"Neon Knights" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

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 ...

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'' album. It was quickly written and recorded at Studio Ferber in Paris during January 1980 simply to fill time on the album's first side. The lyrics were written by Ronnie James Dio. It is the only song on ''Heaven and Hell'' to definitely feature songwriting input from bassist

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 ...

, the band's main lyricist during the

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 ...

era. Butler was absent for most of the songwriting process due personal issues as well as his own uncertainty as to whether he wanted to remain in the band. Dio occasionally performed the song during their live shows. The venue and date of the live version of "Children of the Sea" is not specified. The song reached number 22 on the UK charts, but failed to chart in the US or anywhere else. In the UK the first 25,000 copies had a picture-bag.

Track listing

7" single # "Neon Knights" – 3:49 # "Children of the Sea" (live) – 6:30

Personnel

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 ...

– guitar * Bill Ward – drums *

– bass * Ronnie James Dio – vocals *

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

Chart positions

Covers

Iron Savior Iron Savior is a German power metal band that was formed in Hamburg in 1996. Following a period of several years working behind the scenes in music production, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Piet Sielck joined with former Helloween ...

covered the song on their 1999 album '' Unification''. * Steel Prophet covered the song on their 2000 album ''Genesis''. *

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...

covered the song on their 2001 album ''Awatar''. * Westworld covered the song on their 2002 album ''Cyberdreams''. *

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...

covered the song on their 2007 album '' Take Cover''. *

Sapattivuosi Sapattivuosi is a Finnish Black Sabbath tribute band singing in Finnish. The band was initiated as a project by vocalist Hannu Paloniemi, drummer Simo Vehmas, and guitarist Janne Halmkrona (also of CMX). Sapattivuosi's first two albums covered ...

covered the song on their 2009 album ''Ihmisen merkki''. *

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

covered the song in 2010 for the tribute album ''Neon Knights – A Tribute to Black Sabbath''. * Anthrax covered the song during live performances in tribute to Dio following his death in 2010. In 2014, the band recorded a studio version for the tribute album '' Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life''.

References

{{authority control 1980 singles Black Sabbath songs Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Geezer Butler Songs written by Bill Ward (musician) Songs written by Ronnie James Dio 1980 songs Vertigo Records singles Warner Records singles