Lost another one. Nichols played keyboards on many of the Black Sabbath albums over the years.
Lost another one. Nichols played keyboards on many of the Black Sabbath albums over the years.
Read of this on Classic Rock earlier today. Very sad. He also lent Sabbath his great vocals, which really helped Tony Martin in a live setting (in the '90s when Martin's voice wasn't what it used to be).
Did he really had to hide behind the stage during concerts?
From the video footage I've seen, yes he did. But a lot of bands did that. Cheap Trick hid a keyboardist backstage, so did Yes on the 90125 tour. I think there was a phase in the 80's where Kiss did the same thing too. I think that kind of stuff was (or is) more common than we think it is. The one that got me was Hall And Oates, who had two onstage keyboardists, but they still "needed" two people hidden backstage (I guess to cover for the songs where Darryl Hall didn't play piano and/or when Charlie DeChant was playing sax).
And I think Asia had backup singers hidden backstage on their first couple tours (either that, or there's overdubs on the Asia In Asia video, because there's like three people listed in the closing credits as such).
Sabbath hid Geoff backstage for the same reason Ozzy hid Don Airey: fans didn't think keyboardists belonged there and pelted them with stuff. But Sabbath didn't hide Geoff on the Forbidden tour, IIRC. Geoff also came out and took a bow with everyone on the Dehumanizer tour.
I remember seeing Fleetwood Mac on the “Say You Will” tour. We were sitting up pretty high. They had a 2nd drummer back behind the amps on stage. He was pretty much hidden, but from our vantage point we could see him from time to time when he would hit a cymbal or something up high. He was never acknowledged or anything the entire show. I thought it was very strange……
RiP. i reallly enjoyed the headlesstyrcrosspurposes era. saw them live back in 1989 and i do distinctly remember geoff nichols appearing to doff his hat with the others at the end.
Damn. Another one. I wouldn't have thought him to be very old. I'll have to look that up. He was a tasty player.
JG
"MARKLAR!"
Saw this write-up in Ultimate Classic Rock - had no idea he was originally brought in as bassist and he apparently is credited with crafting the "Heaven & Hell" bassline:
Born in Birmingham, England on Feb. 28, 1948, by the mid-‘70s, Nicholls was playing guitar and keyboards in Quartz, whose 1977 debut was produced by Iommi. During that period of late-‘70s turmoil where Ozzy Osbourne was fired and Geezer Butler quit, Nicholls was hired as a bassist. But Butler’s return saw him switch to keyboards, and, under new singer Ronnie James Dio, released Heaven and Hell in 1980.
Despite numerous lineup changes and dwindling sales through the ‘80s, Nicholls stayed with Black Sabbath, becoming a full-fledged member beginning with 1986’s Seventh Star. During the ‘90s he was twice demoted, during the 1992 Dehumanizer reunion with Dio and Osbourne’s return in 1997. The 2004 arrival of Adam Wakeman, Osbourne’s keyboardist from his solo band, ended Nicholls’ time with Black Sabbath.
Following his departure, he worked with another Black Sabbath alum, singer Tony Martin, in his band Headless Cross
A photo from when Geoff became an official member, along with Iommi, Dave Spitz, Eric Singer and Glenn Hughes:
Well, I couldn't see Adam Wakeman at all with Black Sabbath when I saw them last year on their final tour so there must be something to that. They introduced him at the end but I could not see him at all(I was pretty far back but still). I think it has to do with the heavy metal image thing. Keyboards are not traditionally part of the HM sound or image for the most part. This would never be the case with a prog metal band. Jordan Rudess would probably laugh or quit the band if someone asked him to hide behind the stage. Anyway, RIP.
I am fully aware of his contributions to the Black Sabbath albums, but what else has he done? Does he have any solo albums? Is he on any other reputable albums?
Library Jon
Does anyone know the cause of death?
Library Jon
In recent years I thought he was the same Geoff Nicholls who was in the psychfolk band The World Of Oz, but I guess this was the drummer of the same name.
Anyway ...
FWIW, I don't think him usually not being on stage had a thing to do with "image."
FFS, there are a lot of songs in the Sabbath catalog that ... you know ... HAD NO KEYBOARDS originally.
I always wondered why some people are perplexed by this. What is the keyboard player supposed to do on stage during "War Pigs" or "Fairies Wear Boots" or whatever? Just stand out there?
Sabbath was a four-man band for a long time before taking Jezz Woodruffe on tour in 1975 to play the keyboard parts they had done themselves on SBS and Sabotage. This is where it started, and I think it made complete sense to have him off to the side of the stage instead of standing out there twiddling his thumbs until it came time for "Megalomania" or whatever.
Nicholls was a great sound technician, IMO. Really loved many of his ideas and sonic landscapes.
Jeff, there absolutely was a thing with metal in the '80s where bands were "hiding" their keyboardist, or at least putting him in a much less visible part of the stage, like Ozzy hiding Don Airey in a foam castle keep, and guys like Claude Schnell (Dio) and Darren Wharton (Thin Lizzy) tucked away on a riser to the left or right of the drum kit (and usually with only a single light on him). Deep Purple and Rainbow didn't have this problem, though (but they weren't metal, though neither was Thin Lizzy).
It had nothing to do with Sabbath not having keyboards on the early albums.
Last edited by dropforge; 02-03-2017 at 11:48 AM.
Yes this was the same Geoff Nicholls. The World of Oz first single release on Deram was "The Muffin Man/Peter's Birthday" in May 1968. Following this release David Kubinec (guitar/organ) left the band and he was soon replaced by Geoff on organ. Geoff played on the bands next two singles namely King Croesus/Jack released in August 1968 and Willow's Harp/Like a Tear released in February 1969. Geoff also played on the bands self titled album "The World of Oz" that was released in March 1969 after which the band split up.
In recent years Geoff had been back playing with Quartz and they regularly appear at NWOBHM festivals around Europe. I met him at a friends funeral last year and he was a very unassuming guy. It's a pity he never received any sort of songwriting credit for his contribution to 'Heaven and Hell'.
Except that speaking to "metal" in a general sense wasn't my point.
Sabbath did not feature keyboards prominently. To have had a keyboardist on stage just to add some color to a few tracks during an entire show?
And speaking of Sabbath, when Nicholls started playing a more prominent role, Iommi decided to have him on stage during the Eternal Idol period. This was 1987 and probably going in the exact opposite direction to what you describe. And probably at a time when concern with "metal image" was peaking.
Again, I just personally doubt that Sabbath ever gave a shit about the "metal image" in terms of deciding not to have what typically amounted to a background keyboardist on stage. They started this practice in 1975, and if they mention that kind of thing now I would bet it's just that it makes for a "story." I don't recall it ever coming up anyway. Maybe in Iommi's book? I'd have to revisit.
I've been listening to the Martin era over the past week and I think it's pretty solid stuff. He has a great voice. Nichols did some tasfty keyboard textures. I noticed from YouTube comments that Martin gets a lot more respect now which is nice.
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