ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the extent and impact of the Beatles and Merseybeat and the London-based British blues revival and its impact on Birmingham during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Geographical positioning of Birmingham was crucial to the emergence of specific musical innovations during the 1960s and early 1970s. In particular, the introduction and expansion of the motorway network in England meant that Birmingham's location, mid-way between London and Liverpool, was especially significant. It highlights the extensive and vital influences of managers and promoters, namely, Giorgio Gomelski, Mike Vernon and Jim Simpson, who not only encouraged experimentation and revolution but also provided new venues to showcase new styles. The chapter considers some of the possible reasons why the other major cities mentioned by Bill Ward did not have the right conditions to spark the beginnings of heavy metal. Bill Ward himself describes the music of Black Sabbath as being centred on rage.
