Name Geoff Nicholls Role Musician | Music group Black Sabbath | |
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Birth name Geoffrey James Nicholls Born February 28, 1948
Birmingham, England ( 1948-02-28 ) Instruments Keyboards, bass, guitar, vocals Associated acts Black Sabbath, Quartz, Tony Martin, Animal Kwackers Albums Heaven and Hell, Headless Cross, The Best of Black Sabbath, Born Again, Dehumanizer Similar People Tony Martin, Dave Spitz, Neil Murray, Bobby Rondinelli, Vinny Appice | ||
Geoff nicholls 1948 2017
Geoffrey James "Geoff" Nicholls (28 February 1948 – 28 January 2017) was a British musician and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz, before joining Black Sabbath. In the 1960s/early 1970s, Geoff played lead guitar for the Birmingham bands The Boll Weevils, The Seed, Johnny Neal and the Starliners and keyboards for World Of Oz.
Contents
- Geoff nicholls 1948 2017
- Geoff nicholls black sabbath keyboardist dead at 68 our tribute
- Death
- References
Nicholls was originally brought in as a second guitarist when Black Sabbath doubted whether they would even continue under that name. Nicholls then switched to bass when Geezer Butler left briefly, and then became the band's keyboardist upon Butler's return and the decision to keep the Sabbath name. Nicholls' first appearance on a Black Sabbath album was on Heaven and Hell (1980), and he was credited as keyboardist on every Sabbath release from that time until 13 (2013), although he was not an official member until 1986. He remained an official member until 1991, then regained member status from 1993 to 1996. He was an unofficial member once again since the reunion with Ozzy Osbourne in 1997. Although his main role with Sabbath was on the keyboard, Nicholls also played some rhythm guitar on the reunion tours, e.g., during Iommi's solo in "Snowblind" and a few tracks during the Headless Cross (1989) and Forbidden (1995) tours.
Nicholls' involvement with the band ended when Adam Wakeman (a member of Ozzy Osbourne's solo band) was chosen to play keyboards during Sabbath's 2004 and 2005 tours as part of Ozzfest, and Scott Warren (Dio) handled keyboard duties on the 2007 Heaven & Hell tour.
Until his death, Nicholls played keyboards with former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin, in his band Tony Martin's Headless Cross. Nicholls had previously performed on both of Martin's solo albums and their support tours.
Geoff nicholls black sabbath keyboardist dead at 68 our tribute
Death
Nicholls died from lung cancer on 28 January 2017, aged 68, surrounded by his family.
