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

. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell, GZR, and

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 ...

. Butler was the bassist of Deadland Ritual, which has since disbanded.

Early life

Geezer Butler as he is known by, adopted the nickname "Geezer" at an early age. "It came because when I was at school, my brother was in the army, and he was based with a lot of Cockneys. And people in London call everybody a 'geezer.' t meansjust a man — like, 'Hello, mate.' It's just like somebody calling you 'dude' over here (In the United States). In England, it'd be 'geezer.' So my brother used to come home from leave from the army, and he'd be going, 'Hello, geezer. How are you, geezer?' So because I had looked up to my brother when I was about seven years old, I'd go to school calling everybody a geezer. So that's how I got cursed with it." Butler grew up in a working-class

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

family in Birmingham. The Butler family had seven children and were poor, typically having "no money whatsoever". Two of Butler's older brothers had been called upon to serve in the army and Butler feared that he would be next. However, mandatory service was ended in England a couple of years before he was due to be conscripted. Butler was heavily influenced by the writing of

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

as a teenager. By his late teens, he had stopped attending

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

. He cited a loss of belief, and feels that everyone should sooner or later decide for themselves what to believe in. By the end, Butler was "going to Mass every Sunday just to take a look at all the nice girls that were going there", he recalled years later.

Career

Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, in late 1967, with John "Ozzy" Osbourne soon joining as lead vocalist. At that time, Butler was dating a girl who lived near Tony Iommi, and Iommi's earliest memories of Butler involved seeing him walking past his house every day to visit her. Later, Iommi and Butler became acquainted when their bands played at a nearby nightclub. Separated for a time, Osbourne and Butler reunited in the blues foursome, Polka Tulk, along with guitarist Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, both of whom had recently left the band Mythology. They renamed their new band Earth, but a band already existed in the small-time English circuit with the same name, so they were forced to change the name yet again. Inspired by the popular

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

horror film of the same name, Butler suggested the name

in early 1969. Inspired by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, Butler played rhythm guitar in his pre-Sabbath days, including with Rare Breed. When Sabbath was formed, Iommi made it clear that he did not want to play with another guitarist, so Butler moved to bass. According to Butler, "I'd never played bass until I was on stage at the first gig that we played. Borrowed the bass guitar off one of my friends and it only had three strings on it." Butler lists

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

as his biggest influence as a bassist. Iommi described Butler as being "from another planet" in the band's early days; he took LSD, wore Indian hippie dresses, and was very peaceful. At the time Black Sabbath was formed, Butler was studying to become an accountant, and this training resulted in him managing the band's finances in the early days. After Black Sabbath fired vocalist

in 1979, Butler also briefly left the band to deal with the divorce from his first wife. The 1980 album '' Heaven and Hell'' was recorded with bassist

Craig Gruber Craig M. Gruber (June 15, 1951 – May 5, 2015) was an American rock bassist, best known as the original bassist in Rainbow. He also played in Elf, consisting of vocalist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule, drummer Gary Driscoll and g ...

but Butler returned to the band at the last minute and re-recorded the bass parts prior to release. He again left the band in 1984 after touring in support of their 1983 album, ''

Born Again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and se ...

'', though he returned months later as the band attempted a comeback with vocalist David Donato. In 1988, Butler joined the backing band of his former Sabbath bandmate Osbourne to take part in the '' No Rest for the Wicked'' World Tour. He rejoined Black Sabbath in 1991 for the reunion of the '' Mob Rules'' line-up, but again quit the group after the ''

Cross Purposes ''Cross Purposes'' is the seventeenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released through I.R.S. Records on 26 January 1994. The album marked the return of Tony Martin as the band's lead vocalist, after the second departure of Ron ...

'' tour in 1994. In 1995 Butler again joined Osbourne's band to perform on the ''

Ozzmosis ''Ozzmosis'' is the seventh solo studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Recorded in Paris and New York with producer Michael Beinhorn, it was released on 23 October 1995 by Epic Records. The album reached number 22 on the UK ...

'' album. After recording ''Ozzmosis'', he formed G/Z/R, issuing ''Plastic Planet'' in 1995. His next solo album, ''Black Science,'' followed in 1997. Butler returned to Sabbath once more for the 1997 edition of

Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...

, and has remained with the band since. In 2005 he released ''

Ohmwork Ohmwork is the third studio album by American heavy metal band GZR. It was originally released on May 10, 2005 in the United States and on May 9, 2005 in the United Kingdom. The album is the first to feature Chad Smith on drums, replacing Deen C ...

'', his third solo album. In October 2006 it was announced that Butler, along with Tony Iommi, would be reforming the ''

Dehumanizer ''Dehumanizer'' is the sixteenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on June 22, 1992. It was Sabbath's first studio album in over a decade to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice, and their first ...

