Heaven & Hell Tour
| Promotional tour by Black Sabbath | |
| Location |
North America • United States • Canada Europe • United Kingdom • Germany • Austria |
|---|---|
| Associated album | Heaven & Hell |
| Start date | April 17, 1980 |
| End date | February 2, 1981 |
| Legs | Total: |
| Number of shows |
Total: Cancelled () Overall Total: |
| Black Sabbath concert chronology | |
The Heaven & Hell Tour was a 9th world concert tour by Black Sabbath between April 1980 & February 1981 to promote their 1980 studio album, Heaven & Hell.[1][2] The tour marked the band's first live shows with vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who had replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne the previous year;[2] drummer Vinny Appice, who replaced original drummer Bill Ward in the middle of the tour's U.S. leg after Ward suddenly left the band due to personal issues;[3] and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, who played keyboards on the Heaven and Hell album & accompanied the band on this tour as a sideman.[4] For a portion of the United States leg of this tour, which was popularly known as the "Black & Blue Tour," Black Sabbath co-headlined with Blue Öyster Cult,[4] with whom they shared a manager, Sandy Pearlman. The arrangement reportedly set attendance records but caused friction between the two bands as well as between Black Sabbath and Pearlman.[5]
Overview
Background
In April 1980, Black Sabbath released their ninth studio album, Heaven & Hell, their first album with former Rainbow & Elf lead-singer, Ronnie James Dio, who had been hired to replace Black Sabbath's original lead-singer, Ozzy Osbourne, after he was fired from the band on April 27, 1979.[6] Shortly before the album's release, the band began the Heaven & Hell Tour in Europe to promote their new album. The response of fans & critics to the shows were generally positive.[2] According to Black Sabbath lead-guitarist, Tony Iommi, some audience members at first did not like the idea that Osbourne was no longer in the band, but "eventually Ronnie won them over". The band's stage setup for the tour included an electronic cross that flashed lights & burst into flames, which Iommi said "hardly ever worked."[7]
Europe Leg (1980)
The band first toured Europe, where according to David Konow, "they knew the audience would still be there for them" despite the change in lead singers.[8] The initial shows were intended to "break the band in while out of the spotlight" (according to Garry Sharpe-Young) before taking on larger shows in Vienna, Landshut and the UK.[4] Almost all the dates on this first leg of the tour were either in Germany or the UK, where the band had a four-night sell-out run at the famous Hammersmith Odeon in London, supported by Girlschool.[4] Support bands for some other dates of this leg included Angel Witch & "Shakin' Street," who later supported some U.S. tour dates.[1][9] The American heavy metal band Manowar traces its origins to this time, when Ross the Boss, who was then the guitarist in Shakin' Street, met Sabbath's bass tech Joey DeMaio at a UK show. The two became friends during the tour, and later founded Manowar together.[5][10]
United States Leg ("Black & Blue Tour") (1980)
During the U.S. leg of the tour, Black Sabbath co-headlined most of their shows with Blue Öyster Cult at the suggestion of Sandy Pearlman, who at that time was managing both bands, which then became known as the Black & Blue Tour. The two co-headliners were supported by various opening acts including Sammy Hagar, Saxon, Riot, Molly Hatchet, & "Shakin' Street."[1][5][9] The shows were a financial success, drawing high attendance & frequently placing in Billboard's weekly "Top Boxoffice" surveys.[4][11][12] However, Sabbath was unhappy with the arrangement since Pearlman had a close relationship with BÖC after having founded the band & being involved with their career for over a decade as both a manager & record producer while he had only just started managing Sabbath in 1979. Sabbath felt that Pearlman was favoring BÖC & that BÖC was also appropriating elements of Sabbath's musical style & performance. Friction erupted between the two bands over which band would close the show as well as the logistics of dealing with each band's stage set (which for BÖC included a huge Godzilla structure that took time to remove from the stage). Pearlman has said that Sabbath resented having to share the tour proceeds with BÖC.[5][7] Iommi has indicated that this situation contributed to the band's decision to fire Pearlman shortly thereafter.[7]
