————————————–

    See all 2 formats and editions

  53. 53
    MacGregor says:

    Tracy@51- excellent analogy of the Sabs. Many of my favourite bands have had a zillion members over the decades, Purple, Sabbath, Crimson, Yes & Tull! I usually enjoy most of the diversity that different musicians bring to a band. Cheers.

  54. 54
    Tommy H. says:

    @ 41, 42:

    In a very short period of time Purple did six american tours and was on the verge of being successful in the states. But after the CalJam which they co-headlined with ELP they almost disappeared while both Sabbath and especially Zeppelin still filled arenas and grew a much bigger fan base. I might have exaggerated when I said that Purple has never been that big in the states, they were indeed during 1971-1974 and in 1985 . But in the long run they lost in terms of popularity in comparison to Sabbath and Zeppelin. I know that I’m not bringing some breaking news here but after all Sabbath didn’t receive the comeback award despite their absence.

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