THE FANSITE FOR TONY IOMMI FANS CELEBRATING HIS BRILLIANT 50 YEARS OF DEDICATION AND SERVICE TO MUSIC
British Honour to Tony Iommi
Audience with Tony Iommi at Town Hall in Birmingham

Audience with Tony Iommi at Town Hall in Birmingham

 

Guitar legend Tony Iommi made a triumphant return to Birmingham Town Hall – even though he didn’t play a single note. There were simply two chairs on the stage, one for the founder member of Black Sabbath, the other for his friend and host Gary Newbon. Even without music, the venue was packed to the rafters with fans eager to hear stories about Black Sabbath.

Currently part way through the band’s final tour, appropriately called The End, Black Sabbath haven’t played the Town Hall since 1972, but Iommi was quick to thank his local audience for “putting us where we are today.”

And, though clearly restrained by the need to sell tickets for Sabbath’s Download appearance in Donington this June, he did offer two tempting hints about what might happen beyond the current final announced date in Phoenix on September 21: The End might yet reach ‘the end’ in Birmingham itself – and it could be as late as early next year. There could also be a live album from the final tour.

Iommi said: “We are off to Australia in a couple of weeks, but it would be nice to think it could finish back where it all started – in Birmingham. When we are home where we started, we have always found it a bit nerve-wracking, but Birmingham means such a lot to us.”

Asked if there could be a live album, he said: “It’s possible, because we are doing a lot of filming during the tour, too.”

Tony Iommi said he would continue to play music: “I just can’t keep going out on these long tours,” he said. After the interval, Newbon read out fan’s questions collected during the break.

Did Iommi have a favourite riff?

“I like all of them – I wrote them,” he said to laughter. “Paranoid... is such a simple thing. And there’s Iron Man and Into The Void.”

And a favourite album?

“No... but Forbidden is the only one that I’m not really keen on.”

Newbon said afterwards: “The feedback I’ve had is that it all went really well – Tony has never done a show like that before and I don’t think he’ll do it again. I just managed to persuade him as a friend.”

With his band, Tony just wrapped the first dates of Black Sabbath's massive 2016 The End world tour at March 7th in Vancouver, BC to an overwhelming response, from fans and critics alike. The first leg of sold-out North American shows will be followed by a run of summer performances including return visits to Los Angeles (at the iconic Hollywood Bowl), New York, Chicago and 14 additional cities. 

As previously announced, a special fans-only CD featuring original artwork by Shepard Fairey/Obey Giant is being sold at shows along the tour route.  The CD is comprised of eight previously unreleased tracks: four songs are outtakes from Black Sabbath's worldwide #1, Grammy Award-winning album 13 and four live songs from the band's critically acclaimed 13 World Tour.

When this tour concludes, it will truly be The End, The End of one of most legendary bands in rock 'n roll history... Black Sabbath.

 

 


Graham Young for Birmingham Mail, 20 March 2016