"Neon Knights" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

from 1980's '' Heaven and Hell'', their first album with American vocalist

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...

Overview

"Neon Knights" was the last song written by the band for the ''Heaven and Hell'' album. It was quickly written and recorded at Studio Ferber in Paris during January 1980 simply to fill time on the album's first side. The lyrics were written by Ronnie James Dio. It is the only song on ''Heaven and Hell'' to definitely feature songwriting input from bassist

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heave ...

, the band's main lyricist during the

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

era. Butler was absent for most of the songwriting process due personal issues as well as his own uncertainty as to whether he wanted to remain in the band. Dio occasionally performed the song during their live shows in later years. The B-side of the 1980 single release features a live version of "Children of the Sea" from an unspecified date. The song reached number 22 on the UK charts, but failed to chart anywhere else. In the UK, the first 25,000 copies had a picture-bag.

Track listing

7" single # "Neon Knights" – 3:49 # "Children of the Sea" (live) – 6:30

Personnel

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...

– guitars * Bill Ward – drums *

– bass *

– vocals * Geoff Nicholls – keyboards

Chart positions

Covers

Iron Savior Iron Savior is a German power metal band that was formed in Hamburg in 1996. Following a period of several years working behind the scenes in music production, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Piet Sielck joined with former Helloween ...

covered the song on their 1999 album ''

Unification Unification or unification theory may refer to: Computer science * Unification (computer science), the act of identifying two terms with a suitable substitution * Unification (graph theory), the computation of the most general graph that subs ...

''. * Steel Prophet covered the song on their 2000 album ''Genesis''. *

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

covered the song on their 2001 album ''Awatar''. * Westworld covered the song on their 2002 album ''Cyberdreams''. *

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche () is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one Extended play, EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record ...

covered the song on their 2007 album '' Take Cover''. * Sapattivuosi covered the song on their 2009 album ''Ihmisen merkki''. *

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

covered the song in 2010 for the tribute album ''Neon Knights – A Tribute to Black Sabbath''. *

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

covered the song during live performances in tribute to Dio following his death in 2010. In 2014, the band recorded a studio version for the tribute album '' Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life''.

References

{{authority control 1980 singles Black Sabbath songs Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Geezer Butler Songs written by Bill Ward (musician) Songs written by Ronnie James Dio 1980 songs Vertigo Records singles Warner Records singles