BLACK SABBATH

BLACK SABBATH ANTHOLOGY National Acrobat-Planet Caravan-N.I.B.-Iron Man-Junior's Eyes TABLATURE

BLACK SABBATH, ANTHOLOGY. Anthony Iommi a 12 anni suonava, come tutti i suoi famigliari, la fisarmonica. Dopo pochi mesi con i Jethro Tull come chitarrista, formerà alla fine del 1969 i Black Sabbath. L'ultimo giorno di lavoro nella fabbrica siderurgica dove era impiegato, una macchina gli taglia i polpastrelli del medio e dell'anulare. Il giorno dopo avrebbe dovuto suonare in Germania. Per un mezzo anno non può fare niente, poi cerca di ricominciare. Suona solo con due dita, perché è troppo doloroso quando preme le corde. "Quasi tutti mi dicevano di smettere, senza saper quanto era importante per me suonare, non sapevo come fare". Solo un suo amico insisteva perchè continuasse, e gli portò un disco di Django Reinhardt, il famoso jazzista gitano che suonava solo con due dita a causa di un incendio nella sua carovana. Stupito e incoraggiato da quel musicista, si costruì dei polpastrelli finti e anche se inizialmente non riusciva a sentire le corde ricominciò a suonare, adattando alla condizione delle sue dita i bendings e vibrati. La canzone N.I.B. (nib, in inglese vuol dire pennino) chiamata così perchè in quel periodo la barba del batterista Bill Ward, sembrava il pennino di una penna a inchiostro. Per ragioni di design della copertina, e per dare un senso criptato, di mistero, il titolo fu puntato; N.I.B.: Nativity In Black. TABLATURE

This unique collection of 27 of Black Sabbath's greatest songs will be a hit with your favorite HM guitarist. Includes such headbangers as Iron Man, Paranoid, and War Pigs. All guitar solos are notated in both standard notation and tablature.
127 pages

Contents:
A Hard Road
A National Acrobat
Black Sabbath
Chidren Of The Grave
Chidren Of The Sea
Country Girl
Dirty Women
Fairies Wear Boots/Jack The Stripper
Heaven And Hell
Iron Man
Junior's Eyes
Looking For Today
N.I.B.
Neon Knights
Never Say Die
Paranoid
Planet Caravan
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
Sleeping Village/A Bit Of Finger
Snowblind
Supernaut
Sweet Leaf
Tomorrow's Dream
Under The Sun/Every Day Comes And Goes
Voodoo
War Pigs
The Wizard

Price: €29,95
€29,95

BLACK SABBATH-MASTER OF REALITY-Solitude-Orchid Guitar Recorded Version TABLATURE LIBRO

 

 

BLACK SABBATH, MASTER OF REALITY. TABLATURE

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
Series: Guitar Recorded Version TABLATURE
Artist: Black Sabbath

Matching folio with 12 songs, including: After Forever • Children of the Grave • Death Mask • The Elegy • Into the Void • Solitude • Step Up • and more. 

Inventory #HL 00690148

ISBN: 9780793567751
UPC: 073999419962
Width: 9.0"
Length: 12.0"
40 pages

 

Album Released July 21, 1971

  • Tony Iommi - Lead Guitar & Keyboards
  • Geezer Butler - Bass
  • Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals
  • Bill Ward - Drums
  • Produced by Rodger Bain for Tony Hall Enterprises
  • Engineers: Colin Caldwell/Vic Smith
  • Recorded at Record Plant Los Angeles 

 

 

TITLE - AUTHOR - YEAR

After Forever - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Children Of The Grave - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Death Mask - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
The Elegy - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Embryo - Music: Frank Iommi - 1971
The Haunting - Words - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Into The Void  - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Lord Of This World - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Orchid - Music: Frank Iommi - 1971
Solitude - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Step Up - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971
Sweet Leaf - Words and music: Frank Iommi, William Ward, John Osbourne, Terence Butler - 1971

Price: €23,99
€23,99

BLACK SABBATH WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK 'N' ROLL Bass Recorded Versions TABLATURE LIBRO SPARTITI

BLACK SABBATH, WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK 'N' ROLL. BASS TAB.

