Celebrating the anniversary of the release of Black Sabbath’s second album ‘Paranoid’, Lobster have recorded a live session at Blottos Studio, a hub for Birmingham’s underground and D.I.Y musicians in Hockley, to capture their body-snatching live energy, working alongside sound engineer and musician Jake Cunningham (Friendly Fire Band and Hi Grade Hi-Fi) and local film maker Vafa Motamedi.
Paying homage to Birmingham’s Heavy Metal heritage and fusing it with the Jamaican born sounds of local legends The Beat and Steel Pulse, Lobster have reworked Black Sabbath’s genre-defining breakout single with a skanking flavour.
This process was heavily championed by Trojan Records in the late 60’s-70’s and local artists such as UB40 carried the flame, covering material by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond.
Beyond on the glow of the Commonwealth games closing and opening ceremonies, Birmingham artists across a wide sonic soundscape had their creativity and artistry showcased on a global level in a sense of oneness in 0121.
From 1968-1970 Black Sabbath were managed by Jim Simpson of Big Bear Music, who are still based in Birmingham. “Paranoid” stormed to number one on the UK album charts before charting worldwide, twice going Gold in the UK and making Platinum four times in the USA.
“Paranoid” was the second album from the same team. The first, the eponymously titled “Black Sabbath”, had blazed the trail by charting through most of the world and had re-entered the UK Top Twenty charts at number 7 following the success of “Paranoid”.
Since 2021, Lobster bass guitarist Charlie Moore has worked for Jim Simpson as a Project Coordinator, assisting with the operation of the Big Bear Music Group.
On Sunday 17th September at Big Bear Music’s weekly Birmingham Rocks event at Velvet Music Rooms, they will host “Paranoid On Westside”. As well as featuring live music from Manchester-based Sabbath soundalikes Sabbra Cadabra and Halesowen rockers Moose Jaw, the event will exclusively showcase Lobster’s Live Studio Session on the Broad Street venue’s giant, ultra-HD 4K screen, before being digitally released to the public on Monday 18th September.
Admission for “Paranoid On Westside” is free and doors open at 3pm.