For most bassists, getting the call to play alongside Black Sabbath guitar legend Tony Iommi would rank somewhere between fantasy and impossibility. For Becky Baldwin, it became reality after a single email snowballed into one of the biggest opportunities of her career.
What began as an invitation to record a couple of songs soon turned into playing bass guitar across Iommi’s new solo album – despite Baldwin spending the first studio session convinced she’d blown it.
“When I got to the studio they played me one of the songs – I think it was World Alone,” says Baldwin. “They asked what I thought, and I loved it immediately. Great riff, great melody, and the vocals sounded fantastic.
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“Then they rewound the track and said: ‘Okay… now play along.’ That was terrifying. They were expecting me to perform in front of someone I admire enormously, with absolutely no preparation time.
“They said we could do as many takes as we needed, but they wanted to capture my first instincts. I asked whether they wanted me simply to double Tony’s riffs or whether they wanted something different.
“Tony just said, ‘Play whatever you think you’d naturally record if we weren’t here.’ So I thought, ‘Right… what would Geezer Butler do?’ I’ve studied Geezer’s bass playing for years, and I know Tony loves Geezer’s style, so I started there.
“Working songs out instantly isn’t my strongest skill – I like to analyse things carefully, go back over sections, make notes and really learn them properly, so having all of that taken away, combined with the pressure of the situation, made me feel like I was falling apart.
“The whole time I was convinced I wasn’t playing well, but they kept calling me back! Before I knew it I was playing bass on the entire album. And that first performance ended up being the take they used for World Alone.”
What do you think made you the right person for this album?
The producer, Mike Exeter, had seen my videos online and followed some of the touring work I’d been doing. I suppose he could tell I was heavily influenced by classic metal bass players, especially Geezer Butler, and thought I’d be a good fit.
They were also looking for a bass player who was local enough to get to the studio easily and fit into the recording schedule. The album had already been in the works for a while, but the Back to the Beginning show took up a lot of Tony’s time and pushed his schedule back a little.
By the time I arrived, most of the record was already done. The band was already in place, including Jørn Lande on vocals and Karl Brazil on drums, so I think I was the last piece of the puzzle.
How did they get in touch?
I first got an email from Tony’s manager. You know when you see the preview in your inbox and it mentions Tony Iommi? I thought, ‘Hang on… what’s this?’ As I read more it said Tony was working on new music and wanted me to come to the studio. My first thought was that it couldn’t possibly be real.
Do you remember where you were when you got the email?
I was sitting on my sofa when it came through. I checked the sender, researched the website, confirmed it really was Tony’s management, and realized it was genuine. I immediately sent over my number, and Tony’s manager called me.
What was that phone call like?
He was incredibly casual about the whole thing. He just asked if I’d be interested in coming to the studio. Of course I was interested! I’ve been a fan for more than 20 years, and I’ve spent a huge amount of time learning about the history of heavy metal and how much of the genre exists because of Black Sabbath.
There was never going to be any answer other than yes. We arranged for me to visit Tony’s studio a couple of weeks later.
What happened when you got there?
Tony asked what I’d been up to, and I wanted to ask him loads of questions too, but it’s strange when you’re talking to someone you feel like you already know because you’ve read every interview and every article they’ve ever done!
What was the first thing you did after you walked out of the studio?
I drove away from Tony’s house, pulled the car over and just sat there for a minute trying to process everything that had happened. I remember filming a short video on my phone, just talking about what I was thinking. I’ve never watched it back, but I wanted to capture that moment while it was still fresh!
Did you prepare any differently before going back?
One thing that actually worked in my favour after that first session was that I apologized for how underprepared I felt. I told them that, normally, I’d spend time living with the songs first. I’d chart them out, work through different ideas and arrive with everything properly prepared.
They completely understood because they’d thrown me in at the deep end. Their concern was that they didn’t want any music leaking before the album was ready, so they hadn’t wanted to send anything out in advance.
Eventually they decided to send me a couple of demo tracks at a time so I could prepare before each session. The later sessions felt much less intimidating.
Now that the album’s finished, what can people expect?
Naturally, there’s a lot of Geezer in my bass playing because he’s always been one of my biggest influences. That’s simply how I play bass, so I think listeners will hear that influence, but they’ll also notice that the bass isn’t quite as prominent in the mix as it was on classic Black Sabbath records.
For the later sessions I took two Rickenbackers which covered everything we needed
That’s partly just the way modern productions are. Bass guitar tends to sit differently in today’s mixes compared to albums from the 1970s. So I’d say it’s a more modern interpretation of what people might expect from a Tony Iommi record.
Did you think much about the gear you were going to use?
I assumed I’d take my Rickenbacker 4001 because I use that for almost everything. Then I realized I had no idea what tunings Tony would be using.
For the later sessions I took two Rickenbackers – one set up for E-flat standard and another set up for D standard – which covered everything we needed. In the end I recorded the whole album using those two basses.
It felt appropriate because they’re very ’70s-style instruments, but they’re also simply the instruments I use all the time. That’s my sound. The team already knew how I sounded from my previous work, so I figured they wanted me to sound like me rather than imitate someone else. Thankfully, it all worked out.
This all sounds like an overnight success story, but you’ve worked hard to get to this position.
I suppose it seems unusual that someone from Tony’s generation discovered me online, because when Black Sabbath started there obviously wasn’t the internet. But that’s one of the positives of today’s world – you can discover musicians you would never otherwise come across.
Growing up in Wiltshire, I didn’t have loads of venues nearby bringing through the bands I wanted to see. There wasn’t really a pathway to playing with those kinds of musicians. The internet changed that.
I started posting classic metal bass covers online while also playing every tiny venue I could across the UK and Europe. Over time people realized I genuinely loved this music. I wasn’t just an internet personality – I was also out there playing real shows. Those two worlds started feeding into each other.
![Children of the Sea - Black Sabbath [Bass cover by Becky Baldwin] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YqgoTWhy5m0/maxresdefault.jpg "“I was convinced I wasn’t playing well, but they kept calling me back. Before I knew it I was playing bass on the entire album”: How Becky Baldwin landed her dream gig playing bass for Tony Iommi 23")
Getting the Mercyful Fate gig was already a huge step forward in my career, and I think once people saw how well that worked – and how accepting the fans were – it opened more doors. It showed that bringing a younger musician into a legendary band could actually work.
What’s next for you?
I’ve got a few festivals with my band Fury and with Delilah Bon. We’ll be working on a new Fury album, and it’s looking quite likely that Mercyful Fate will be touring next year as well. So there are lots of exciting things on the horizon.
