‘Trashed’: The Black Sabbath song about a near-fatal car crash at Richard Branson’s mansion
If tragedy can inspire great music, then who is to say that near tragedy can’t do the same thing? On his one and only album with Black Sabbath, Ian Gillan took inspiration from a car crash that almost killed him and used the incident to help put together the lyrics for one of the most memorable (and controversial) songs on their Born Again album, ‘Trashed’.
There is a lot to be said about the creative process and how you can get the best out of people, whether through strict deadlines and commands or by creating a relaxed environment. When Sabbath worked on the Born Again album, Virgin Records opted for the latter, putting the band up in Richard Branson’s manor.
The manor was fitted with every rockstar’s dream: groupies, a swimming pool, and a full-sized racetrack. Showing artists they are valued by having them create somewhere so lovely is a good idea in theory, but when you’re dealing with a band who has such an extensive history with drugs and alcohol as Black Sabbath, you’re asking for trouble. It’s less moth to a flame and more swarm to a raging fire.
One night, likely stressed by the pressure involved in taking the helm of a rock institution band at that point, Ian Gillan decided to head out to a local pub and drown his trepidation in alcohol. He got drunk and headed back to the manor, where the allure of the racetrack was simply too much for him to resist.
He stepped into what he thought was his car but turned out to be Bill Ward’s vehicle and started doing some laps. One time around, he managed to clip a stack of tyres, knocking them over and causing one to roll onto the track. The next time round, he went over that tyre and completely flipped the car, sending it into the night sky before crashing down in the manor’s garden.
Luckily, despite being drunk, Gillan was not so far gone as to ignore basic safety precautions and so had donned a crash helmet and protective clothing before getting behind the wheel. The car was completely written off in a collision that, any other night, could well have ended in disaster.
The next day, with near tragedy behind him, Gillan put pen to paper and devised lyrics for the song ‘Trashed’ that had already been assembled by bandmates Toni Iommi, Geezer Butler and the now-carless Bill Ward.
Fans liked the song, but it was met with a lot of controversy as the Parents Music Resource Center put it on their 1985 list of songs they found most offensive. Given how upbeat the track is in its nature, they thought it gave off the impression it was glorifying the use of drugs and alcohol. Whilst that’s understandable, when the circumstances surrounding the song’s creation are considered, it’s the total opposite.
