"Eddie was doing these extended solos so Tony had to have a word with him about that": Geezer Butler remembers the ups and downs of Black Sabbath being upstaged by Van Halen, and his hopes for a final farewell show with Bill Ward

Eddie Van Halen on stage performing. Photograph, 1978.

By the time Black Sabbath began their Never Say Die UK tour on 16 May 1978 in Sheffield, the wheels were perhaps starting to come off the Ozzy-era of the band. And it didn't help that their support band was starting to get more attention than them. But looking back now, Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler can see Van Halen's presence on the tour as more of a double-edged sword.

"They were great – I really liked them", Geezer tells Brave Words in a new interview promoting his autobiography, Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath-And Beyond. "They did one of my favourite all-time Kinks songs You Really Got Me, so I immediately really liked them from the cover of that and that was one of their first hits singles. But as the tour went on, cracks started to appear between the upcoming LA rockers and the established Birmingham godfathers of heavy.