Bill Ward's Departure
During this time, Bill Ward was increasingly suffering from substance abuse issues,[5][8] saying in a later interview, "Alcohol had become more important than Black Sabbath, our audience, my family, everything, and that included me." Ward added, "Also, I was absolutely missing [Osbourne]; really missing him and I wasn’t coping with my grief that well because I was so drunk. My mother had died and I wasn’t coping with the grief for my mother and I was feeling overwhelmed with loss. Lastly, as much as I loved Ronnie James Dio, it [the new band lineup] didn’t work for me."[13] On August 19, 1980, Bill Ward performed his last show with Sabbath at Bloomington Met Center (just outside of Minneapolis), and like his former bandmate, Ozzy Osbourne, wouldn't perform with Sabbath again until July 13, 1985 at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia for Live Aid. The following night, Sabbath were forced to cancel their appearance at a sold-out show at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver when Ward either arrived late or failed to go on. BÖC did perform and received the sizable proceeds of the show, while Sabbath were not paid for this show or for several subsequent shows that they cancelled due to Ward's unavailability.[5] Ward departed,[3] and the band, after being turned down by Cozy Powell, replaced Ward with Vinny Appice (who had just declined an offer to join Osbourne's new band).[4][5] Appice played his first show with Black Sabbath on August 31, 1980 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu for "The Summer Blowout" (1980).[1][4][8]
Milwaukee Riot
On October 9, 1980, Black Sabbath & BÖC co-headlined a show at the Mecca Arena in Milwaukee, where Sabbath wasscheduled to play last. As Geezer was about to play his bass solo intro to N.I.B., someone in the audience threw a projectile (either a bottle or a large metal cross, depending on the source) & hit Geezer in the head, thus knocking him out cold.[4][7][14] The show was stopped & Butler was taken to the hospital, where he received stitches for his head wound & was later released.[14] Dio came back out on stage to let them know what had happened & told off whoever threw the projectile. Then Sabbath's road manager came out to tell the audience that the show was cancelled as he berated the audience, which angered them.[7] When the audience of approximately 7,000[15] to 9,000[14] saw the crew beginning to remove the band's equipment from the stage, they began destroying windows, doors and furniture inside the venue, doing $10,000 worth of damage.[5][7][14][15] After the venue was cleared by police, fighting continued outside the venue and up to two blocks away, and it took police over an hour to clear the area. According to an October 1980 article in Billboard magazine, "Every available officer in the city was called out" and "two policemen and dozens of concertgoers were injured."[14] Butler has recalled injured fans being brought into the hospital alongside him while he was being treated.[5] A 2014 retrospective article in the Milwaukee Record said that three police officers were injured and roughly 100 arrests were made.[15] Following the riot, MECCA's management enacted restrictions designed to prevent attendees from bringing alcohol into the venue, and placed an indefinite ban on "hard rock concerts" there, with MECCA's president stating that the venue would now only consider booking "middle-of-the-road performers" such as Billy Joel & Barry Manilow.[14] BÖC bassist Joe Bouchard said that BÖC was "banned from Milwaukee for years" after the incident, despite having nothing to do with the riot.[5]
Black & Blue Concert Video
