FAQ: What Does E5150 Mean?

E5150 is a song on Black Sabbath's Mob Rules album. It has generated confusion and questions ever since Mob Rules came out in 1981, as there was no hint for the meaning of the title. However, on the cassette the song title was printed as "EV150."

The title is based on the Roman numerals. In Roman numerals, "V" represents 5, "I" represents 1 and "L" represents 50. Add the letter E in the front and you'll have the word EVIL. According to various Black Sabbath members, this is the original way it was meant to be. In one interview Ronnie said that it was Geezer's idea to put the word "evil" in the form of a number.

5150 is also a call code used by US police. I've been told that it means "emergency or criminal insanity", but if the song title has been derived from it, what the E in the front would mean then? Van Halen used the police code meaning on their album - or that Eddie Van Halen's home or studio address would've been 5150 [Insert Your Favorite Street Name Here]. One other explanation is that Eddie Van Halen uses amp called Peavey 5150 Halfstack.