2017 rolls on like a mini-2016. The latest casualty is former Black Sabbath keyboardist Geoff Nicholls who was on every Sabbath album from Heaven and Hell (1980) to Forbidden (1995). He played bass and sang when need be. For that period of Sabbath’s history, he was the only stable member excluding Tony Iommi himself. Geoff passed at age 68, after a battle with lung cancer. He was rarely pictured with the four “main” Sabbath members, but he was more important than most of them. Rest in Peace.
mikeladano.com 
Very sad but very nicely put Mike! Overend Watts, Butch Trucks and now this. My Mum always says that these things come in threes so hopefully that’s the case and the Grim Reaper can bugger off for a while.
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Speaking of Grim Reaper have you been keeping up with the news on Steve Grimett? Very sick right now, had most of his right leg taken off, serious infection, and he’s still not out of the woods.
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Yeah, I was reading about that on Facebook. Very worrying.
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The photo I saw of him looked great, he looked in good spirits, but then they had to operate again. Argh, sending good vibes to south America…
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F. Y. C.
Thanks for sharing this Mike. I had not heard. I will delve into some Sabbath right now.
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FYC, I forgot to add the FYC tag to this post. Will add it. Delve into some Sabbath and enjoy.
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Well Written Mikey!
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Thanks Dekester just wrote what came to mind. I am a big fan of that period of Black Sabbath.
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A True Fan! Kudos!
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Definitely an unsung member of Sabbath. His work with them was overshadowed by the magnificence of the other members but Geoff was a big part of their sound too. Steve Grimmet is worrying. Hopefully he will pull through like Leslie West and Danny Wildheart who have suffered similar tragedy.
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Just an update regarding Steve Grimmet. There is a fundraiser going via Youcaring to contribute to his medical bills and other related expenses. In cases like this it is money well spent and paid forward. I only found out about this on his Facebook page.
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Nicely done Mike. 2017 death watch begins, eh? John Hurt died too, btw.
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That one was a bummer. I was going to say it hurt, but…ah shit I said it.
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Also, FUCK CANCER.
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Nice tribute Mike
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Thanks dude.
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Geoff Nicholls was the unsung hero of Black Sabbath and a very under appreciated keyboards player. I saw him when I saw Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi live in 1986. May he rest in peace.
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Unsung hero indeed! I saw him in 1995 on the Forbidden tour…or rather heard him…he was hidden from my view.
So that means most likely two guys you saw at that Sabbath gig are no longer with us — Geoff, and Ray Gillen.
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Ray Gillen was the lead singer when I saw him. I thought he sang the Ronnie James Dio era material rather well.
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From the two shows I have on CD, I agree. His Neon Nights was great.
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So was his “Children of the Sea.”
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I’d missed his death. There are some very amusing comments about him in the Mick Wall Sabbath book, if I remember right.
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