Black Sabbath’s Favorite Studio Retreat on Sale for $2.4 Million

The residential U.K. studio where Black Sabbath preferred to write and rehearse in the band’s heyday is for sale at $2.45million (£1.95million).

You can see dozens of photos of the studio below.

The Old Mill House was once part of the iconic Rockfield Studios complex in rural Wales. Owner Jo Riou has run it as a separate studio, holiday home and business center, but she now wants to move on – and hopes the next owners will continued its musical heritage.

“I have been told that behind all the sound proofing on the walls is where Ozzy Osbourne drew pentagrams on the walls. I was told that Jimmy Page had drawn a mural on the wall too,” Riou told Wales Online. “So when someone buys the house and if they don't want this room as a studio, they could strip it out and God only knows what they will find!”

She added: “Black Sabbath are lovely. They've been here many times over the years – they have been our most endearing and longest serving clients. Ozzy Osbourne did a couple of solo albums here when he left Black Sabbath, and we've had the full line-up with Bill Ward back in the band … in to rehearse.

READ MORE: How Black Sabbath’s Debut Gave Birth to Heavy Metal

“I’ve had Tony Iommi do a couple of solo albums here, and we did the tribute to Ronnie James Dio here, when he passed away. They’ve been the ones that have been back the most.”

Riou recalled the challenge of providing catering to Sabbath and other bands. “[S]omeone is a vegan, somebody is gluten-free; we’ve had all the diets here,” she said. “When Ozzy was here he was on a brown rice and mushroom diet, and when he was on that diet Tony Iommi – who really likes good food – wanted steak; and Geezer Butler was a vegan, so it needed thought to cook for all these different people. Drummer Bill Ward would help me wash up – I’d wash and he’d dry and we’d have a lovely chat.”

Refuse Workers Loved Black Sabbath’s Visit to Rural Studio

She reported that both Osbourne and Simple Minds’ Jim Kerr always stayed in Room Seven, and added that “the bin men were very excited when Black Sabbath were here – my bins were emptied every day!”

Reflecting on what she’d learned about working with big-name artists including Oasis, Tom Jones and many others, she said: “They are only people, and when you're sharing a house with them, and they're sat in the living room in their pajamas, it kind of takes that starstruck gloss off it.”

Estate agents Roscoe, Rogers and Knight described The Old Mill as an “extraordinary 11-bedroom, 10-bathroom country residence,” continuing: “Built in the late 17th century, once used as a rehearsal space for the nearby iconic Rockfield studios, it holds an exceptional history in the world of music.

“This one-of-a-kind property offers a wealth of charming original features with tasteful blend of quality modern fixtures and finishes throughout… with detached newly completed three-bedroom eco lodge with stone-built workshop.”

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