Geoffrey James Nicholls (29 February 1944 – 28 January 2017) was an English guitarist and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz before joining Black Sabbath. In the 1960s/early 1970s, Geoff played lead guitar/keyboards for the Birmingham bands The Boll Weevils, The Seed, Johnny Neal and the Starliners, Bandy Legs, Jimmy Helms, Cozy Powell, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Martin, Willie Basse and played keyboards for World of Oz.

Career

Nicholls was originally brought in as a second guitarist when Black Sabbath doubted whether they would even continue under that name. Nicholls then switched to bass when Geezer Butler left briefly, and then became the band's keyboardist upon Butler's return and the decision to keep the Sabbath name. Nicholls' first appearance on a Black Sabbath album was on Heaven and Hell (1980), and he was credited as keyboardist on every Sabbath release from that time until Forbidden (1995), although he was not an official member until 1986. He remained an official member until 1991, then regained member status from 1993 to 1996. He was an unofficial member once again since the reunion with Ozzy Osbourne in 1997. Although his main role with Sabbath was on the keyboard, Nicholls also played some rhythm guitar on the reunion tours, e.g., during Iommi's solo in "Snowblind" and a few tracks during the Headless Cross (1989) and Forbidden (1995) tours.

Nicholls' touring involvement with the band ended when Adam Wakeman (a member of Ozzy Osbourne's solo band) was chosen to play keyboards during Sabbath's 2004 and 2005 tours as part of Ozzfest, and Scott Warren (Dio) handled keyboard duties on the 2007 Heaven & Hell tour.

Later life and death

Until his death, Nicholls played keyboards with former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin, in his band Tony Martin's Headless Cross. Nicholls had performed on Martin's first two solo albums Back Where I Belong and Scream, and their support tours.

Nicholls died from lung cancer on 28 January 2017, aged 72, surrounded by his family. "Geoff was a real true friend and supported me all the way for nearly forty years," said Tony Iommi. "I will miss him dearly and he will live in my heart until we meet again."

Discography Studio albums with Black Sabbath YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positions CertificationsUKAUTDENFINGERNLDNORNZSWESWIUS1980Heaven and Hell Released: 25 April 1980 Label: Vertigo, Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP9———37—224425—28UK: Gold US: Platinum CAN: Gold1981Mob Rules Released: 4 November 1981 Label: Vertigo, Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP12————47—4530—29UK: Silver US: Gold CAN: Gold1983Born Again Released: 12 September 1983 Label: Vertigo, Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP4———37—14447—39UK: Gold1986Seventh Star Released: 20 January 1986 Label: Vertigo, Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP27———51—17—11—78—1987The Eternal Idol Released: November 1987 Label: Vertigo, Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP66—————————168—1989Headless Cross Released: 17 April 1989 Label: I.R.S. Format: CD, CS, LP31———1871——2223115—1990Tyr Released: 20 August 1990 Label: I.R.S. Format: CD, CS, LP2424——1277——2424——1992Dehumanizer Released: 22 June 1992 Label: I.R.S. Format: CD, CS, LP287—311463——121344—1994Cross Purposes Released: 26 January 1994 Label: I.R.S. Format: CD, CS, LP4123——3285——941122—1995Forbidden Released: 5 June 1995 Label: I.R.S. Format: CD, CS7140——3586——1948—— "—" denotes albums that did not chart.

Live albums YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsUKFINFRAGERNLDNZSWEUS1982Live Evil Released: December 1982 Label: Vertigo, Warner Bros. Format: CD, LP13——3734341537—1995Cross Purposes Live Released: 1995 Label: I.R.S. Format: CD—————————1998Reunion Released: 20 October 1998 Label: Epic Format: CD41296540——1111US: Platinum CAN: Platinum "—" denotes albums that did not chart.

Compilation albums 1996The Sabbath Stones—————————2007Black Sabbath: The Dio Years151———35—3254—2008The Rules of Hell—————————2024Anno Domini 1989–1995—181839———43— "—" denotes albums that did not chart.

Singles +1980"Heaven and Hell"————————Heaven and Hell——"Neon Knights"22———————"Children of the Sea" (live)—"Die Young"41———————"Heaven and Hell" (live)—1981"Children of the Sea"——————————"The Mob Rules"46———————Mob Rules"Die Young" (live)—1982"Turn Up the Night"37——————24"Lonely Is the Word"—"Voodoo"———————46——1983"Trashed"————————Born Again——1986"No Stranger to Love"————————Seventh Star——1987"The Shining"————————The Eternal Idol——1989"Headless Cross"62———————Headless Cross"Cloak and Dagger"—"Devil and Daughter"81—————————1990"Feels Good to Me"79———————Tyr"Paranoid" (live)—1992"TV Crimes"33———————Dehumanizer"Letters from Earth" / "Time Machine"—1994"The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"————————Cross Purposes——1998"Psycho Man"———————3Reunion——1999"Selling My Soul"———————17——"—" denotes albums that did not chart.

Videos YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positions CertificationsSWEFINAUTBELSWINLD1980Black and Blue Released: 1980 Label: PolyGram Format: VHS, LaserDisc——————1991The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1 Released: 1991 Label: Sanctuary Format: VHS, LaserDisc, DVD1—————US: Platinum CAN: Gold AUS: Gold1992The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2 Released: 1992 Label: Sanctuary Format: VHS, LaserDisc, DVD5—————US: Gold1995Cross Purposes Live Released: 1995 Label: Picture Format: VHS——————1999The Last Supper Released: 1999 Label: Sony Format: VHS, DVD11—————UK: Gold "—" denotes albums that did not chart.

References

External links

Images of Geoff Nichols at the Jonny Neal and the Starliners reunion. Black Sabbath Online fan site tribute.