Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler recently spoke with Metal Hammer and looked back on the birth of the band. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Metal Hammer: "If the lunatics and prostitutes of mainland Europe embraced them, they were having a harder time convincing record companies back home to sign them. They were turned down by 14 labels."

Geezer Butler: “We were always told to go away and write ‘proper songs’ by the record companies, at least the ones who had the decency to say anything. Most of them would walk out halfway through the song Black Sabbath.”

Jim Simpson (first manager): “I knew a publisher, David Platts, who gave us £1,000 to record an album that we could take to labels to convince them to sign us. The condition was that we used a producer they had, Rodger Bain.”

Geezer Butler: “We got £100 each and spent the rest on the album. I bought a jacket and a stereo system so I could actually play records. Somebody broke into my flat and stole the stereo, so all I had to show for the first album’s payment was a jacket.”

Ozzy Osbourne: “We had no experience of anything except playing live. Jim Simpson just said to us, ‘On your way to catching the ferry over to Switzerland, stop off at [London studios] Regent Sound and record your album.’ It was almost an afterthought.”

Tom Allom (engineer on Black Sabbath): “I hadn’t seen the band, I had no idea what they sounded like, and I hadn’t heard anything like it before. I was completely mystified by it. But Rodger Bain completely understood what they were doing.”

Geezer Butler: “We treated it exactly like a gig – we set up the gear, put mics in front of the speakers and drums, and recorded the album.”

Tony Iommi: “It took a day to record. The next day was the mixing. Then we disappeared off Europe. We didn’t even listen to the album.”

Ozzy Osbourne: “When we got back from Switzerland, Jim said, ‘Come on, I’ll play you your finished album.’”

Jim Simpson: “We met at New Street Station in Birmingham and went to my house.”

Ozzy Osbourne: “It started with all this thunder and lightning – it blew my mind.”

Jim Simpson: “The record label had put the sound effects on afterwards. The band didn’t know anything about it. That was the first time they’d heard all that.”

Geezer Butler: “We only had one copy each. I was too apprehensive about showing my parents the album, as they were staunch Catholics and I was dreading that they would see the inverted cross in the gatefold sleeve. I’m not sure they ever saw it.”

Ozzy Osbourne: “My mum and dad put the album on the radiogram (a piece of furniture that combines a radio and a record player). After hearing it, my father turns to look at me and goes: ‘May I ask you something son? Are you sure you’re just drinking the occasional beer?’”

Read the complete interview here.

Widely regarded as innovators of the musical genre which came to be known as heavy metal, legendary Birmingham-bred Black Sabbath celebrate the 50th anniversary in 2020 of their multi-million selling album, Paranoid, with a 5LP/4CD edition, released on October 9, featuring the vinyl debut of two 1970 concerts.

Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition includes the original album, in addition to a rare 1974 Quad Mix of the album folded down to stereo, plus two concerts from 1970, from Montreux and Brussels, that are pressed on vinyl for the first time. The five-LP set comes with a hardbound book with extensive liner notes featuring interviews with all four band members, rare photos, and memorabilia, a poster, as well as a replica of the tour book sold during the Paranoid tour.

After the success of the band's self-titled debut in early 1970, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward returned that fall with Paranoid. The record became the band's first album to top the UK charts and has sold more than 4 million copies in the US alone. Today, songs like "War Pigs," "Planet Caravan," "Iron Man," and of course, "Paranoid," continue to inspire a new generation of musicians around the world.

Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition first two LPs feature the original album plus a Quadraphonic Mix of the album. Originally released on vinyl and 8-track cartridge in 1974, but subsequently long out of print, the Quad Mix has now been made available as a fold-down to stereo mix on vinyl for this set.

The collection's final three LPs mark the official vinyl debut of two 1970 live performances. The first was recorded on August 31 in Montreux, Switzerland shortly before the release of Paranoid. It captures the band, already a tight musical unit, thundering through new songs like "Hand Of Doom" and "Iron Man" while mixing in "N.I.B." and "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" from their debut album. The second concert was recorded a few months later in Brussels during the band's performance for Belgian television. Unofficial versions of this classic show have circulated in the past, but they've never sounded this good.

Pre-order the Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition here.

Paranoid Super Deluxe 5LP Boxed Set tracklisting:

LP1: Original Album

Side A
“War Pigs / Luke’s Wall”
“Paranoid”
“Planet Caravan”
“Iron Man”

Side B
“Electric Funeral”
“Hand Of Doom”
“Rat Salad”
“Jack The Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots”

LP2: Quadradisc Mix in Stereo (WS4 1887) 1974

Side C
“War Pigs / Luke’s Wall”
“Paranoid”
“Planet Caravan”
“Iron Man”

Side D
“Electric Funeral”
“Hand Of Doom”
“Rat Salad”
“Jack The Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots”

LP3: Live in Montreux 1970 (Part One)

Side E
“Intro”
“Paranoid”
“N.I.B.”
“Behind The Wall Of Sleep”

Side F
“Iron Man”
“War Pigs”

LP4: Live in Montreux 1970 (Part Two)/Live in Brussels 1970 (Part One)

Side G
“Fairies Wear Boots”
“Hand Of Doom”

Side H
“Paranoid”
“Hand Of Doom”
“Rat Salad”
“Iron Man”

LP5: Live in Brussels 1970 (Part Two)

Side J
“Black Sabbath”
“N.I.B.”

Side K
“Behind The Wall Of Sleep”
“War Pigs”
“Fairies Wear Boots”