Series: Bass Recorded Versions
Artist: Black Sabbath
Matching folio to the double live LP from this legendary heavy metal group. 15 songs, including:
Am I Going Insane (Radio)
Black Sabbath
Changes
Children Of The Grave
Fairies Wear Boots (Interpolating Jack The Stripper)
Iron Man
N.I.B.
Paranoid
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
Snowblind
Sweet Leaf
Tomorrow's Dream
War Pigs (Interpolating Luke's Wall)
Warning
The Wizard

80 pages

Price: €29,99
€29,99

BLACK SABBATH WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK N' ROLL Guitar Recorded Versions TABLATURE

BLACK SABBATH, WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK N' ROLL. TAB.

Revised Edition
Series: Guitar Recorded Version TAB

Guitar tab for 16 hard-rocking songs from the double live LP:

Am I Going Insane (Radio)
Black Sabbath
Changes
Children Of The Grave
Fairies Wear Boots (Interpolating Jack The Stripper)
Iron Man
Laguna Sunrise
N.I.B.
Paranoid
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
Snowblind
Sweet Leaf
Tomorrow's Dream
War Pigs (Interpolating Luke's Wall)
Warning
The Wizard

112 pages

Price: €24,99
€24,99

BLACK SABBATH-THE BEST OF-TABLATURE-Changes-Bloody-Snowblind-Sweet Leaf-War Pigs-SPARTITI

 

BLACK SABBATH, THE BEST OF. TABLATURE
 
The Best of Black Sabbath
Series: Music Sales America
Publisher: Music Sales America
Format: Softcover - TAB
Artist: Black Sabbath
 
Nineteen songs in guitar tab including: Black Sabbath - Changes - Children of the Grave - Dirty Woman - Fairies Wear Boots/Jack the Stripper - Heaven and Hell - Iron Man - Paranoid - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Snowblind - Sweet Leaf - War Pigs.
 
Inventory #HL 14004291
ISBN: 9780825614606
UPC: 752187928812
Publisher Code: AM92881
Width: 9.0"
Length: 11.75"
96 pages
 
A National Acrobat
Black Sabbath
Changes
Children Of The Grave
Dirty Women
Fairies Wear Boots/Jack The Stripper
Heaven And Hell
Iron Man 
Looking For Today
N.I.B
Neon Knights
Never Say Die
Paranoid
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath 
Sleeping Village/A Bit Of Finger
Snowblind 
Sweet Leaf 
Symptom Of The Universe
War Pigs 
Price: €29,00
€29,00

BLACK SABBATH PLAY GUITAR WITH... Iron man-paranoid-snowblind-sweet leaf-war pigs CD TABLATURE

BLACK SABBATH, WITH. Basi per voce e per chitarra: Iron man -paranoid -sabbath bloody sabbath -snowblind -sweet leaf -war pigs. CD TAB.

Price: €24,99
€24,99

BLACK SABBATH THE BEST LICKS Signature Licks Guitar CD TABLATURE-Sabbath Bloody Sabbath-War Pigs

 

BLACK SABBATH, THE BEST LICKS. Stetina. Oltre 10 sacchi contenenti i riff più noti dell'hard rock. Accordi pesanti come lenti vagoni carichi si spostano sui binari, scivolando; rapidi scambietti, veloci terzine ne danno la direttoria. CD TABLATURE

The Best of Black Sabbath
Series: Signature Licks Guitar
Format: Softcover with CD - TAB
Artist: Black Sabbath
Author: Troy Stetina
Inventory #HL 00695249
ISBN: 9780793587902
UPC: 073999952490
Width: 9.0"
Length: 12.0"
64 pages

