''Black and Blue'' is a live video by hard rock bands

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

and

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...

filmed during their 1980 co-headlining tour of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, known as the "Black and Blue Tour". The film was originally released to theaters in 1981 as a

concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

. It was later released on VHS, Betamax and laserdisc video format, but has not been officially released on DVD.

Film and video releases

In 1980, Black Sabbath co-headlined a number of the U.S. shows on their worldwide " Heaven & Hell Tour" with Blue Öyster Cult, at the suggestion of

Sandy Pearlman Samuel Clarke "Sandy" Pearlman (August 5, 1943 – July 26, 2016) was an American music producer, artist manager, music journalist and critic, professor, poet, songwriter, and record company executive. He was best known for founding, writing for, ...

, who was managing both bands at the time. These shows became known as the "Black and Blue Tour" and were very well attended, often ranking in '' Billboard'' magazine's weekly "Top Boxoffice" charts. The two bands' October 17, 1980 performances at

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on ...

were filmed and used as part of the December 6, 1980 episode of Don Kirsher's Rock Concert. The recorded footage was edited together into the concert film ''Black and Blue'', which was released to theaters in 1981 after the conclusion of the tour. Following its initial release, the film played for some time on the theatrical midnight movie circuit in the United States. In the 1980s, it was released for the home video market in VHS format by

Polygram Video PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...

in the UK, and by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in US. It was also released in laserdisc format by Polygram in UK and Warner Bros. in Japan. According to

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionall ...

, a Betamax version was also issued. In 2002, a DVD release of the film was announced by Castle Pictures, and was available for pre-order from online merchants. However, the release was postponed several times before finally being cancelled in January 2003. In 2004, a second announcement was made of an upcoming DVD release, this time by Universal Video. However, the release was again postponed and then cancelled at the last minute. A few copies were sold by some record stores in European countries that had received advance shipments before the withdrawal. Since then, there has been no official DVD release of the film, although various bootlegs are available. Several sources, including Castle Pictures, have indicated that the DVD has not been released because Black Sabbath, in particular

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

, do not want it released. The 2011 book ''Black Sabbath FAQ'' by

contained statements from members of Blue Öyster Cult about the video, with

Joe Bouchard Joseph J. Bouchard (; born November 9, 1948) is an American musician. He was the bassist and one of the lead singers of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult during their most successful period. He is the younger brother of original Blue Öyster ...

saying that Iommi and Sabbath opposed release of the video, and

Eric Bloom Eric Jay Bloom (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on more than 20 albu ...

opining that the video was not very good due to the lack of post-production, which was too expensive at the time the film was made. On a 2013 episode of ''

That Metal Show ''That Metal Show'' is a talk show that premiered on VH1 Classic on November 15, 2008 and ended on May 9, 2015 with a span of 14 seasons. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, the series features three hosts interviewing musi ...

'',

Buck Dharma Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...

of Blue Öyster Cult talked very minimally about the release and said to his knowledge, the reason it has not been re-released is because the members of Black Sabbath don't want it being distributed, for reasons unknown to Dharma.

Tracks

# "The Marshall Plan" (

Albert Bouchard Albert Thomas Bouchard (; born May 24, 1947) is an American musician. He is a founding member and the original drummer of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult and current drummer of The Dictators. He is the brother of former Blue Öyster Cult ...

Allen Lanier Allen Glover Lanier (; June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier wrote several songs for Blue Öyster Cult albums, including "T ...

Donald Roeser Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...

) #* ''performed by Blue Öyster Cult'' # "

War Pigs "War Pigs" is an anti-war protest song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970, it is the opening track from the band's second studio album '' Paranoid'' (1970). Overview The original title of "War Pigs" was "Walpurgis", ...

" (

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, Bill Ward) #* ''performed by Black Sabbath'' # "

Neon Knights "Neon Knights" is a song by English rock band Black Sabbath from 1980's '' Heaven and Hell'', their first album with American vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Overview "Neon Knights" was the last song written by the band for the ''Heaven and Hell'' ...

" (Butler, Ronnie James Dio, Iommi, Ward) #* ''performed by Black Sabbath'' # " N.I.B." (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) #* ''performed by Black Sabbath'' # "Doctor Music" (J. Bouchard,

Richard Meltzer Richard Meltzer (born May 10, 1945) is an American rock critic, performer, writer and songwriter. He is considered by some rock historians to be the first to write real analysis of rock and roll and is credited with inventing "rock criticism". B ...

, Roeser) #* ''performed by Blue Öyster Cult'' # " Cities on Flame" (A. Bouchard,

, Roeser) #* ''performed by Blue Öyster Cult'' # "Divine Wind" (Roeser) #* ''performed by Blue Öyster Cult'' # " Iron Man" (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) #* ''performed by Black Sabbath'' # "

Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy c ...

" (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) #* ''performed by Black Sabbath'' # "

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

" (Roeser) #* ''performed by Blue Öyster Cult'' # "

Roadhouse Blues "Roadhouse Blues" is a song by the American rock band the Doors from their 1970 album '' Morrison Hotel''. It was released as the B-side of "You Make Me Real", which peaked at No. 50 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Roadhouse Blues" charted ...

" (

John Densmore John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, author and actor. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors, and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recordi ...

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and ...

, Ray Manzarek,

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

) #* ''performed by Blue Öyster Cult'' # " Heaven and Hell" (Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward) #* ''performed by Black Sabbath'' # "

Born To Be Wild "Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 f ...

" (

Mars Bonfire Dennis Edmonton (born Dennis Eugene McCrohan; 21 April 1943), also known by the stage name Mars Bonfire, is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter, best known for writing the hit song "Born to Be Wild" for Steppenwolf. Career Born Dennis Eug ...

) #* ''performed by Blue Öyster Cult'' # "

Die Young "Die Young" is a song by American singer and songwriter Kesha. It was released on September 25, 2012, as the lead single from her second studio album, ''Warrior'' (2012). Kesha co-wrote the song with its producers, Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, and ...

" (Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward) #* ''performed by Black Sabbath''

Personnel

Black Sabbath

* Ronnie James Dio - vocals *

- guitar *

Geoff Nicholls Geoffrey James Nicholls (29 February 1944 – 28 January 2017) was a British guitarist and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz before joining Black Sa ...

- keyboards *

- bass guitar *

Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice. Career Appic ...

- drums ;

Blue Öyster Cult

: lead vocals, rhythm guitar,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

: bass,

: drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

References