That time heavy-metal god Tony Iommi told me that he wasn’t into new-wave, but he liked the music from Flashdance

By Steve Newton Way back in January of 1984 I did my first interview with heavy-metal master Tony Iommi, famous for creating the most powerful hard-rock riffs known to man. At the time Iommi was touring behind Black Sabbath’s much-maligned Born Again, which is quite possibly the raunchiest Sabbath album ever recorded. At one point … Continue reading That time heavy-metal god Tony Iommi told me that he wasn’t into new-wave, but he liked the music from Flashdance

Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson picks Black Sabbath over Led Zeppelin

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 27, 2001 By Steve Newton The cover of the new Big Sugar CD, Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready?, features a classic hard-rock image of a skinny, longhaired fellow flailing away on a doubleneck Gibson guitar. If you didn’t know the guy was Big Sugar singer-guitarist Gordie Johnson, … Continue reading Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson picks Black Sabbath over Led Zeppelin

That time Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi told me what he thought of Megadeth, Metallica, and Pantera

By Steve Newton Back in March of 2007 I did my second interview with Tony Iommi, who was about to kick off a nine-month global tour with the Ronnie James Dio-fronted Heaven and Hell. (The band had changed its name from Black Sabbath, which it had previously recorded and toured under, to differentiate it from … Continue reading That time Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi told me what he thought of Megadeth, Metallica, and Pantera

Ear of Newt and The Tapes Archive present Tony Iommi: The Born Again Interview, 1984

By Steve Newton As you may already know, for the last few years I’ve been digitizing hundreds of the interviews I’ve done with rock legends since 1982 and posting excerpts from them on this website, with the full conversations being made available on my Patreon page. But as of today I’m taking it up a … Continue reading Ear of Newt and The Tapes Archive present Tony Iommi: The Born Again Interview, 1984

That time Tony Iommi told me that he didn’t think Ozzy Osbourne needed to record Sabbath tunes for his live album

By Steve Newton Back in January of 1984 I did my first interview with Tony Iommi, while Black Sabbath was touring behind its Born Again album. Fourteen months earlier Sabbath’s former frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, had released a double live album, Speak of the Devil, which hit stores just two months before Sabbath’s own double live … Continue reading That time Tony Iommi told me that he didn’t think Ozzy Osbourne needed to record Sabbath tunes for his live album

That time Jason Newsted told me that Black Sabbath were “the inventors” and they could do anything they want

By Steve Newton Jason Newsted is best known as the bassist who played with Metallica for 14 years, during the peak of their popularity, on discs like …And Justice For All and The Black Album. I interviewed him back in July of 2013, when he was fronting his own group, Newsted, three weeks before it … Continue reading That time Jason Newsted told me that Black Sabbath were “the inventors” and they could do anything they want

That time Ronnie James Dio told me that he thought Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules was a better album than Heaven and Hell

By Steve Newton Black Sabbath impressed a lot of people in April of 1980 when it released Heaven and Hell, its first album with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. I was one of those people. So I was pretty surprised when, while I was interviewing him in 1985, Dio told me that he thought Sabbath’s … Continue reading That time Ronnie James Dio told me that he thought Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules was a better album than Heaven and Hell

That time Ronnie James Dio told me that Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” was his favourite song out of all the things he’d done

By Steve Newton Way the funk back in 1985 I did my one and only interview with Ronnie James Dio. He was touring behind Dio’s Sacred Heart album, and he got tickets and backstage passes to the show in Vancouver at the Pacific Coliseum. I’ll never forget how kind and generous he was when we … Continue reading That time Ronnie James Dio told me that Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” was his favourite song out of all the things he’d done

Martin Birch’s finest moments with Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and Blue Öyster Cult

By Steve Newton If you’re fan of hard rock and metal you’ve no doubt already heard that Martin Birch, the preeminent producer of loud rock, passed away recently at the age of 71. I’ve interviewed my fair share of hard-rock producers, including the formerly Vancouver-based triumvirate of Bruce Fairbairn, Bob Rock, and Mike Fraser, but … Continue reading Martin Birch’s finest moments with Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and Blue Öyster Cult

The Dead Daisies–featuring ex-members of Whitesnake, Mötley Crüe, Dio, and Pride & Glory–play Vancouver tonight

The DDs in Montreal last Wednesday By Steve Newton Any Vancouverites up for a rowdy evening of ’80-style hard-rock tonight? The Dead Daisies, a guitar-rock collective originally formed in 2012 by Australian businessman-turned-rocker David Lowy, plays the Hollywood Theatre in Kits tonight (Saturday, September 2). In previous incarnations the group has included such old-school rock … Continue reading The Dead Daisies–featuring ex-members of Whitesnake, Mötley Crüe, Dio, and Pride & Glory–play Vancouver tonight

Newt’s top 10 things to do in Vancouver this week, August 28 to September 1

Midnight Cowboy screens at VIFF Centre By Steve Newton MONDAY: Vancouver blues-rock band Terminal Station, composed of singer-guitarist Scott Smith, keyboardist Darryl Havers, bassist Jeremy Holmes, and drummer Liam MacDonald, plays Guilt and Co. Check out their Allman Brothers vibe. MONDAY TO THURSDAY: screenings at the VIFF Centre of director Laura Moss’s new psychological horror film Birth/Rebirth, which … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Vancouver this week, August 28 to September 1

Kingdom Come hopes to avoid Zeppelin comparisons with new In Your Face LP

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 30, 1989 By Steve Newton Diehard Led Zeppelin fans were either impressed or outraged when Kingdom Come’s debut album came out two years ago. The LP–made here in Vancouver at Little Mountain Sound and produced by Bob Rock–sounded an awful lot like a tribute to (or cloning of) Messrs. Page and … Continue reading Kingdom Come hopes to avoid Zeppelin comparisons with new In Your Face LP

Martin Birch, producer of unforgettable hard-rock/metal albums, dies at 71

By Steve Newton It’s a sad day for fans of ’70s and ’80s hard-rock and heavy-metal. Martin Birch, who produced and/or engineered more popular metal albums than most anyone, died earlier today at the age of 71. Birch produced such monumental loud-rock albums as Rainbow’s Rising, Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell, Blue Oyster Cult’s Fire … Continue reading Martin Birch, producer of unforgettable hard-rock/metal albums, dies at 71