INTRODUCTION
Black Sabbath is the original "black metal" band, replete with horror-film
themes and gothic imagery. They pushed music to previously uncharted levels of
heaviness throughout the seventies, and set the stage for the hard-edged styles
of 1980s thrash and death metal, as well as the heavier side of 1990s alternative
rock. Their powerful influence upon countless guitarists throughout the world
cannot be denied.
The story of Black Sabbath began in Birmingham, England in the late
1960s. The quartet-originally composed of vocalist John "Ozzy" Osbourne,
guitarist Tony lommi, bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler, and drummer Bill Wardgained
a fervent local following as a blues band called Earth. After learning that
there was another band going by that name, however, the four renamed
themselves, adopting the monicker Black Sabbath-the title of both an old horror
movie starring Boris Karloff as well as that of a song the group had already
composed. This name perfectly reflected the group's growing interest in
supernatural and occult themes, which would come to dominate their lyrics and
fuel the band's dark image and signature sound.
Their debut self-titled release, Black Sabbath (1970), initially attained only
moderate success. It was their follow-up album later that same year, Paranoid,
which first earned the band international acclaim with such classic metal
masterpieces as "Iron Man," "War Pigs," and of course the title track, "Paranoid."
After extensive touring in both Europe and the United States, a third release,
Master of Reality (1971), cemented the band's growing popularity and commercial
success. Also, on this landmark recording, the band began to experiment for the
first time with ultra-low (C#) tuning, to accompany their dark lyrical sorties with a
deeper and darker tone. This would come to be a dominant and unique
characteristic of the band's sound over the next number of years.
The group's creative powers were still in high gear as the fourth and fifth
albums, Black Sabbath Vol. 4 and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, were released in
1972 and 1973, respectively. After five ground-breaking albums in just four short
years, their status as the musical voice of the underworld was secured. Further
efforts, including 1975's Sabotage continued to build upon their visionary art-rock
tradition.
As with all important rock, it is as much a social commentary as a musical
force, and Black Sabbath was no exception. Perhaps less obvious than their "evil"
image, one finds upon closer inspection that the majority of lyrics invoke not evil
messages at all, but simply social issues of the time as well as cryptic warnings.
One common theme is to warn of the fate that will befall our evil ways, either as
individuals ("Black Sabbath," "Paranoid") or as a world bent on nuclear
destruction and hatred ("War Pigs," "Children of the Grave")-essentially as if the
band were setting to music the biblical book of Revelation. Another theme is farreaching
science fiction and space travel ("Iron Man," "Into the Void") sometimes
interlaced with mind travel via drug-induced, astral projection ("Supernaut"). The
late sixties psychedelic drug culture morays were also explicitly set forth ("Sweet
Leaf'). In many ways, the band's music was a backdrop reflecting society's
ongoing dialog on priorities, right and wrong, good and evil, and where we are
headed as a culture. Their focus on anti-war, ecology, and mind-expanding drug
themes rode the forefront of controversy and continued to help push these 60s
issues into the next decade.
Looking beyond the black-magic trappings, guitarist Tony lommi is actually
a fairly straight-ahead electric blues-rock player in the vein of Eric Clapton and
Jimmy Page-in particular this is apparent when one examines his lead guitar ...

 