''-era Black Sabbath line-up with

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 ...

and Ronnie James Dio, under the name Heaven & Hell to differentiate between the reunited touring band fronted by Osbourne, and the Dio-fronted version of the band. He rejoined Iommi and Osbourne to record '' 13'' and toured in support of the album, which reached its conclusion in 2017.

Style and legacy

Butler is noted for his melodic playing, and as being one of the first bassists to use a wah pedal and to down-tune his instrument (from the standard E-A-D-G to the lower C#-F#-B-E), as exemplified on Black Sabbath's '' Master of Reality'' album, to match Iommi who had started tuning his guitar to C# (a minor third down). During the band's Ozzy Osbourne era, Butler wrote most of the band's lyrics, drawing heavily upon his fascination with religion, science-fiction, fantasy and horror, and musings on the darker side of human nature that posed a constant threat of global annihilation. Butler is regarded as one of the most influential bassists in heavy metal. Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big said: "He's a founding father of a whole genre of music and a man who really set the bar early on to be such an integral part of the sound and song structure of Sabbath". In Mick Wall's biography of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...

entitled ''Run to the Hills'', founder Steve Harris recalls: "I distinctly remember trying to play along to Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" – at first I just could not get it. I threw the guitar on my bed and walked out in a huff, but the next day I came back, picked it up and played it all the way through note-for-note! Once I got going, I started getting into bass-lines with a bit more subtlety to them...". Former

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

bassist Jason Newsted, who defined him his "number 1 influence", stated: "All true metal bassists look up to Geezer as a pioneer and Godfather of our chosen instrument. The best, ever". Rex Brown of

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup cons ...

and Kill Devil Hill asserted: "He's a legend. He's everything. Geezer is so much of an influence on me. Other bassists such as Peter Steele, Cliff Burton, Les Claypool,

Steve Di Giorgio Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for working with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of whom he was one of the co-founders), Death, Testament, Megadeth, Sebastian Bach, Iced Earth, Autop ...

Alex Webster Alex Webster (born 1969) is an American bass player who is best known as a member of the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He is one of two remaining members of the original lineup of the band, along with drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. He is also ...

, John Myung,

Johnny Lee Middleton Johnny Lee Middleton (born May 7, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the bass guitar player for Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Musical beginnings Middleton was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. His first experie ...

, Greg Smith cited Butler as a significant influence on their style.

Personal life

Butler is married to Gloria Butler, who managed Heaven & Hell. He was divorced from his first wife in 1980. He also shares his Los Angeles home with several cats, of whom he has posted pictures on his website. His oldest son, Biff Butler, was the frontman in the

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

band Apartment 26. Butler says Biff is very religious and brings up his children in the Catholic faith. Butler's other son James earned a degree in social sciences from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and resides in London. Butler describes him as "very politically minded". "My youngest is extremely

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, and I think it's because he was brought up knowing wealth and money, whereas I was brought up having no money whatsoever. That's where the church came in and made up for the lack of money because everybody knew each other in the street and everybody used to help each other out", Butler said. Butler is a lifelong supporter of Aston Villa Football Club, and during Black Sabbath's induction to the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

, Butler is heard shouting "Up the Villa" as the members of the band left the stage. He has referred to football as his "religion" and has stated that Villa legend Peter McParland is his "all-time hero". According to Osbourne, Butler "never uses foul language". He was raised on a vegetarian diet, largely due to his family being too poor to buy meat on a regular basis, and has been a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

since approximately 1994. His mother was also a vegetarian. Butler appeared in a promotional ad for

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities hav ...

in 2009 and later urged fans to boycott Fortnum & Mason until they remove

foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delica ...

from their shelves. Butler said, "I've seen some outrageous things in my time, but watching those poor birds suffer simply so that their diseased livers can be sold on your shop floor is horrific!" Over the years, Butler has become disillusioned with politics, saying "For me, it's almost pointless voting anymore because it seems to be the same no matter what party or politics you stand for. It all seems corrupted to me. It's all the same old people that rule the world." He has also expressed concern over the increasing level of control government has in people's lives. "Every time I go back to England, there are things that totally surprise me that you never think would happen in England, just all the

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly ...

everywhere. There seems to be so much control over people these days", he said in 2014. In January 2015, Butler was briefly detained after a bar brawl in

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in Nort ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and charged with misdemeanour assault,

public intoxication Public intoxication, also known as "drunk and disorderly" and "drunk in public", is a summary offense in some countries rated to public cases or displays of drunkenness. Public intoxication laws vary widely by jurisdiction, but usually require an ...

and

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The ter ...

. He was released following detoxification and a citation. In 2016 he opened up about the event: "This guy started mouthing off about something. He was, like, some drunken Nazi bloke. He ..started going on about Jews and everything - Jews this, Jews that. My missus is Jewish and I'd just had enough, and me hand sort of met his chin. I whacked him one." On the 24th of December 2022 he was diagnosed with

Pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

Equipment

Butler currently endorses Lakland basses and has his own signature model. For amplification, Butler is endorsed by Hartke bass amplification, ''Kilo'' bass head and 4X10 HyDrive cabinet. In the past, he has been known to use Ampeg SVT and B-15 bass amps, and Fender, Dan Armstrong Plexi,

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...

