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

BBC wants to hear from Black Sabbath fans!

British Black Sabbath fans, the BBC wants to hear from you! 

Where were you when you first heard Black Sabbath? Did you see their first UK gigs in the early 1970s? If you or someone you know was there from the start then the BBC wants to hear from you.

The People’s History of Pop is telling the history of British music through memories and memorabilia of fans. Whatever you’ve kept - posters, ticket stubs, photos, records - if you have a story to go with it then they’d love to hear it.

Visit www.bbc.co.uk/peoplespop for more information and how to get involved. 

Or email phop@7wonder.co.uk

BBC.co.uk, with kind permission,

11 March 2016

Tony Iommi Reveals Future Plans With Former Vocalist Tony Martin

Ahead of the Australian leg of Black Sabbath's final world tour, lead guitarist Tony Iommi has opened up about his future post-Sabbath in an exclusive interview with theMusic, where he revealed hopes of reuniting with former frontman Tony Martin to record new music, in addition to the re-issues of some of their classic material. 

Tony Iommi confirmed that re-releases of Headless Cross and TYR are just around the corner. 
"We've held back on the reissues of those albums because of the current Sabbath thing with [current frontman Ozzy Osbourne], but they will certainly be happening," Iommi said.

"...I'd like to do a couple of new tracks for those releases with Tony Martin. I’ll also be looking at working on Cross Purposes (1994) and Forbidden (1995)."

Iommi's comments come on the back of Martin announcing on his Facebook in January that the two had reconnected for the first time in 15 years and plan to work together. Tony Iommi and Tony Martin both were among the musicians who attended the unveiling ceremony for a plaque honoring legendary drummer Cozy Powell, organized by Rossella Amadori on January 7 in Cirencester, England.

Martin took to his Facebook page after the event to write: "Well, what a great day. I attended the unveiling of Cozy Powell's memorial plaque in his hometown of Cirencester, along with Brian May, Neil Murray and Tony Iommi... And, to my surprise, [I] was greeted by Tony Iommi VERY warmly. It's the first conversation of any length I have had with him in 15 years! And it turns out we may well be working together soon!"

TheMusic.com.au, 4 March 2016

New book about Black Sabbath: The Illustrated Lyrics Vol.1

The Royal Publisher Of Oz has announced the availability of its new publication, "Black Sabbath: The Illustrated Lyrics Vol. 1: Supernatural Horror In Literature". The book is available on Amazon and via special-order in retail stores, as well as via wholesale.

The new book presents it's research on Sabbath subject like that: Black Sabbath is one of the most successful and beloved rock bands of all time, having sold over 75 million albums worldwide, and notable for not only spawning several rock subgenres, including heavy metal, stoner and doom, but for delving into dark subject matter, stinging social criticism and apocalyptic warnings of the future. In their 2006 induction in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, Black Sabbath was noted for having "pursued such themes as war, social chaos, the supernatural, the afterlife, and the timeless conflict between good and evil." The intense musical synergy of Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward saw the creation of eight iconic albums that have stood the test of time, remaining as powerful, haunting and relevant now as they were when they were first released between 1970 and 1978. "Black Sabbath: The Illustrated Lyrics Vol. 1: Supernatural Horror In Literature" provides an in-depth analysis of every song and theme found on their self-titled debut album, as well as the early "lost" songs they performed (and even recorded) from 1968-9, during the period when they went from Earth to Black Sabbath.

For decades, Black Sabbath's lyrics have been misheard, misunderstood and misinterpreted. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame says "they remain one of the most misunderstood bands in rock history." Here, at last, is the definitive analysis of the band’s soul-searing messages and themes! The first in a series of eight books, "Black Sabbath: The Illustrated Lyrics", written by Joe Bongiorno, goes beneath the surface where few have gone before to uncover the truth behind the greatest musical force to ever storm the earth!

"Vol. 1: Supernatural Horror In Music" contains:
• An in-depth analysis of every lyric from their debut album "Black Sabbath", as well as seven "lost" songs from 1968-9.
• Over 170 powerful and haunting images from some of the greatest names in the world of art, from contemporary visionaries to arcane masters of old, as well as rarely seen photos of the band.
• Parts 1 and 2 of the essay exploring Black Sabbath's "Musical and Cultural Influences," as well as essays on the interpretive process and significance of lyrics.
• A revised libretto for every lyric that corrects the many mistakes that have crept in over the years.
• Edited by the creator of the "Philosophy And Popular Culture" series, William Irwin, who produced the book "Black Sabbath And Philosophy", and Rich Handley, creator of Hasslein Books, publisher of genre-based reference books.

Blabbermouth.net, 27 February 2016

Tony celebrates his Birthday onstage in Michigan!

Black Sabbath stopped the gig last night at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan after the fourth song to recognize our Tony Iommi's 68th Birthday.

