Geezer Butler confirms his retirement and says Black Sabbath is still ‘put to bed’
Legendary Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has confirmed his retirement from performing live.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone to promote his autobiography Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath and Beyond, Geezer Butler was asked about the possibility of performing live again.
“I don’t want to do anything anymore,” he quipped.
Butler went on to explain that he decided to retire before the pandemic when he was touring with his short-lived supergroup Deadland Ritual alongside Matt Sorum, Steve Stevens and Franky Perez.
Formed in 2018, Deadland Ritual released the singles ‘Down in Flames’ and ‘Broken and Brusied’, and they played events including Download Festival and Hellfest, however they called it a day after just one year.
“I didn’t realise how hard starting from scratch is, especially when you’re used to your own plane and staying at the Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton,” Butler said. “You’re back in little clubs and getting on a bus together. It just didn’t suit me.”
In a separate interview with Oklahoma-based radio station Rock 100.5 The KATT, Butler was asked if Black Sabbath will perform again at a one-off show or if the band is “put to bed now.”
He replied: “It’s put to bed now. I’ll never say never, because I’ve said it so many times before, and then something comes up. But no, I just cannot see it happening now at all.”
Butler explained: “I’m gonna be 74 next (month). The others (Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward) are in the middle 70s.
“So time starts tolling on your body physically and mentally and everything else. You can’t go out and fool the public and pretend that you’re really enjoying it when your back is killing you or something. It lets you know that it’s time to call it a day.”
Black Sabbath’s final gig took place more than six years ago in February 2017 at the Genting Arena in their home city of Birmingham.
Watch Black Sabbath perform their final song at their final gig:
As recently as 2021, Tony Iommi has expressed a desire to perform live with Black Sabbath again, however he conceded it’s unlikely to happen.
“I think it’s highly unlikely that we’d get back onstage again,” Iommi said. “It certainly wouldn’t be touring. We’d only do so many shows, if anything.
“I would like to play with the guys again. But I can’t see that happening.”
Ozzy Osbourne cancelled his No More Tours 2 UK tour back in February due to his ongoing health issues, however he’s due to make his live comeback with a one-off show headlining Power Trip festival in California in October.
