A new A4 sized glossy book, 160+ pages, authored by former Black Sabbath Appreciation Society founder Pete Sarfas. This timely new book is crammed with hundreds of colour photographs many of which come from the BSAS archives and include an abundance of behind the scenes shots.
The focal point of the new book is the East Ham Granada chapter when the author took multiple photographs of Sabbath on stage during their ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ UK tour. A full account of this concert and various other live performances are documented in fine detail including the momentous Alexandra Palace show in 1973.
The book takes you on an exhilarating journey of extraordinary tales from the nascent days of heavy metal in the early 70s to the helter-skelter of the late 80s/early 90s when the group, beset by constant personnel changes, struck again with renewed vigour.
Included in this new book are rare BSAS interviews with Tony Iommi, Tony Martin and Cozy Powell and some previously unreleased interviews with Bill Ward and Sabbath’s first manager Jim Simpson, which is highly revealing. Additional special features in specific chapters analyse the early UK underground occult scene in 1970 that Sabbath found themselves entangled in when they sparred with rivals Black Widow plus a profile of early downer-rock bands many of which remained in the shadows.
This sweeping new book will appeal to fans from all genres and included are many never before seen photographs and unique items of Black Sabbath memorabilia.
Obscure and little-seen clippings pepper the book throughout with revealing comment from Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill. A rare and insightful interview with Dio is a special feature of the ‘Heaven and Elf’ chapter. But that is just the tip of the iceberg in a book that is a cornucopia of surprises.
Snowblind in East Ham comes from a unique angle. It is penned by a lifelong fan who witnessed the live Sabbath experience dozens of times and who went on to gain special access to the band’s affairs when the BSAS was formed in 1988 and when working for Bill Ward in 1997 during the reunion with Ozzy, Tony and Geezer.
The author says it can be purchased directly by emailing him at downerock@aol.com.
Wow, now that is a name from the past!
Looking forward to purchasing this!
Don’t know if I would trust this guy. He put out a fanzine back in 1988 (I think). He asked for $20 for a subscription. I , along with 7 other Sabbath fans I know , sent him the $20. We never received anything back. Letters to him went unanswered. Not a good way to do business. So, the question is. What did he do with the $20 that we all sent in?
Well, I see you took my comment off. Not trying to start trouble but this guy ripped us off & I was just trying to warn people. I’m sure you’ll probably delete this message also. Have talked with someone else who told me they are not going the book because of him ripping us off before. If you wish to contact me regarding more info, please feel free to email me.
“Took your comment off”? Yeah, no as you can clearly see.
I can attest to George Berk’s comments. Sarfas has a long history of ripping people off dating back to his Black Sabbath Appreciation Society days. Numerous traders sent him Sabbath memorabilia, and Sarfas sent nothing in return. I paid $20.00 US for the Black Sabbath Appreciation Society and received absolutely nothing. In addition I traded a US magazine covering Sabbath’s performance e at Live Aid to Sarfas, and he sent me nothing. In addition I sent a blank tape for a copy of an interview with Bill Ward conducted by Sarfas and received nothing in return. I wouldn’t pay a penny for this book, becaue I probably won’t receive it given his past record.
I can’t speak to the experience of others, but I had a subscription to Black Sabbath Appreciation Society in the US and received my copies. I am currently working with Pete to bring the book to the US in batches to save on shipping. I currently have 9 copies availiable. I will put them on eBay for shipping in the US, if there is enough interest. The book is great and I think any Sabbath fan would enjoy it.
PS Joe, email me, I have your copy waiting for you.
I’m posting this – an email I received from Pete Sarfas in reply to the negative comments above..
To dear US Black Sabbath fans and former members of the BSAS.
I understand the frustration felt by a small number of US fans who joined the BSAS back in the day and who failed to receive their full quota of Newsletters. Whilst the majority of subscribers did receive all merchandise and Newsletters that were produced regretfully some fans became victims of the broken promises made to me after the band left IRS resulting in crucial funding being withdrawn.
The setting up of the BSAS was initially funded by myself until IRS endorsed the Society on ‘Headless Cross’ and ‘Tyr’ during which time it continued to make a financial loss due to insufficient subscribers. Unfortunately a significant number of US fans would send payments over in personal cheques made out in US dollars which were of no use and could not be paid in to any UK bank account. This was contrary to the instructions given out by the BSAS and applied to merchandise as well. This problem was only apparent with US fans and caused such a problem that I decided to appoint a US administrator by the name of Woody Armstrong to address the issue.
On top of this many fans would naturally write in asking questions and making requests. Swift communication was not so easy back then as there was no e mail and nobody had computers. Fans were asked to send in 2 International Reply Coupons if they wanted a reply but usually this was not forthcoming. After the ‘Tyr’ issue, Woody Armstrong was no longer able to dedicate his time to running things Stateside. This, and the fact that new management took over, resulted in plans for a revitalized, globally run fan organization spearheaded by Dio’s management team.
Following meetings with Sabbath’s new management it became clear to me that there would be no financial assurances or backing from them when the announcement was made that Ronnie James Dio’s return was imminent and that being the case the prospect of the workload increasing exponentially effectively made things unviable for a one-man-band set-up such as the BSAS. Being unsupported by the powers-that-be at the time was fatal causing the immediate dissolution of the BSAS.
A fuller account of the untimely demise, as well as the many successes of the short-lived BSAS can be read in full in my new book: BSAS presents Snowblind in East Ham 1974.
The BSAS was never about getting rich, it was just a humble service by one fan at a time when Sabbath had no official representation for fans. Many grateful fans continue to e mail me to this day. Now, to the few who feel unhappy for whatever reason I am happy to make this pledge to you personally. Having invested a small fortune in self-publishing my book, I am in control of pricing and if you were short-changed back in the day, I will give you a 50% reduction on the price of the book. Former BSAS member Tim Hinson in the USA now has stocks of the book so please get in touch. His e mail is tim@renta-geek.com
Thanks to all the BSAS subscribers worldwide who supported us!
Pete Sarfas
ex BSAS
I ordered this book from Tim Hinson and it arrived in a timely fashion. I must say it’s excellent. I consider it the second-best Sabbath book I’ve ever read, and I’ve read many. There’s even a cool interview with Jim Simpson and plenty of pics!