THE roar of the crowd; the fans baying for more; thousands chanting the names of their heroes … it’s something that never fails to lift the heart of Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler.  

But we’re not talking about the faithful lapping up the heavy metal riffs, rumbling bass and thundering drums on concert stages across the globe that have become the soundtrack to his life.

This is that small matter famously more important than life and death. This is football. And in Geezer’s case, the lifelong love of Aston Villa FC that sparked the decision for Sabbath to say their farewell at Villa Park on Saturday July 5

Terence Michael Joseph Butler was born on July 17, 1949 in Birmingham working class district Aston, and grew up in a house on Victoria Road, just a few streets from the Villa’s iconic home ground.

“I used to hear the crowd roar whenever Villa were at home,” he recalls. “It was a mighty roar, a lion’s roar. Before I could afford the one shilling entrance fee for the Holte End, I would play football with my dog in the backyard and pretend the crowd was cheering me.

“I played football with my brothers, too, and at school before I ever managed to actually go to a Villa game. Just having one of the world’s most famous football clubs just down the road from our house played a big part in my upbringing.”

His parents weren’t into football, although his dad religiously did the football pools every week. Brother Jimmy, however, was a supporter who went to every home game and some away games. Geezer’s other brother, Paddy, would also go occasionally. 

“Coming from a working class family, the only time I left Aston was to Handsworth Park, two day-trips to the seaside in the summer, and a two-week trip every other year to my granny’s house in Dublin with my parents and sister,” says Geezer.

Tony Iommi and Geezer at Villa Park

“So it was such a big deal when Villa were playing at home, because there would be thousands of people from all parts descending on Aston every two weeks in the season.”

And where there was a will, there was a way. Young Geezer would watch the first half of a game from the hilly Aston Park, which overlooks Villa Park and, at the time, offered a partial view of the action for free.

“I didn’t have the money to get into the Holte End so I would watch the first half from the park, then sneak in after half-time when the gates were re-opened,” he remembers. “Money was scarce back then, but I was determined to see as much of a match as possible.

“My first full game, when I actually had that precious shilling to get in, came when I was seven years old. Those were the days when a seven-year-old kid could go to a match without any parents or grown-ups, and without any problems.

Geezer’s specially commissioned Villa bass

“I think the game was against Preston North End, and I was shocked to hear their supporters cheering for a football team that wasn’t Aston Villa! Back then I thought everyone supported Villa, for some reason. Villa won 2-0, and, of course, I was hooked.

“I’ll never forget that first time. That roar I’d heard from home was absolutely deafening, we were all packed in like sardines and the smell of pipe smoke was overwhelming. All the old-timers would be smoking pipes, and I will always associate that smell with matchdays.

“I still dream of those days. I used to make my way behind the goal, since I was just a little kid. Most kids would watch from there, rather than stand behind an adult further up the Holte End steps. Of course everyone had rattles back then, mostly left overs from the Second World War, and getting whacked in the head by one when someone was rattling wasn’t much fun!”

He was no stranger to the hallowed Villa Park pitch either.

Geezer’s autographed Peter McParland print

“At the end of every match, all the kids near where I was standing would leap over the rails and run onto the pitch to pat a favourite player on the back,” he says. “The pitch was usually deep mud, and God knows how the players would play on that for 90 minutes. How things have changed!

“Peter McParland was always a favourite in our house, maybe because he was Irish, but especially after he scored both goals in the 1957 FA Cup Final against the great Manchester United Busby Babes. The national press gave Villa no chance, so it was an incredible victory and, of course, the record breaking seventh cup final win up until then.

“I think every kid in Aston dreamed about playing for the Villa. I did play for the school team on occasion, but I wasn’t very good. I tried to be a left winger like Peter McParland, but usually ended up playing in goal, because I was one of the few kids who didn’t mind diving for the ball and getting kicked in the head by the opposing team!”

Geezer started going to watch Villa regularly, seeing every home match and some away matches when he could afford to. He’d go up to the ground with one or two mates – but it wasn’t always without incident. 

Geezer receiving his Walk of Stars honour

“When I was around 16, I grew my hair long, which didn’t go down well with the skinheads in the Holte End,” he recalls. “So rather than have my head kicked in, I started to concentrate more on my second loves, music and girls. Of course, I still supported Villa, but I valued my health more.

“It became dangerous if you looked like a hippie to go to matches. Ozzy told me that he once ventured near the Villa ground only to be chased halfway to Erdington by skinheads.”

His favourite memory of watching the Villa, he says, was watching his heroes win the FA Cup Final in 1957: “My dad rented a tiny black and white television to watch it on, and I’d never known such excitement in our house before,” he says. “I bought a little replica of the FA Cup from a local shop and had it mounted on the windowsill in our front room.

“My worst memory was when my mate’s dad made me help paint his house when I called in to meet him on the way to the match. His dad was very strict, and I knew he’d get a good beating if he went with me to the match, so I was dragged in to help him paint too

“Villa won 11-1 that day – I never spoke to my mate again.”

Villa stars celebrate after the European Cup win

Geezer’s love of the Beautiful Game has occasionally clashed with his Black Sabbath commitments, and never more memorably so than in 1982 when Villa beat Bayern Munich to lift the European Cup.

“We were on tour in the USA, and I was in St Louis at the time,” he says. “Of course, football – or soccer, as they called it over there – was unheard of in the States back then, and there were no cell phones or laptops in those days.

“So the only way I could listen to the match was by holding a payphone up to my ear while my friend in England held his phone to the radio in England. It cost me a bloody fortune, probably more than if I’d flown over to Europe. But it was worth it in the end, and he sent me a cassette to play of the radio recording in case I’d missed a bit.

“Since I moved to live in the States, I watch every match without fail, as every match in every division or competition is shown on TV here – much more than in the UK. Whenever I’m in England, I go to the Villa, if they are at home. The last time was in December, against Southampton.”

Last year, Geezer got involved in the launch of the latest Villa kit and visited the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground for the first time – and things finally came full circle when his dream of playing at Villa Park finally came true.

“My granddaughter went to the same school in Los Angeles as Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear’s daughter, and they became good friends,” he explains. “My son Biff became friends with Pat, and when he mentioned the Foo Fighters were about to play ‘soccer’ stadiums in the UK, Biff asked if they were playing Villa Park.

“He revealed that I was a huge fan of the Villa, and Foo Fighters invited me to come and play Paranoid with them. Well, of course I said ‘yes’. Now, to play with the original Sabbath line-up at Villa Park will be my ultimate Sabbath dream come true.”

Black Sabbath play their Back To The Beginning supershow at Villa Park on Saturday July 5, headlining a stellar cast of A-listers including Metallica, Guns N’Roses, Tool, Slayer, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Sammy Hagar, Nuno Bettencourt and Tom Morello.

Interview taken from Black Sabbath: The Homecoming – a Daily Mirror special publication written by Paul Cole, priced £3.50 and available at leading newsagents and supermarkets, or online here. Pictures of Geezer at Villa Park courtesy Birmingham Post & Mail.