In 1978, Black Sabbath took Van Halen on tour. Tony Iommi thought they were learning a little too much
On Black Sabbath’s 1978 ‘Never Say Die!’ tour, Tony Iommi felt that support act Van Halen was borrowing too heavily from Sabbath’s sound and stage show. The episode also highlighted the contrast between a veteran band whose energy was flagging and a younger group building momentum, which some accounts suggest left Sabbath feeling upstaged.
Iommi said Van Halen watched Sabbath from the side of the stage and picked up on what worked with audiences. Geezer Butler recalled Eddie Van Halen’s solos getting longer, David Lee Roth echoing Ozzy Osbourne’s stage antics, and bassist Michael Anthony adding a wah pedal; Iommi joked to Eddie that he should play tracks from Sabbath’s new album.
In short
- Iommi thought Van Halen were picking up too much from Sabbath.
- The bands shared the 1978 ‘Never Say Die!’ tour.
- Geezer Butler recalled changes to Van Halen’s solos and stage style.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A support act has a responsibility to develop its own identity, and Iommi could reasonably feel that Van Halen were taking too much from Sabbath’s sound and stagecraft while sharing the same bill. From this perspective, watching a headliner to learn is ordinary, but copying distinctive choices risks crossing from influence into imitation, especially when the younger band’s growing momentum made the comparison more pointed.
The case against
Van Halen could reasonably be seen as learning from a band they admired, as musicians commonly do by observing how songs and performances connect with audiences. Similarities in solos, stage antics or equipment do not by themselves establish deliberate copying, and a new act can absorb influences while making them part of its own style; the contrast may also have reflected Sabbath’s flagging energy and Van Halen’s rising confidence.
Explained simply
Black Sabbath were an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1968, with guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and singer Ozzy Osbourne among their best-known members. By 1978 they had released several influential albums and were touring to promote Never Say Die!, their eighth studio album with Osbourne.
Van Halen were a newer American rock band, fronted by singer David Lee Roth and led by guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Opening for an established band gave them the chance to perform for larger audiences, while both groups shared a bill night after night.
The story concerns how bands observe one another on tour and where influence ends and imitation begins. It also reflects the gap that can open between a long-running group and a newer act gaining attention.