44 Facts About Geezer Butler

Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler was born on 17 July 1949 and is an English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the rock band Black Sabbath.

Geezer Butler grew up in a working-class Irish Catholic family, the son of James and Mary Geezer Butler.

Geezer Butler's father had served in the Royal Scots Regiment and later settled in Birmingham, where he worked for an engineering company.

Geezer Butler was born in the family house on Victoria Road in the Aston district of Birmingham, a house that had been damaged by Luftwaffe bombs during the Second World War.

Geezer Butler has said that he enjoyed an "incredibly loving, happy childhood".

At the age of ten, Geezer Butler passed the eleven plus examination and was accepted by Birmingham's prestigious Holte Grammar School in 1960.

Geezer Butler was later heavily influenced by the writing of Aleister Crowley as a teenager.

Geezer Butler cited a loss of belief, and feels that everyone should sooner or later decide for themselves what to believe in.

Geezer Butler became obsessed with The Beatles and The Kinks, and later Cream and Jimi Hendrix.

Geezer Butler joined his first band, the Ruums, named after an Arthur Porges science fiction story, in 1965.

The Ruums would perform only a handful of local gigs before breaking up, but it was long enough for Geezer Butler to decide that he wanted to devote his life to music.

In late 1967, Geezer Butler formed the band The Rare Breed, with an acquaintance named Ozzy Osbourne soon joining as lead vocalist.

At that time, Geezer Butler was dating a girl named Georgina who lived near Tony Iommi, and Iommi's earliest memories of Geezer Butler involved seeing him walking past his house every day to visit her.

Later, Iommi and Geezer Butler became acquainted when their bands played at a nearby nightclub.

When Sabbath was formed, Iommi made it clear that he did not want to play with another guitarist, so Geezer Butler moved to bass.

Iommi described Geezer 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, Geezer Butler had been hired by a Birmingham steel company to train in the accounting department, and this business experience resulted in him managing the band's finances in the early days.

Geezer Butler said he was "pissed off" yet relieved, and spent the following two or three weeks resting and getting healthy, not giving much thought to what he would do next.

Geezer Butler then received a phone call from Ward inviting him to rehearsals which were starting the next day.

Geezer Butler has said that he did not really want to return but did so only because he had nothing else going on musically.

The 1980 album Heaven and Hell was recorded with bassist Craig Gruber but Geezer Butler returned to the band at the last minute and re-recorded the bass parts prior to release.

Geezer Butler again left the band in 1984 after touring in support of their 1983 album, Born Again, although he returned months later as the band attempted a comeback with vocalist David Donato.

In 1988, Geezer Butler joined the backing band of his former Sabbath bandmate Osbourne to take part in the No Rest for the Wicked World Tour.

Geezer Butler rejoined Black Sabbath in 1991 for the reunion of the Mob Rules line-up, but again quit the group after the Cross Purposes tour in 1994.

In 1995 Geezer Butler again joined Osbourne's band to perform on the Ozzmosis album.

Geezer Butler returned to Sabbath once more for the 1997 edition of Ozzfest, and has remained with the band since.

Geezer Butler rejoined Iommi and Osbourne to record 13 and toured in support of the album from 2012 to 2014.

Geezer Butler provided the narrating voice for the audio-book version.

Geezer Butler learned guitar as a teenager on an old acoustic that had only two strings.

Geezer Butler says that due to this limitation he developed a "very strange style" which would later serve him well when he switched to bass guitar after forming Black Sabbath.

Later, his older brother Jimmy gave him a brand new Rosetti acoustic guitar that cost him two weeks salary, an act of kindness that Geezer Butler says changed his life forever.

Geezer Butler is regarded as one of the most influential bassists in heavy metal.

Geezer Butler had already met his second wife, Gloria, on 16 September 1978 just prior to Black Sabbath's concert at the Checkerdome in St Louis, Missouri.

Geezer Butler has stated that Biff is very religious and brings up his children in the Catholic faith.

Geezer Butler had a pet dog named Scamp in the 1950s who he "got to love more than any human friend" and the family house was "full of pets".

Geezer Butler is a lifelong supporter of Aston Villa Football Club, and during Black Sabbath's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Geezer Butler is heard shouting "Up the Villa" as the members of the band left the stage.

Geezer Butler has referred to AVFC as his "second religion" in his younger days and in 2023 he said that the team had become his "only religion", having become disillusioned with the Catholic church.

Geezer Butler started attending games anytime he could and lists former Aston Villa star Peter McParland as his "all-time hero".

Geezer Butler's father told him that only ignorant people swear, and Butler was beaten with a belt.

Geezer Butler says that to this day he seldom swears "despite spending thousands of days in the company of Ozzy Osbourne".

Geezer Butler has similarly become completely disillusioned with religion, calling it "inherited brainwashing".

In January 2015, Geezer Butler was briefly detained after a bar brawl in Death Valley, California and charged with misdemeanour assault, public intoxication and vandalism.

Geezer Butler initially ruled out a Black Sabbath reunion, saying the band was "put to bed", though a one-off show was later announced in February 2025 to take place in July of that year.

Geezer Butler endorses Lakland basses and has his own signature model, as well as DR Strings, EMG pick-ups, and Hartke amplifiers.