On October 17, 1980, Black Sabbath & Blue Öyster Cult performed at Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead, New York. Both performances of each band's set from that show were filmed & released to theaters after they had finished tour as the concert film Black & Blue. The film was shown on the midnight movie circuit in the United States. In the 1980s, the film was also released on VHS & laserdisc for the home video market.[3][16] The film has never been officially released on DVD and DVDs on the market are generally bootlegs. Official DVD releases were announced & cancelled two separate times in 2002 by Castle Pictures & again in 2004 by Universal Video, although some shops in Europe did sell a few copies of the 2004 DVD.[16] Members of Blue Öyster Cult, as well as Castle Pictures, have indicated that a DVD was not released because Tony Iommi objected to the film's distribution.[3][5][16]
Pacific Leg (1980)
After finishing the U.S. leg of the tour, Black Sabbath toured Japan & Australia. On November 18, 1980, at Nakano Sun Plaza Hall in Tokyo, Tony Iommi became ill from food poisoning & was then taken to the hospital, thus cancelling the rest of the show after playing for 70 minutes along with the following night's show.[1][9][7] Near the end of the band's time in Japan, Geezer broke one of his fingers.[7] According to Geezer, the doctor he saw in Japan did not think the finger was broken, so he continued to play several more shows until severe pain forced him to seek additional treatment in Australia, at which time the fracture was diagnosed & the remaining Australian tour dates were cancelled.[1][17] Rose Tattoo supported Sabbath on the few Australian dates that were played.[1][9]
United Kingdom Leg (1981)
The final leg of the tour, which took place in the U.K., had originally been scheduled to take place in late December of 1980 go throughout early January 1981, but was postponed to late January — early February 1981 due to Butler's finger injury. Black Sabbath was supported by either A II Z & Max Webster for some shows. The final show of the tour took place on February 2, 1981 at Cornwall Coliseum in St. Austell.[1][9]
Personnel
|
|
Setlist
"Supertzar" [Audio Introduction]
|
"Supertzar" [Audio Introduction]
|
Information
• "Lonely is the Word": Only Performed during the Europe Leg (1980) -> Replaced by "Lady Evil"
• "Lady Evil": Performed after the Europe Leg (1980) (Replaced "Lonely is the Word")
Tour Dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | |||
| EUROPE (1ST LEG) | |||
| April 17, 1980 | Aurich | Germany | Aurich City Hall (Ronnie James Dio's 1st Show) |
| April 18, 1980 | Oldenburg | Weser-Ems Hall | |
| April 19, 1980 | Verl | East Westphalia Hall | |
| April 21, 1980 | Fallingbostel | Heathland Hall | |
| April 22, 1980 | Rendsburg | Northland Hall | |
| April 24, 1980 | Vienna | Austria | Sophie Hall |
| April 26, 1980 | Landshut | Germany | Landshut Sports Hall |
| Portsmouth | England | Portsmouth Guild Hall | |
| April 30, 1980 | |||
| May 1, 1980 | |||
| May 14, 1980 | Glasgow | Scotland | "Glasgow Apollo" Theatre |
| May 15, 1980 | |||
| May 16, 1980 | Edinburgh | "Edinburgh Odeon" Theatre | |
| May 18, 1980 | Newcastle | England | Newcastle City Hall |
| May 19, 1980 | |||
| May 20, 1980 | Queensferry | Wales | Deeside Ice Arena |
| May 22, 1980 | Manchester | England | "Manchester Apollo" Theatre |
| May 23, 1980 | |||
| May 24, 1980 | Birmingham | "Birmingham Odeon" Theatre | |
| May 25, 1980 | |||
| May 26, 1980 | Leicester | De Montfort Hall | |
| June 2, 1980 | Offenbach | Germany | Offenbach City Hall |
| June 3, 1980 | Munich | Crown Circus Building | |
| June 5, 1980 | Mannheim | Rhine Neckar Hall | |
| June 6, 1980 | Neunkirchen | Hemmerlein Hall | |
| June 7, 1980 | Uhingen | Haldenberg Hall | |
| June 21, 1980 | Zurich | Switzerland | "The Hardening" Club |
| June 26, 1980 | Brighton | Brighton Arena | |
| NORTH AMERICA LEG | |||
| July 2, 1980 | El Paso | United States | El Paso County Coliseum |
| July 5, 1980 | Dallas | Dallas Convention Center Arena | |
| July 7, 1980 | Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi Memorial Coliseum | |
| July 8, 1980 ? | Tulsa ? | Tulsa Assembly Center Arena ? | |
| July 9, 1980 | Norman | Lloyd Noble Arena | |
(San Antonio Summer Jam 1980) | |||