SABBATN, BLOODY SABBATN
Words and Music by Frank lommi, John Osbourne, William Ward, and Terence Butler
Figure 20 -Intro, Verse, and Interlude
The recording of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the band's fifth effort, was the
occasion of a famous band story. They had set up in an old English casti e to compose
and record a bit. Strange things began to happen right away. A fire spread
unexpectedly from the fireplace, and Ozzy, sleeping nearby, woke at the last moment
and narrowly escaped. Shortly thereafter, several members of the band witnessed an
unknown man walk into a room, and upon following him, found that the room was
empty and the only other door out of it was locked from the inside. They began to tell
each other horrifying stories, and in the end, were ali so scared they had to leave the
castle that same night!
The album was finally completed (in the welcome security of the recording
studio) and released in December, 1973. The title track shows a broadening influence
in terms of arrangement and textures. Acoustic guitars were implemented in a
significant way, and Rick Wakeman (Yes) was brought on board for keyboard duties.
Again played in the slack down tuning, the riff makes clever, Hammering straight, also, palm mutes are maintained entirely on the, natural minor scale (Aeolian mode). Structurally, this tune is somewhat of a departure from Sabbath's norm, as it includes a vocal-driven, chorus-type section which acts as a lower-energy point,
counterbalancing the main riff with acoustic textures. Clean electric guitars (Gtrs. 2 &
3) add relaxed pentatonic-style melodies over the six-string acoustic guitar (Gtr. 4)
which strums a cycling Am9-G/D progression. In measure 33, the G/D chord appears
as a Gmaj7/D, lending a jazz-inspired feel. Measures 39-40 replace the G/D chord
with a revolving D-A progression over a D string pedal tone which functions to build
back into the original riff...

Learn the trademark riffs and solos of one of hard rock's greatest bands, with this excellent book/CD pack that breaks down the guitar styles and techniques of Tony Iommi. Songs include:

Black Sabbath
Children Of The Grave
Heaven And Hell
Into The Void
Iron Man
N.I.B.
Paranoid
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
Supernaut
Sweet Leaf
Symptom Of The Universe
War Pigs (Interpolating Luke's Wall)
64 pages

Price: €27,99
€27,99

BLACK SABBATH BEST BAND SCORE N.I.B.-sweet leaf-supernaut-bloody-TABLATURE SPARTITI LIBRO

BLACK SABBATH. BAND. black sabbath -N.I.B. -paranoid -iron man -electric funeral -sweet leaf -children of the grave -supernaut -snowblind -sabbath bloody sabbath. TABLATURE

Price: €149,99
€149,99

BLACK SABBATH, SONGS MADE FAMOUS BY. SERIES: TUNE 1000. DISK -iron man-n.i.b.-paranoid-war pigs

BLACK SABBATH, SONGS MADE FAMOUS BY. Behind the wall of sleep -black sabbath -iron man -n.i.b. -paranoid -sweet leaf -war pigs (interpolating luke's wall) -the wizard. Senza libro, Disk

Series: Tune 1000
Publisher: Tune 1000
Medium: Disk

Price: €26,00
€26,00

IOMMI TONY-MASTER SESSION-BLACK SABBATH-TABLATURE DVD Neon knights-N.I.B.-iron man SPARTITI

 

IOMMI TONY, MASTER SESSION. TABLATURE DVD

Tony Iommi

Series: Instructional/Guitar/DVD
Format: DVD
Artist: Tony Iommi

One of heavy metal's true innovators, Tony is the guitarist for Black Sabbath. He covers licks and leads from several Black Sabbath favorites, along with a special fully notated solo section. 33 minutes.

Inventory #HL 00320483
ISBN: 9780634099595
UPC: 073999979534
Width: 5.25"
Length: 7.5"
Run Time: 0:33:00

One of heavy metal's true innovators, Tony is the guitarist for Black Sabbath. He covers licks and leads from several Black Sabbath favorites, along with a special fully notated solo section. 33 minutes. Neon knights -N.I.B. -heaven and hell -children of the sea -voodoo -iron man. TABLATURE

Discover the thundering riffs and ear-bending solos of one of metal's true originals, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath in this unique DVD presented by the man himself!

Learn those great licks, leads and riffs from several Sabbath favourites such as Neon Knights N.I.B. Heaven And Hell, Children of the Sea, Voodoo and Iron Man with a special fully notated solo section.

An accompanying booklet contains diagrams and standard notation to help you learn these blistering and ballsy riffs.

