Black Sabbath was a hippie band or not?

[forever now]

There was an argument on a forum. Black Sabbath was a hippie band or Black Sabbath hates hippies? [i'm talking about ozzy era]

[thehodge]

ahh not a hippie band, and they were of the thinking that "its ok to think about peace and love and green grass blue skies, its a lovely thought, but it just aint that way..." (paraphrasing of what iommi said himself)

[racer]

Black Sabbath wasn't "anti-hippie" per se, but they were a contrast. Like TheHodge pointed out, Iommi has stated many times that the band members felt the hippie peace/love thing was crap, because it certainly didn't resemble the hardcore industrial world from which they came. Instead, Black Sabbath demonstrated that there was a darker side.

Hippie band? No.

[VikingChrist]

Black Sabbath was not a hippie band. As I understand it, Sabbath didn't necessarily hate hippies, but a lot of hippies hated them.

[Monkey]

Black Sabbath killed the hippie's buzz with dark music.

[kentuckyfan]

Sabbath destroyed the hippies. Thank God. Love many of the San Franciso bands but for the political and some social stands they were the worst generation America has ever had. I do support the civil rights but not much past that.

[Last Tyr]

Sabbath destroyed the hippies. Thank God. Love many of the San Franciso bands but for the political and some social stands they were the worst generation America has ever had. I do support the civil rights but not much past that.

amen !!

[Paulie 88]

Hey, the Manson "Family" were hippies too. Think of it that way.

All the best,
PAULIE

[SammiCurr]

I've heard all the interviews where they say they were against hippies, that they killed the hippie dream and this and that, but in the early days they certainly dressed like hippies and some of the songs have hippie messages (Children of the Grave). And Ozzy threw up peace signs and said "We Love U!" for how many years? They may not have been as hippy as the Grateful Dead, but they definitely had some hippie tendencies in the early days. It was probably impossible not to at the time. That crap was everywhere.

[Mr. Haskins]

Maybe they were a bit hippie in their days as Polka Tulk and then Earth, but as Ozzy said, "Black Sabbath (the song) was a reaction to all the peace, love and happiness shit that was going about at the time. The hippies said, "The world is so beautiful, man", but you only had to look around to see how crappy it was."

[Ryan Porter]

I'm inclined to believe that their hippie days didn't start until around Vol.4. Honestly, at about that time, their entire musical approach (and then-some) changed dramatically, and Ozzy's stage show became more "I love you all" oriented, and he dressed a lot more accordingly to the hippie code. It's really interesting to see not just how the music changes in this era of time, but the imagery behind it. Not to mention, the attitude.

[DiosSword]

They looked like hippies in their early days (inner gatefold of Paranoid), and partook of a lot of the same "recreational chemistry," but hippies they most certainly were not.

My older sister was a hippy. Hippies really believed that putting flowers in the barrels of rifles would cure the world's ills.

Black Sabbath exposed the world's ills unvarnished for all the world to see. Geezer once said, "The world's a right fucking shambles."

[Benjo]

There was an argument on a forum. Black Sabbath was a hippie band or Black Sabbath hates hippies? [i'm talking about ozzy era]

Sabbath were not hippies. Their hairstyles, flared pants and platform shoes gave them a mild hippy look, but that was the fashion then. Ozzy is still doing the peace sign now and hippydom is decades long gone!

[racer]

I've heard all the interviews where they say they were against hippies, that they killed the hippie dream and this and that, but in the early days they certainly dressed like hippies and some of the songs have hippie messages (Children of the Grave). And Ozzy threw up peace signs and said "We Love U!" for how many years? They may not have been as hippy as the Grateful Dead, but they definitely had some hippie tendencies in the early days. It was probably impossible not to at the time. That crap was everywhere.

I respectfully disagree with something you said above ... "Children of the Grave" isn't anymore "hippy" than was Megadeth chanting "Peace sells, but who's buying?"

Sabbath were never a band that dwelled on negative messages ... they simply pushed their message forward using dark imagery. Whereas a song like CotG sends its message in a "if you don't do this, these bad things will happen" type of way, hippies would have just exposed the positive side ... "work for peace and love ... let me have another flower in my hair ... la-tee-da ..."
When I say Sabbath never (for the most part) dwelled on negative messages
I mean, for instance:
The song Black Sabbath isn't a "pro-Satan" song
War Pigs isn't pro war and hate
Hand of Doom isn't pro-drugs
After Forever is pro-Christianity
Into the Void is pro-peace and environmentalism

But the way these messages were presented scared the living doo-doo out of peaceful hippies! No, Sabbath were not a hippy band

[OzzyIsDio]

I think Sabbath were realistic hippies, we can have peace and love, if we change our ways, not through unrealistic flower power peace, love and sex.

So you children of the world, listen to what I say if you want a better place to live in spread the words today Show the world that love is still alive you must be brave or you children of today are Children of the Grave, Yeah!

As someone pointed out the Manson family were hippies, of which I just seen a couple of movies regarding them.

[Wicked Cricket]

No they weren't a 'hippie" band though they would have been regarded by people at the time as hippies... they certainly were influenced by that movement who wasn't that was young in those days and in a band no less. There music actually may have started and even finished the hippie movement, maybe sooner then it would have eventually died out.

[OzzyIsDio]

No they weren't a 'hippie" band though they would have been regarded by people at the time as hippies... they certainly were influenced by that movement who wasn't that was young in those days and in a band no less. There music actually may have started and even finished the hippie movement, maybe sooner then it would have eventually died out.

Hi Wicked, always good to see you back.

I hope I conveyed the proper message in calling them realistic hippies?

Sabbath spoke of the horrors and reality of the day and today actually, with a message of hope.

[tsimisde]

Well, it depends from the view you see it. Surely, Sabbath's image and style, isnt bright and shiny as the other artists image back then. It is dark and it has nothing to do with "flower power". As the band members admitted in various interviews, their music style, is dark, gloomy and evil. Elements which are completely opposite with the brightness and the positive mood of the hippies.

But, we have some points which maybe explain the "Hippie band" moniker in the side of the Black Sabbath name. In some of the Ozzy stuff, you will feel the excistence of the psychedelic Elements. And what caused psychedelia in the band? Drugs. The guys back then, were living the dream with "Sweet leaf" and the related stuff which drove them to ecstasy. It reminds you something? Yes, the Hippies. Hippies way of life is based on Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll. If you think about it, Black Sabbath, were following this way of life so the similarities, are obvious.

Also, you can feel the Hippie Element in the 70's stuff. Songs like Changes, Sweet Leaf, War Pigs, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (espescially the Chorus), are having the Hippie flair.

So, in my opinion, Black Sabbath, isnt a "Hippie band" in 100% but, some elements, are explaining the term....