| July 13, 1980 | Houston | Robertson Stadium (Houston Rocks 1980) | |
| July 14, 1980 | San Antonio | San Antonio Convention Center Arena (San Antonio Summer Jam 1980) | |
| July 17, 1980 ? | Billings ? | The Yellowstone METRA ? | |
| July 19, 1980 | Seattle | Seattle High School Memorial Stadium (Seattle Summer Rock Jam 1980) | |
| July 20, 1980 | Salem | Oregon State Fair Grandstand (Oregon Jam 1980) | |
| July 23, 1980 | Ventura | Pacific Arena | |
| July 25, 1980 | Phoenix | Phoenix Municipal Stadium (Arizona Jam 1980) | |
| July 26, 1980 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles Summer Blowout 1980) | |
| July 27, 1980 | Oakland | Oakland Coliseum (Day on the Green 1980 (#2)) | |
| August 8, 1980 | New Lebanon | Lebanon Valley Speedway | |
| August 9, 1980 | Philadelphia | The Spectrum | |
| August 10, 1980 | Hartford | Hartford Civic Arena | |
| August 12, 1980 | Providence | Providence Civic Arena | |
| August 14, 1980 | Trotwood | Hara Arena | |
| August 15, 1980 | Evansville | Mesker Music Theater | |
| August 16, 1980 | Kalamazoo | Wings Stadium | |
| August 17, 1980 | Rockford | Rockford Speedway (Rockford Speedway Jam 1980) | |
| August 19, 1980 | Bloomington | Bloomington Met Center (Bill's Last Show until "Live Aid" (7/13/1985))[4] | |
| August 31, 1980 | Honolulu | Aloha Stadium (Honolulu Summer Blowout 1980) (Vinny Appice's 1st Show)[4] | |
| September 5, 1980 | Lakeland | Lakeland Civic Arena | |
| September 6, 1980 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville Coliseum | |
| September 7, 1980 | Miami | Miami Jai Alai Fronton Arena | |
| September 10, 1980 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | |
| September 12, 1980 | Atlanta | "The Omni" Coliseum | |
| September 14, 1980 | Fayetteville | Cumberland County Memorial Arena | |
| September 19, 1980 | New Haven | New Haven Coliseum | |
| September 20, 1980 | Boston | Boston Garden | |
| September 21, 1980 | Springfield | Springfield Civic Arena | |
| September 23, 1980 | Lexington | Rupp Arena | |
| September 25, 1980 | Greenville | Greenville Memorial Auditorium | |
| September 26, 1980 | Charlotte | Charlotte Coliseum | |
| September 27, 1980 | Charleston | Charleston Civic Coliseum | |
| September 29, 1980 | Kansas City | Kansas City Municipal Arena | |
| September 30, 1980 | St. Louis | The Checkerdome | |
| October 1, 1980 | Chicago | Chicago International Amphitheater | |
| October 3, 1980 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | |
| October 4, 1980 | Toledo | Toledo Sports Arena | |
| October 5, 1980 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | |
| October 7, 1980 | Columbus | St. John Arena | |
| October 8, 1980 | Indianapolis | Market Square Arena | |
| October 9, 1980 | Milwaukee | Mecca Arena (Cancelled after Geezer's head injury -> Riot)[5] | |
| October 10, 1980 | Louisville | Freedom Hall | |
| October 12, 1980 | Richfield | Richfield Coliseum | |
| October 13, 1980 | Buffalo | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | |
| October 14, 1980 | Landover | Capital Center | |
| October 16, 1980 | Rochester | Rochester Community War Memorial Arena | |
| October 17, 1980 | Hempstead | Nassau Coliseum | |
| October 18, 1980 | New York City | "Madison Square Garden" Arena | |
| October 19, 1980 | Erie | Erie County Field House | |
| October 21, 1980 | Binghamton | Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena | |
| October 22, 1980 | Wheeling | Wheeling Civic Arena | |
| October 23, 1980 | Fort Wayne | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | |
| October 25, 1980 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Coliseum | |
| November 1, 1980 | Boise | Idaho State Fair Grandstand ? | |
| November 3, 1980 | Salt Lake City | "The Salt Palace" Arena | |
| November 4, 1980 | Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs City Auditorium | |
| November 7, 1980 | Wichita | Levitt Arena | |
| November 8, 1980 | Omaha | Omaha Civic Arena | |
| PACIFIC LEG | |||
| Japan Leg | |||
| November 16, 1980 | Tokyo | Japan | Nakano Sun Plaza Hall (2 Shows) |
| November 17, 1980 | Japanese Springs Hall | ||
| November 18, 1980 | Nakano Sun Plaza Hall (Cancelled 70 min. into set due to Tony's illness (11/18)) | ||
