He joined the group in 1983, when asked by Sabbath manager Don Arden (Sharon Osbourne’s father) to replace another former frontman Ronnie James Dio (who’d replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne) when he’d departed to launch a solo career. The group recorded the album “Born Again” at the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire, but citing health problems, drummer Bill Ward decided not to accompany the others during the subsequent tour, and was replaced by former ELO drummer Bev Bevan.As a member of Black Sabbath, Gillan was required to learn their old repertoire, but had difficulty remembering the words. He eventually came up with a solution of writing the lyrics out on a perspex folder, and balancing it on a wedge monitor, turning the pages with his feet. Unfortunately, the dry ice on stage made it impossible to read the words, resulting the audience witnessing glimpses of him peering over the microphone to sing a few lines, then disappearing below the dry ice to read the next set. As well as material from “Born Again” and older Sabbath numbers, the band regularly played Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” as an encore.
Gillan also said, “I was the worst singer Black Sabbath ever had.”
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