 

 

 

Date Of Birth - 19th February 1948
Place Of Birth - Aston, Birmingham, England
Starsign - Aquarius
Height - 6'2"
Weight - 13.5 stone
Colour Of Hair - BLACK
Colour Of Eyes - Green
Place Of Residence - Warwickshire, England
Cars Owned - Mercedes
Pets - Two Rottweiler Dogs
Hobbies - Cars, Watching Films, Walking
Likes - Having Peace Of Mind
Dislikes - Smoking And Arguing
Favourite Food - Japanese, Indian And Curry
Favorite Drinks - Guinnes, Lager, Vodka and Orange
Favorite Countries - USA & Hawaii for visiting & UK for residing
Favorite Cities - Los Angeles
Favorite TV Programmers - Get Smart & Rockford Files
Favorite Films - The Exorcist and most good horror films
Favorite Actor - Roger Moore and Clint Eastwood
Favorite Actress - No one in particular
Favorite Cars - Ferrari and Lamborghini
Favorite Form Of Travelling - Driving myself otherwise flying
Favorite Sports - Boxing and Wrestling
Favorite Books - Lob San Rampa and Nostradamus
Favorite Animal - Elephant
Favorite DJ's - Alan Freeman and Tommy Vance
Happiest Moments - When I'm getting the communication and feedback from fans at concerts, it's difficult to describe exactly.
Worst Moments - The problems with my ex-management and the divorce from my last wife.
Pet Hates - Getting up too early and having to travel.
If you weren't a Guitarist
what would you have been - Boxer or Wrestler
Early Influences - The Shadows & later on Django Reinhardt
Favorite Bands - Most good 70's bands like Zeppelin, Purple and The Moody Blues etc.
Favorite 80's Bands - No particular Favorites although there are some good ones around

Favorite Guitarists - Brian May, Eddie Van Halen & Joe Pass
Favorite Drummers - Cozy Powell & John Bonham
Favorite Male Singes - Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin
Favorite Female Singers - Anne Wilson of Heart & Barbara Streisand
Favorite Rock Singers - Tony Martin, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan & David Coverdale
Favorite Instrument other
than Guitar - Piano
3 All Time Favorite
SABBATH Songs - HEAVEN AND HELL, BLACK SABBATH and SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH
Favorite Acoustic
SABBATH Song - Laguna Sunrise
Favorite News SABBATH Songs - Devil & Daughter and HEADLESS CROSS
3 All Time Favorite
SABBATH Albums - BLACK SABBATH, SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH and HEAVEN AND HELL
Favorite Own Guitar Solos - Heart Like A Wheel and at the time Lonely Is The Word
Favorite Riffs - Too many to name
Favorite SABBATH Album
Covers - SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH then HEAVEN AND HELL
Worst SABBATH Album Covers - SABOTAGE and BORN AGAIN
Favorite Country to
Perform In - Most Countries

Most Memorable Years for
SABBATH so far - 1973 and 1980
Why - '73 because of the general vibes at the time
and it saw us at a good peak
'80 because it was a new beginning. However,
this excludes the present situation which
is very exciting.
Remaining Goals To Archive - For the band to be back where it should be which is in the top bracket.
Tony Iommi in "BLACK SABBATH Appreciation Society Newsletter Volume 2, 1989".

Tony Iommi's Guitar

In 1996 Iommi : Now I've got an Eggle guitar. It's a different sort of design. I've been in the factory working to get the shape and feel right. It will be called the Iommi Legend. I wanted them to do an SG originally. We came up with more of a contoured and bigger body so it's similar to a Paul Reed Smith, I suppose. I've got my own JD pickups, which are going to be put on the production model as well.