, Yamaha BB, Vigier and B.C. Rich Basses. According to the Geezer Butler Bass Rig Rundown, he used the following over the years. * Pre-CBS Fender Precision (x2) *

Ampeg Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...

Dan Armstrong Plexiglass * John Birch (JB1 body style) in white (customised with a sticker in the style of a Coca Cola label but says "enjoy cocaine.") * John Birch (JB1 body style) in black * John Birch (JB1 body style) 8 string * Jaydee Roadie 2 (created by John Diggins) * BC Rich Eagle Deluxe * BC Rich Iron Bird * Spector NS-2 (in white) * Vigier Passion 5 * Vigier Arpege * Vigier Excess * Bill Nash custom precision (recording ''13'')

Lakland basses

From early 2000s *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

44-62 Precision Jazz ** In black with tortoise pickguard ** In black with grey pickguard ** In shoreline gold with grey pickguard (seen on ''Classic Albums: Black Sabbath'') * 44-51 Precision with (Vintage Single Coil pickup) Black with White pick guard as well as 3 small "Henry" stickers. * 44-51M Precision with a Split Coil, White with Black pick guard and a GZR sticker in the bridge * 44-64 Duck Dunn (Vintage P with J style Neck) Singe Precision (Gold sparkle with white pick guard. Jazz bass neck with pearloid block inlays. * Custom Lakland 51 style Precision in with the emblem of

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...

(Seen during "Paranoid" on ''The End of The End'' DVD)

Signature Lakland basses

Released in 2013 * Signature #1 Black with black and grey aluminium striped pickguard. Custom fret board inlays * Signature #2 Black with black and grey aluminium striped pickguard. Plain headstock, Henry sticker on 5th fret, rose gold inlays * Signature #3 Black with white pickguard, rose gold inlays. All black head stock.

Discography

;Black Sabbath * 1970: ''

'' * 1970: '' Paranoid'' * 1971: '' Master of Reality'' * 1972: '' Vol. 4'' * 1973: '' Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' * 1975: ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

'' * 1976: ''

Technical Ecstasy ''Technical Ecstasy'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, produced by guitarist Tony Iommi and released on 25 September 1976 by Vertigo Records. The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commerci ...

'' * 1978: '' Never Say Die!'' * 1980: '' Heaven and Hell'' * 1981: '' Mob Rules'' * 1982: '' Live Evil'' * 1983: ''

'' * 1992: ''

'' * 1994: ''

'' * 1995: ''

Cross Purposes Live ''Cross Purposes Live'' is a boxed set released by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath in March 1995. The set comprised a live album on CD and a VHS tape of a concert recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on Wednesday 13 April ...

'' * 1998: ''

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, US ...

'' * 2007: '' Black Sabbath: The Dio Years'' * 2013: '' 13'' * 2016: '' The End'' ;Solo * 1995: ''

Plastic Planet ''Plastic Planet'' is the debut studio album by GZR (known at the time as g//z/r), a heavy metal band featuring Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath. The album also features Fear Factory vocalist Burton C. Bell. Album information The song "Giving ...

'' (as " g//z/r") * 1997: '' Black Science'' (as "geezer") * 2005: ''

'' (as " GZR") ;Ozzy Osbourne * 1990: '' Just Say Ozzy'' * 1993: '' Live & Loud'' ("

") * 1995: ''

'' * 1997: ''

The Ozzman Cometh ''The Ozzman Cometh'' is a compilation album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne released in 1997. It is his third greatest hits collection. Its initial, limited-edition 2-CD pressing contained five previously unreleased songs. Versio ...

'' ("Back on Earth") ;Heaven & Hell * 2007: '' Live from Radio City Music Hall'' * 2009: '' The Devil You Know'' * 2010: '' Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell'' ;Non-album singles * 2018: "Down in Flames" (with Deadland Ritual) * 2019: "Broken and Bruised" (with Deadland Ritual) ;Other appearances * 1989: ''

Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell ''Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell'' was a 1989 compilation album featuring bands that performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival: Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, and Gorky Park. The album closes ...

'' (with

) * 1994: '' Nativity in Black'' (with Bullring Brummies) * 2013: '' Device'' (guest appearance on the song "Out of Line") * 2022: ''I'll Get Through It'' (with Apocalyptica and

Franky Perez Franky Perez is an American musician best known as a solo artist, touring vocalist of Finnish metal band Apocalyptica, and as former guitarist for Scars on Broadway. He has also released three solo albums, ''Poor Man's Son'', ''My 4th of July' ...

)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Geezer 1949 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Black Sabbath members English heavy metal bass guitarists English pacifists English people of Irish descent English rock bass guitarists English Roman Catholics GZR members Heaven & Hell (band) members Male bass guitarists Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Blues rock musicians