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According to Michael Guarracino, a spokesman at Ozzy Osbourne's
management company, some of the band members are already in Wales
warming up -- including drummer Bill Ward, who suffered a
heart attack earlier this year after rehearsing for Black Sabbath's
summer "Reunion" dates in Europe. Veteran metal skinsman Vinnie
Appice filled in for the ailing drummer at the time, but according
to Guarracino, Ward is "feeling fine" and will accompany Ozzy,
guitarist Tommy Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler on their first
tour with the entire line-up on board in two decades. The tour
kicks off at Phoenix, Arizona's Bank One Ballpark on New
Year's Eve with opening acts Pantera, Megadeth, Slayer and Soulfly
(the Deftones join the mini-Ozzfest on Jan. 25).
The Wales workshop won't be Sabbath's only dry run. In fact, right
after Christmas, the entire production team will set up shop in
Phoenix to rehearse all the staging procedures and numerous special
effects. Tickets to these reunion shows are selling so strongly
that three shows have been added, including a second show at the
Los Angeles' Forum (Jan. 6), as well as new dates at Grand Rapids,
Michigan's Van Andel Arena (Feb. 11) and Dayton, Ohio's Nutter
Center (Feb. 12).
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| Sabbath Out Of Hall Voting 11.14.98 |
Springsteen, McCartney, and Joel will be joined by soul
kingpin Curtis Mayfield, singer Dusty Springfield, gospel's the
Staples Singers, and "Runaway" hitmaker Del Shannon as the
latest class of Hall inductees at a ceremony set for March 15
at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
George Martin, the noted Beatles producer who recently foisted
a collection of Beatles' classics being covered by folks like
Jim Carrey on the world, will also be inducted in as a
"non-performer."
The event will mark a return for McCartney in theory if not
in actuality. He was inducted with his fellow Beatles in 1988,
but did not attend the ceremony.
Sabbath was nominated for induction this time out, but didn't
make the cut. The development more than likely came as little
surprise to Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who recently
told MTV News, ""It would be nice, but if we don't, I'm not
building my hopes up with this. They got people like McCartney,
Bruce Springsteen, all the rest of them are like huge, so if we
get in we get in, if we don't we don't."
| Sabbath Tour Info 11.8.98 |
| Ozzy On Rick Wakemans New Album 11.8.98 |
The album, which will be recorded in London during November with the
London Symphony Orchestra and the English Chamber Choir, will also
feature a host of special guests including Star Trek's Patrick Stewart
(narrator), Ozzy Osbourne, Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), Trevor
Rabin (YES) and Bonnie Tyler. Further guest artists will be announced
shortly.
The announcement comes just weeks after Wakeman was rushed into
intensive care suffering from a life threatening combination of pneumonia
and pleurisy following an exhaustive trip to Los Angeles to record Patrick
Stewart's narration. Now fully recovered, the timing of Wakeman's
illness ironically mirrors the original work when he suffered a major heart
attack shortly after completing the album.
The release will coincide with a series of major live performances
of the album in capital cities across all five continents with the world's
leading symphony orchestras and choirs. The work is expected to receive
its live debut in London during January directly followed by
two American premieres in Los Angeles and New York.
All three stage shows will feature a unique "Return to the Centre of the
Earth" stage set conceived by renowned artist Roger Dean who has also been
commissioned to create the original artwork and sleeve design for the album.
Full details will be announced later this month.
"Return to the Centre of the Earth" has taken Wakeman some three
years to plan. The original album sold in excess of twelve million units
worldwide, hit the top ten in twenty territories and saw some of the most
extravagant live shows ever staged. It was an integral part of classic
Seventies excess - along with other renowned Wakeman extravaganzas
including "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "The Myths and Legends
of King Arthur..." - and critics at the time claimed that the likes of
it
would never be seen again.
Rick Wakeman is one of rock's most charismatic figures. In a career spanning
thirty five years and with record sales in excess of 100 million units
both
as a solo artist and as a member of superstar group YES, Wakeman has led
a chequered lifestyle. A classically trained musician, Wakeman was the
ultimate "wild man of rock" during the Seventies until he was given
less than three months to live unless he stopped drinking. He now lives
on the Isle of Man with his wife, former page three model
Nina Carter. In recent years, his highly diversified career has also
encompassed Christian recordings, numerous game and chat show
appearances and host of the contemporary comedy series "Live at Jongleurs".
"Return to the Centre of the Earth" will be recorded at London's CTS
Studios with the orchestra and choir between November 19th - 28th.
EMI Classics are planning a massive marketing campaign to coincide
with the release which will mark the label's first involvement with a
contemporary composer since Paul McCartney's "Standing Stone"
project in 1997.
| Ozzy & Busta Rhymes? 10/18/98 |
Ozzy Osbourne will tentatively enter a studio sometime
next week to record a vocal on Busta Rhymes' cover of
Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," according to a source in
Osbourne's camp. Other notable guests on the album include
Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, and Mystikal. E.L.E., which stands
for Extinction Level Event, is due Dec. 8 on Elektra Records.
| Sabbath tour info 10/17/98 |