After band introductions, Ozzy Osbourne started to sing "Happy Birthday" song, the whole crowd of fans followed him, making it a huge hymn. Tony thanked the crowd several times.

Then a very yummy cake was brought on stage, with guitar picks and a horns sign on it.  A video graphic that read "Happy Birthday Tony Iommi" was put on the stage screen.

Tony was very happy, fans were ecstatic. The greatest Birthday party in the heavy metal world!

Many more to come, dearest! Long live Master of our Reality!

Photo Terry Welty

21 February 2016

Tony recalls his career and most significant works in a new interview

Here's a Prime Cuts feature from the August 1992 issue of Guitar World. The original headline was "The Master of Reality: Evil guitar genius Tony Iommi, the heart and soul of Black Sabbath, recalls the best and the worst of the heaviest band south of heaven."

The 1970 album Black Sabbath introduced the world to four English gents who would go down as the greatest, most influential heavy metal band in history. Twenty-two years later, the band’s hand of doom, Tony Iommi, continues to compose the most withering riffs this side of Hades. Guitar World recently spoke with the power-chord master for a retrospective look at two decades of Sabbath albums. Join us as we shed some light on a very dark past.

Black Sabbath (1970)
“Money was really scarce in those days, so the whole album was recorded in eight hours on an eight-track machine at Regent Sound in London. We were so pleased to have been given the chance to make a record that the whole experience seemed very luxurious. A record deal in those days was a very big thing. Most of my solos on that record were done the same way I do them now—very off-the-cuff. I performed the extended solo on ‘Warning’ in only two takes. The first one I played was much better than the second one, but our so-called producer, who had never produced an album in his life, decided to put the second one on the record without consulting us. For that album, I used my Gibson SG—the same one I used for the next 10 years—and either a Laney or Marshall cabinet. We didn’t even have time to work on getting sounds—we just set up mics in front of the cabinets and went off. We just played as if we were playing live.”

Paranoid (1970)
“I think the reason this record turned out so well was that we had a long time to work out all the material. We were playing seven 45-minute sets each day in a dusty old club in Switzerland, in front of anywhere from three to two dozen people. Rehearsing like that for six weeks really tightened us up. It also enabled us to experiment more because we really only had enough songs for one set each day—certainly not seven. It gave us a chance to make stuff up and rearrange existing songs.”

Master of Reality (1971)
“During Master of Reality, we started getting more experimental and began taking too much time to record. Ultimately, I think it really confused us. Sometimes I think I’d really like to go back to the way we recorded the first two albums. I’ve always preferred just going into the studio and playing, without spending a lot of time rehearsing or getting sounds. We tried recording ‘Into the Void’ in a couple of different studios because Bill [Ward] just couldn’t get it right. Whenever that happened, he would start believing that he wasn’t capable of playing the song. He’d say, ‘To hell with it—I’m not doing this!’ There was one track like that on every album, and ‘Into the Void’ was the most difficult one on Master of Reality. “The coughing that opens the album is actually me! Ozzy had pulled out a joint, and I nearly choked to death on the bloody thing—and they recorded it! I didn’t have any idea that it would end up on the record.”

Vol. 4 (1972)
“We wrote and recorded Vol. 4 at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. LA was a real distraction for us, and that album ended up sounding a bit strange. The people who were involved with the record really didn’t have a clue. They were all learning with us, and we didn’t know what we were doing either. The experimental stage we began with Master of Reality continued with Vol. 4, and we were trying to widen our sound and break out of the bag everyone had put us into.”

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1975)
“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was a real turning point for us. We started getting more involved in what we thought we should sound like, not what other people thought we should sound like. We had a good time in LA and we moved back there for Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, hoping to recreate the sound of Vol. 4. Musically, we liked that drug-oriented sound. [laughs] So we went back to L.A. and rented the same house, the same studio, the same drugs, everything. But we weren’t able to create anything there, so we returned to England. “We started thinking the band didn’t ‘have it’ any more, and we knew we had to do something to get ‘it’ back. So we rented an old castle in Wales and rehearsed in its spooky old dungeon. After we wrote ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,’ things just started coming fast and furious again.”

Technical Ecstasy (1976)
“Black Sabbath fans generally don’t like much of Technical Ecstasy. It was really a no-win situation for us. If we had stayed the same, people would have said we were still doing the same old stuff. So we tried to get a little more technical, and it just didn’t work out very well. “We recorded the album in Miami, and nobody would take responsibility for the production. No one wanted to bring in an outside person for help, and no one wanted the whole band to produce it. So they left it all to me!”