The pickups specially wound for Tony by John Birch were finally duplicated successfully by Gibson
after being approached by Tony at the 1996 International Music Fair (Musik Messe) in Frankfurt.
They are Gibson pick-ups with the "Patent Applied For" decal and were originally available at
Authorized Gibson Dealers for $145.95 USD (I don't know how much they cost now).
The price of the pickups in 1999 range from $189.99 U.S. List to $94.99 U.S. special Sale price, with $145.95 being the average price as stated.
The pickups are fully wax-potted against feedback, have a four-conductor lead for all wiring variations,
have a closed chrome cover, were backed by
Gibson's Limited Lifetime Warranty and 60 day "Guaranteed Gibson Quality" exchange program.
FEB 1999 Gibson to come out with Tony Iommi model SG

 

TONY IOMMI'S GUITAR COLUMN

Tony Iommi has a regular column in Guitar World, starting with the latest issue, August 1997 (with Foo Fighters on the cover). In the first installment, he explained about his fingers, and then the proper way to play the intro riff to "Paranoid," emphasizing that it is played at the 12th fret, not the 7th.

 

A BIT OF FINGER
When Tony Iommi used to work in a factory of some kind, his job was to pass
hunks of metal to someone who used a machine to punch holes in the metal
or cut it up or something like that... One day when the other guy didn't
turn up, Tony tried to use the machine and cut the ends off his fingers -
he took the bits to hospital where they said they couldn't do anything for
him. The possibility that he would not ever play guitar again was very real.
Tony may have tried switching to playing right handed, but it wasn't working out.
Then a friend of his gave him a Django Rheinhardt album. This was a gypsy guitarist
who only had two fingers. This inspired Tony to go home and repair his fingers with molten
plastic from an old washing-up liquid bottle, in true Blue Peter spirit.
He had to do so because playing without the ends of his fingers was too painful. 

 

 

ICE-CREAM ITALIAN JOB
brother and mother were settled. Here he continued to busk until he opened a shop, where he repaired accordions and gave lessons in their playing. Jackie carried on in this business, achieving fame in Birmingham as a first-rate accordionist. He died in 1994. Salvatore Miele’s family followed a similar pattern. Like the Leos he came from Cassino, where he was born in 1891. He was brought over to England with his family about six or seven years later. The Mieles first lived in Barnstaple, from where they “went busking around Devon and Cornwall as work was unattainable”; and later they moved to Birmingham. Pat Houghton, whose father was Francesco Grego (Greco), brought to mind how important the making of icecream was for many of the families.
“My dad wouldn’t impart it to anyone who wasn’t going to go into the business. He used to say, ‘If you gonna do it, I’ll show you how to make it.’ I remember him doing it in the back of Gran’s house. This was a link detached, big, three-storey house with a big yard for his cart and what they called the brew house which he converted for the ice-cream. “It was like a mini dairy and it was subject to health standards. It had sixinch white tiles from floor to ceiling and he did the first boil up in the stainless steel copper. “In the war, instead of butter, dad had unsalted margarine, then the milk and the sugar and the vanilla flavouring or pods. He used to put this mix into the boil to make a custard. “Then with great big pan ladles, like bed warming pans with a concave bottom and no top, he used to put it into stainless steel two-gallon buckets and leave it to stand overnight like egg custard. There’d be muslin cloths over the top to keep out the flies and held down by weights. “Then it was churned. It went into a freezer, a deep cylinder, with long opposing blades. It would churn like butter and outside it was electrically cooled. It turned from a pale yellow into an even paler yellow. 

Tinsmith

“He would fetch it into a similar container in an ice-cream cart, packed with ice, and he’d stay out till he sold it. It was the most wonderful ice-cream the world has ever known.” Unlike the Leos and Verechias, the Tavoliers partly moved away from making ice-cream. By the turn of the 20th century they were renting 39 Duddeston Row. This was a confectionery shop as well as their home, as was noted in 1916 in Kelly’s Directory for Birmingham. The publication also recorded an N Barlone as a greengrocer’s in the same street. In Bartholomew Street it went on to mention Lewis Saracine, who was an ice-cream vendor; Mrs Maria Facchino, a shopkeeper; and Antonio Farina, a lodging house keeper. Unlike these people, some other local businesses were not noted in the directory. They included the boot repairer Catullo; the Frezzas and Secondinis who hired out barrel organs and ice-cream carts; and Pip Mattiello the tinsmith.

