Australian Tours 1971, 1973, 1974
Lineup
for all three tours:
- Tony Iommi (guitars)
- Ozzy Osbourne (vocals)
- Geezer Butler (bass)
- Bill Ward (drums)
1971 Paranoid Tour
PROMOTER:
(unknown)
DATES
/ CITIES / VENUES:
29 January 1971 - Wellington, New Zealand - (venue unknown)
30 January 1971 - Sydney, NSW - press reception
1 February 1973 - Myponga, South Australia - Myponga
Festival
SUPPORT:
Wellington - unknown
Myponga Festival bill:
Chain
Daddy Cool
Fanny Adams
Fraternity
Healing Force
Highway
King Harvest
Margret Roadknight
Spectrum
Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs
*See the Black Sabbath Live Project website for more information on this tour
1973
'Volume IV' Tour
PROMOTER:
unknown
DATES
/ CITIES / VENUES / SUPPORT:
5 January 1973 - Wellington, New Zealand - venue unknown
(first concert of the "Volume IV" tour)
Support: Ticket
7 January
1973 - New Zealand, Great Ngaruawahia
Music Festival*
Festival bill:
Corben Simpson (NZ) opening act
Fairport Convention (UK)
Ticket (NZ)
Blerta (NZ),
Dragon (NZ)
La De Das
Mammal (NZ)
Max Merritt & The Meteors,
Split Enz (NZ) and others
13
January 1973
- Melbourne, Kooyong Stadium
Support: Ticket
16
January 1973
- Sydney, Hordern Pavilion*
Support: Buffalo
17
January 1973
- Sydney, Hordern Pavilion
Support: Buffalo
18
January 1973
- Brisbane - Festival Hall
Support: Ticket
19
January 1973
- Adelaide - Apollo Stadium
Support: Ticket
*Concert recording known to exist
*See the Black Sabbath Live Project website for more information on this tour
1974
'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' Tour
PROMOTER:
unknown
DATES
/ CITIES / VENUES:
5 November 1974 - Sydney - Hordern Pavilion
7 November 1974 - Brisbane - Festival Hall*
9 November 1974 - Sydney - Horden Pavillion*
10 November 1974 - Sydney - Horden Pavillion*
11 November 1974 - Sydney - Horden Pavillion
12 November 1974 - Melbourne - Festival Hall*
14 November 1974 - Adelaide - Memorial Drive (final date of the
tour)
*Note: concert recording known to exist
SUPPORT:
Sydney - AC/DC
*See the Black Sabbath Live Project website for more information on this tour
Alongside Deep Purple and Free, Black Sabbath were one of the top groups in the new wave of heavy rock that flourished in the late 60s and early '70s, and which had a strong effect on Australasian bands.
The group made three tours of Australasia in the early 70s:
- their
first visit was a three date tour including a memorable performance
at the Myponga Festival in
South Australia in January 1971, a concert in Sydney, and a concert
in Wellington, NZ
- their
second seven-date tour in 1973 was for five dates in Australia
and two in New Zealand, including a performance at the Great
Ngaruawahia Festival, which is also notable as the first
major appearance by legendary Kiwi group Dragon
- the third tour in late 1974 was a four-city, seven-date, east cost tour, and was one of two major supporting gigs that year for AC/DC, the other being Lou Reed.
Adrian
Rawlins,
from Festivals in Australia: An Intimate History
"I was ... sole compere at Myponga. This festival was held
on a far from perfect site -- a flat treeless farm not far from
a lovely beach, but quite a way from Adelaide. The event was
organised by gentlemen who were not without capital. They had
arranged for Cat Stevens and Black Sabbath to headline. Through
no fault of theirs, Cat Stevens failed to honour his agreement,
but Black Sabbath arrived, and delivered a performance of insane,
unbridled energy, such as they never did again -- neither in
1973, '74 or '80. But while Black Sabbath was the Big Name at
Myponga, Daddy Cool were the Big Hit. Ross Wilson's on stage
persona, the band's zaniness and raunch, their pure golden rock,
their elan and panache, captivated everyone and established them
as the nation's number one band. Spectrum's seriousness and creativity
were more completely appreciated in Adelaide than they had been
in Melbourne -- though before long the band notched up a sizeable
following throughout the country.
The Adelaide media supported the concept of Myponga far more vigorously than the Sydney press or TV had supported either Ourimbah or Wallacia. But the numbers of participants who actually arrived were still not over 15,000 -- not enough to put the backers into a profit situation. Had another 5,000 people turned up the fetival would have been an all-round success."
Vince
Lovegrove
"I
can well remember their first-ever Australian performance at
Adelaide's historic and legendary, Myponga Festival. If you have
never heard of the Myponga Festival it is probably because it
has been all but forgotten by most of Australia's east coast
rock historians who seem to think that Oz rock exists only in
Sydney and Melbourne in their time only. But Myponga Festival
was one of the great Australian rock Festivals and close to the
hearts of all that attended - including the aforementioned Ozzy
Osbourne and many of Australia's mainstream acts. But it did
not include most of today's rock historians who either snubbed
the event or maybe were not even born."
Lovegrove's Ear on London 21/5/02
http://www.themusic.com.au/im_m/leol.html
Black
Sabbath Live Project
http://www.sabbathlive.com/
Black
Sabbath Online
http://www.black-sabbath.com/tourdates/index.html
Adrian
Rawlins
Festivals
in Australia: An Intimate History
D.T.E Publishers, Spring Hill, Vic, 1986
Black
Sabbath Live 1970-1979
http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/sabbathconcert/live70-79.html