Never Say Die (1978)
“Right before we were supposed to record Never Say Die, Ozzy quit the band. We never wanted him to leave, and I think he wanted to come back—but no one would tell the other how they felt. So we had to bring in another singer and write all new material. Then, two days before we were finally ready to record again, Ozzy decided to come back. But he wouldn’t sing any of the stuff we had written without him! Bill had to sing on one track because Ozzy refused to sing it. We ended up having to write in the day so we could record in the evening, and we never had time to review the tracks and make changes. As a result, the album sounds very confused. The problems with Ozzy continued, and eventually we knew we had to bring in somebody else. Geezer and Bill would say to me, ‘Either Ozzy goes or we go.’ At that point, Bill was becoming the businessman of the band, with his briefcase and his haircut, and he fucking goes and tells Ozzy, ‘Tony wants to get rid of you.’ [laughs] To this day, Ozzy thinks I fired him on my own, when it was really the other two who wanted him out. But I wasn’t pleased with him either. “Mixing the album even caused my marriage to break up. As with Technical Ecstasy, everyone went on a holiday when it came time to mix. My wife kept asking, ‘How come you’re the only one working while everyone is in bloody Barbados?’ ” [laughs]

Heaven and Hell (1980)
“After going through 11 months of frustration with Ozzy, Ronnie James Dio was a great addition to the band. He had a new way of looking at things, and it gave us a new approach. Ronnie was very excited about joining the band, but I think it was difficult for him to fill Ozzy’s shoes. We tried to make it as easy on Ronnie as we could because, even though we went out on a limb firing Ozzy, we believed in what we were doing—and it worked.”

Mob Rules (1981)
“We were all going through a lot of problems at that time, most of it related to drugs. Even the producer, Martin Birch, was having drug problems, and it hurt the sound of that record. Once that happens to your producer, you’re really screwed. “Mob Rules was a confusing album for us. We started writing songs differently for some reason, and ended up not using a lot of really great material. That lineup [Iommi, Dio, Butler, Ward] was really great, and the whole thing fell apart for very silly reasons—we were all acting like children. But I think we needed to split with Ronnie and gain a little breathing space to be able to do what we’re doing with him now.”

Born Again (1983)
“When we first put that line-up together [Ian Gillan, Iommi, Butler, Ward], it was only on paper—done purely by lawyers. Ian is a great singer, but he’s from a completely different background [Deep Purple], and it was difficult for him to come in and sing Sabbath material. “To be honest, I didn’t like some of the songs on that album—and the production was awful. We never had time to test the pressings after it was recorded, and something happened to it by the time it got released.”

Headless Cross (1989)
“That was the first album I wrote with [drummer] Cozy Powell, even though we had known each other for almost 20 years. That album was put together very quickly, and we produced it ourselves. I like Headless Cross very much, but I wouldn’t compare it to Dehumanizer, because they’re very different.”

Dehumanizer (1992)
“Getting back together with Ronnie James Dio was a little rough in the beginning—there were all kinds of egos bouncing around. We had been separated for 10 years, and it took us a long time to get to know each other again. Tony Martin had been our singer for the last three albums, and I must admit, I did feel bad that we had to let him go. But the truth is, he wanted to get out. He was getting more into writing for other people instead of performing Sabbath material. He understood the situation with Ronnie, so it really wasn’t a problem. Before we [Iommi, Dio, Butler and drummer Vinny Appice] started writing Dehumanzer, we talked about what we wanted. We decided to make a very heavy Black Sabbath record that had a real natural sound and a ton of doomy riffs—nothing too jolly. The material is sort of a cross between the old stuff and Heaven and Hell. It has a raunchy sound—something I think has been missing from Sabbath over the last few years. This is very much a classic Black Sabbath record. In fact, I didn’t expect it to come out quite this good!”

Originally posted on Guitar World.

Guitarworld.com, 21 February 2016

Happy 68th Birthday, dear Tony!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR MASTER!

Happy birthday, One and Only! 

May God give you all the happiness, love and joy possible, and a long life in excellent health.

May God fill your heart with spiritual wealth and serenity. 

May all your dreams come true.

We Love you forever!

19 February 2016

Tony Iommi enjoyed Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp

Our Tony had much fun participating at this great event! It was three days of smiles, laugh, interaction in a really friendly atmosphere. We're sharing our friend, Camp's CEO Valerie Ince's words:

"Well, we have wrapped up another AMAZING Rock and Roll Fantasy camp and there just aren't enough words to say how incredible this experience was. For this long time Sabbath fan, Tony Iommi was beyond gracious and a true gentleman - one of my greatest afternoons ever. 
Steve Vai was so kind, so great with the campers and watching him play was an incredible treat for all. Zakk Wylde was so cool, so bad ass, so funny, and such a trooper - we really worked him hard, as he played with each camper band at camp and the Whisky A Go Go. Warren Haynes was so amazing with the campers, they just couldn't stop talking about him. Our amazing counselors, Frankie Banali, Kane Roberts, Rudy Sarzo, Robert Sarzo, Teddy Andreadis, Tracii Ulrich, Bjorn Englen, Phil Soussan, Phil X, Les Warner, Buster Akrey, Tony Franklin, Gary Hoey and our incredible MD Vinny Appice really changed the lives of our fabulous campers with their guidance and by sharing their incredible talent. Our crew, Kevin K Dugan, John Shippey, Cubby and Mike Perkinpine - wow! what a feat we accomplished with 15 camper bands to work for... my girls, Shardonaye Moyes, Monaye Moyes and Viviana Trujillo, and Arie Tiffany Anderson - you guys worked your tails off - and everyone loved you! Jennifer Mesa and Christy Merrick-Tuggle who worked camp for the first time - thank you for all you help! Paul Gervasi and Kurt Ross - our everything guys - we thank you and adore you both!

But as always, there is no Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp without our wonderful campers. We are truly blessed to get the chance to know each and every one of you. All your hard work, dedication and love for music is what keeps the rest of us going! You are ALL rock stars in our eyes! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing your rock and roll fantasies with us!"

Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp CEOs Valerie Ince and David Fishof.

17 February, 2016

Tony Iommi at Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp

Our Tony posted a message on his socials yesterday night:

"I’m really pleased we’re able to go back to Canada and play the shows we missed first time round. It’s been really hot in Los Angeles the last few days, going to be strange to be back in the cold again!"

I did an interview with BBC radio about the start of Sabbath recently, to commemorate the release of Black Sabbath. It’s now available everywhere, check it out HERE!"

Tony spent last three days at Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp situated in Los Angeles, jamming with campers and teaching them composition, right way to play some of his songs, and many other secrets. 

On the picture above, our Master Tony with Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp's CEO David Fishof. 

14 February 2016

Sabbath boys reschedule lost shows and hit stages with double power

Black Sabbath finally recovered from a temporary black out caused by Ozzy's sinusitis, and hit American stages with double power. Ozzy is back in form, and the Tacoma gig, the first the band played after the pause, was, as fans witnessing, the real show of the century. The guys were literally on fire, Ozzy singing excellently, and Tony soloing like a demon of metal. 

Rescheduled dates for the three postponed Black Sabbath THE END tour dates in Canada have been confirmed.
New Dates:

Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place - March 2, 2016

Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome - March 4, 2016

Vancouver, BC – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena - March 7, 2016

Previously purchased tickets will be honoured at the door on the new date. Fans are not required to re-purchase or exchange their tickets. Ticketholders unable to attend the new date will be notified by email from Ticketmaster on refund options. Tickets for the new dates will be on sale Today at 4pm local time.

Our team had a exciting story told by Graphic designer Kyler Sharp, who made a stunning artwork for the exclusive posters for Tacoma gig. Here's Kyler's story in his own words:

"This is going to happen!!!! I still can't believe it and I did it. This almost didn't happen and Ozzy getting sick this week was only the last of many hurdles I had to jump to get this poster completed and approved… Ozzy getting sick was the straw that almost broke the camel's back! I was on the phone with Ozzy every day since last Saturday making sure he was resting, taking his antibiotics, flushing his sinus with salt water, getting plenty of Vitamin C and resting his voice!

Seriously though, this is surreal to me and I never in my wildest dreams would've thought that I'd get to do a poster for this band. That's right… I got to do a poster for BLACK SABBATH!!!!! Come on now!!!! BLACK SABBATH!!!!!!!!!! One of the most important bands in Rock-N-Roll history!!! They're in the Rock-N-Roll Hall Of Fame and they're THE most important band TO Heavy Metal because they really were the first band widely considered to be Heavy Metal when that term was being thrown around some 47-48 years ago….

Definitely one of my all-time favorite bands EVER!!!! Their importance to Rock-N-Roll cannot be overstated. Their impact and influence is immeasurable…. this is just a fact. I cannot even begin to express how excited I am to have gotten the chance to do this art for this band. Art that almost didn't get done because of two prior rejected designs (Sharon Osbourne rejected my first two designs before approving my third) and having almost no time to beat the deadline to get 450 screen printed posters printed up and to the venue by today!

Yes, it's for tonight's concert in Tacoma Washington at the Tacoma Dome. It's a MASSIVE poster at 24x36 inches and is a 5-color print with one glow in the dark ink! 400 posters will be available at the Tacoma Dome for tonight's show and I'll have my 50 + on sale coming up soon at my website. I'll keep everyone posted when mine go on sale. Thanks to Seizure Palace Screen Printing for getting this massive job printed and delivered to the venue on time!!!"

You can watch the entire Tacoma, Los Angeles, San Jose, Minneapolis, Chicago and Winnipeg gigs following THIS LINK on Bloodyloud.

Thanks to Kyler Sharp. Photo represents the poster for Black Sabbath concert in Tacoma USA by Kyler Sharp

14 February 2016