Nearby in Banbury Street, Frank Iommi made ice-cream and sold it from his house in Buck Street; while Clement Albericci had a small factory, where he “made barrel organs for the Italians and also retuned them and remarked them”. By 1919, Birmingham’s Italian community was concentrated in two streets: Duddeston Row and Bartholomew Street, close to the modern Millennium Point.

Defined
Clement Albericci’s son emphasised that “it was a marvellous atmosphere living in Little Italy, everyone knew each other and helped each other – financially, and reading and writing as some Italians could not read or write.” The members of that Italian Quarter were settled in family groups, most of who came from a defined part of southern Italy. A sizeable proportion of them were self-employed, and the rest were engaged in various occupations. Though small in numbers, these Italians made a significant contribution to the social and economic life of Birmingham and its people. Still, they were distinguished by their names, by their looks, by their language, by their Catholicism, by their dominance of the ice-cream trade, and by their concentration in one area. Iris recalls that the Leos had a close relationship with the Italian families in Birmingham and that they used to go on trips with them to Holywell in Wales, to visit the shrine of St Winefride and bathe in the supposedly healing waters of the well. The Leos and families like them in Wolverhampton and Walsall also made their mark on their towns. If anyone has any memories about other Italian families in the Black Country I’d be keen to hear from you.


Devilish affair of Merry Hell
MR. Norman Robins of Turney Road, Stourbridge, has written to me about the winter of 1947. He informs me that “I was demobilised at the end of February and had come down from Scotland. There had been some snow but the weather was bright and sunny and we were able to get about. “On arriving home in Quarry Bank I found the roads blocked and everything frozen. “Regarding the digging of coal, one night I was in the Fountain Inn in Victoria Road talking to a neighbour who said he was going up to Coppice Lane to get some coal and I could go with him. “We went to a field on the corner of Coppice Lane and Merry Hill, where years ago there had been a pit. There were already several men digging holes. We went to one which had been dug by Mr Fellows, a miner from White City Road. This was a mine pit about 3ft square and left deep coal seams. “The continual frost had frozen the ground right to the bottom. The seam of coal was about two feet thick and very hard. Within a few minutes we had dug out as much as we could carry. “Over the next few weeks I dug out a large amount of coal. “About this time the council employed anyone with a lorry to clear the snow from the roads. It was taken to a field in Mill Street, Brierley Hill. Some of the snow was still there in May. “Today this field is the entrance to the Merry Hill Centre. “As the roads were cleared, cars and lorries came from as far away as Birmingham to buy coal. By now the thaw had set in and some of the holes started to fall in, with several men being trapped. The police came and stopped all digging. “Going back to 1928, when I was five years old, my great grandfather, J T Abbis, would take me with him on his walks and would tell me stories of the area. Unfortunately I only remember one. “We now go back several hundred years. The area of Coppice Lane was lived in by a people who were ruled by the Druid priests. When the people got unruly and wouldn’t do as they were told, the high priest would call a meeting. This took place on the coal site mentioned at dusk. “The priest would threaten them that if they didn’t behave he would cause the devil to bring fire to devour them. While he was talking, some of his priests hiding down the hill were scraping soil from where the coal came to the surface. Oxygen “It was now dark and the high priest would tell them to look down the hill. Smoke would start to appear and the ground would glow, followed by flames. The Priest would send them away telling them to behave in future. After they had gone, the coal seams would be covered over and without oxygen the fires would go out. “This place was named Merry Hell, eventually to become Merry Hill. “Most of the coal seams in this area had been on fire for many years. During the early 1900s, the local council dug out hundreds on tons of red ashes from an area in Pedmore Road, which was used to make footpaths. This area is now a factory estate. Houses have been built on Coppice Lane.

” Idyllic setting for an outing – Antonio Tavolier selling ice-cream at the Lickey Hills from his splendid cart

Italians on a pilgrimage to Holywell, recalled by Iris Hodgkiss, one of the Wolverhampton Leos 

Price: €27,99
€27,99
Syndicate content