| November 20, 1980 | Kyoto | Kyoto Cultural Hall | |
| November 21, 1980 | Osaka | Osaka Festival Hall | |
| Australia Leg | |||
| November 24, 1980 | Sydney | Australia | The Capitol Theatre |
| November 25, 1980 | |||
| November 26, 1980 | |||
| November 27, 1980 | Newcastle | Newcastle Civic Theatre | |
| November 29, 1980 | Brisbane | Brisbane Festival Hall | |
| EUROPE | |||
| United Kingdom Leg | |||
| England | |||
| 1981 | |||
| England | |||
| England | |||
| January 18, 1981 | London | "Hammersmith Odeon" Theatre | |
| January 19, 1981 | |||
| January 20, 1981 | |||
| January 21, 1981 | |||
| January 23, 1981 | Bridlington | Bridlington Royal Hall | |
| January 24, 1981 | Leeds | Queen's Hall | |
| January 25, 1981 | Stafford | New Bingley Hall | |
| January 27, 1981 | Bristol | Colston Hall | |
| January 28, 1981 | Cardiff | Wales | Sophia Gardens Pavilion (2 Shows) |
| January 30, 1981 | Southampton | England | Southampton Gaumont Theatre |
| January 31, 1981 | Crawley | "The Starlight" Ballroom | |
| February 1, 1981 | Poole | Poole Arts Centre (Wessex Hall) | |
| February 2, 1981 | St. Austell | Cornwall Coliseum | |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Siegler, Joe; Dwyer, Robert (2016). "1980-1981 Heaven & Hell Tour". Black-sabbath.com. Black Sabbath Online (fan website). Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- 1 2 3 Rivadavia, Eduardo (2015-04-17). "35 Years Ago: Black Sabbath Launch First Tour With Ronnie James Dio". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- 1 2 3 4 McPadden, Mike (2015-04-25). "35 Things You Didn't Know About Black Sabbath's Heaven & Hell". VH1.com. VH1 Classic. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide. London: Jawbone Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-906002-87-9.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Popoff, Martin (2011). Black Sabbath FAQ: All That's Left to Know on the First Name in Metal. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. pp. 146–160. ISBN 978-0-87930-957-2.
- ↑ Osbourne, Ozzy (2011). I Am Ozzy. New York City: Grand Central Publishing. pp. 129–130. ISBN 9780446573139.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Iommi, Tony; Lammers, TJ (2011). Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath (2012 ed.). New York City: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780446573139. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- 1 2 3 Konow, David (2002). Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal. New York City: Three Rivers Press. pp. 112–113. ISBN 0-609-80732-3.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Keihänen, Tapio (2013-02-21). "Black Sabbath: Heaven and Hell Tour Dates". Dio.net. Tapio's Ronnie James Dio Pages (fan website). Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- ↑ Trunk, Eddie (2013). Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, Volume II. New York City: Harry N. Abrams. p. 288 (Ebook). ISBN 978-1419708695.
- ↑ "Billboard Top Boxoffice Survey for Week Ending 10/19/1980". Billboard (United States: Nielsen Business Media, Inc). 1980-11-01. p. 34. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ↑ "Billboard Top Boxoffice Survey for Week Ending 10/26/1980". Billboard (United States: Nielsen Business Media, Inc). 1980-11-08. p. 30. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ↑ Marszalek, Julian (2015-07-07). "Never Say Die: Bill Ward Interviewed". The Quietus (United Kingdom). Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hintz, Martin (1980-10-25). "Hard Rock Banned Indefinitely at Milwaukee's MECCA Venue". Billboard (United States: Nielsen Business Media, Inc). p. 26. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- 1 2 3 Wild, Matt (2014-09-14). "Tracklist: 10 Infamous Milwaukee Concerts". Milwaukee Record (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- 1 2 3 Keihänen, Tapio (2009-02-21). "Black and Blue DVD". Dio.net. Tapio's Ronnie James Dio Pages (fan website). Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ↑ Matera, Joe (2007). "Geezer Butler: Bringing the Dio Era Back". Ultimate-guitar.com. Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
