Tony Iommi discuss possible collaboration with Queen’s Brian May. Two guitar heroes plan an album together

According to the Birmingham Mail, Black Sabbath mastermind Tony Iommi plans to make an album with Queen guitar hero Brian May.

The Brummie rocker and the London legend met up shortly after Iommi was diagnosed with cancer. And they came up with a revolutionary rock and roll project which may enable fans to record with their idols. Speaking from Los Angeles, where Black Sabbath have been recording their new album “13” and rehearsing for tour dates, Iommi outlined the plans.

“When I was first ill, Brian May came to visit me at my house in Lapworth,” he said. “I played him some of my stuff, rock riffs that I’d never quite got round to developing, or decided not to use. He said I ought to do something with them.

“It’s early days yet, and all my attention in on Sabbath for the foreseeable future, but we may well find some way of working together on them, and making them available in some shape or form. One of the ideas we had is that we could make the riffs available, get fans to use them in songs of their own, and see what they come up with. That way they’d effectively be recording with Brian and myself.”

May elaborates on the idea: “I heard some of the hours of unreleased guitar jams Tony has on tapes and hard drives,” he said. “I thought it would be great to make a compilation out of them. The idea was to put all these riffs out in some form so that people could build their own songs from them. You could make your own music with Tony Iommi on guitar! How great is that!”
Iommi is currently battling lymophoma, and has to return to Solihull’s Parkway Hospital for regular treatment which initially leaves him tired and nauseous, so gigs have been scheduled to allow him recuperation breaks.

“The tour dates are arranged so that I can always get back for treatment,” he said. “It’s the only way I can manage my illness and keep on the road. I’d love to play more shows than we’re doing but my health has to be sorted out first.”

Read more at the Birmingham Mail.

The dates of Black Sabbath’s European tour were announced, and the tickets and new album “13” presale are available from today 12 April 2013 on Blacksabbath.com.

Paul Cole for Birmingham Mail, 12 April 2013 
Photo by Oli Scarff / Garth Cattermole, Getty Images