Tony Iommi talks about his future plans

Tony Iommi needs little introduction. The father of heavy metal, he along with Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward changed the face of the musical landscape with Black Sabbath, conjuring some of the most famous guitar riffs of all time. There have been so many iconic pieces, that even he can’t tell which is the best. Eamon O’Neill of Eonmusic caught up with Tony for a chat at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods, where he was on hand to collect the ‘Golden God’ award on behalf of the band. Here is the interview: 

​-- Good evening Tony, you recently played your last ever gig with Black Sabbath; How emotional was it on stage playing those last few chords?-

- It was a strange experience. I don’t think it’s sunk in to everybody, to all the band, really. It was sad, it was the last show, but I was wondering how we were all going to finish and what we were going to do after the show, but we had three days of filming after it, so we were all still seeing each other. It was only then that we realised; “oh, this is it”, after that. But as far as the audience was concerned, it was very emotional, and people came from all over the world to see it, and it was just brilliant. You couldn’t wish for a better send off.

-- What are your emotions now, with a bit of distance between the show ending?

-- I still feel like I’m on tour, to be honest. I mean, I’ve done it for fifty years ; it’s hard to kind of just go ‘bang’ and then forget about it, which I don’t want to do, in some ways. I love what I do, and for me, we stopped the tour because I didn’t particularly want to keep touring, because of the health issues. But I loved being on stage, and I love seeing the audiences – there’s no better feeling than that.

​-- There’s been talk of a possible one-off gig in a football ground in Birmingham; is there any truth in those rumours?

-- It was me talking about that, I started it! I think it would be nice to do that at some point. I haven’t spoke to the others about it, but it would be, honestly, and they’d be up for it. It’s early days yet, really. It hasn’t even sunk in as far as we’ve finished. 

-- How are you, health-wise these days?

-- Yeah, I feel okay, I just get tired. That was one of the main reasons we’re stopping touring, because the long tours of eighteen months was just, you get to be too tired. When I was 22, it was all right, but now I’m 35…!

-- Are you a man of leisure now?

-- Funny enough, I find it more busy now than when we were on tour. I don’t know what it is; I’m doing more things, other things, but still involved in music, doing stuff for charities, and just doing things like that, which is nice. I like to do it, but it still takes up the time. The only difference is I’m not flying everywhere.

-- There’s been talk that you may work with former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin again.

-- Yeah, Tony Martin said that. Is there a possibility that that might happen? There’s a possibility to anything, really. There’s nothing set in stone. I just spoke to him about maybe one day doing a couple of things, but I’ve spoke to a lot of people about that.

-- Those albums; ‘Headless Cross’ through to ‘Cross Purposes’ are currently unavailable; would you like to see them remixed and given the remastered treatment?

-- Yes, absolutely. I’d like to get them reissued again, absolutely. I think they were good stuff that some people never even heard.​

-- You’ve spoken about doing an album with Brian May; will that ever see the light of day?

-- Brian came up to my house a couple of weeks ago, and we started talking about it again, but it’s quite possible. We’d like to do it, but now he’s going on tour. But yeah, I’d like to do something with him. 

-- Do you still play the guitar every day, even when you’re not on the road?

-- No. I didn’t play it on the road every day; I only played it when we played. No, I can’t sit down and practice. I don’t know why. I get bored with it. If I’m writing something, I will sit down and play it, and on the road, I only play at the gigs; I don’t play it on the days off.

-- Of all the riffs you’ve written, is there one you’re most proud of?

-- I’m proud of what I did, and there’s a lot of stuff I write that I like. I like riffs, and hopefully will be coming out with a lot more.

-- With the tour winding down, did you get a chance to sit down with Geezer and Ozzy and have a drink and reminisce?

-- No, because they don’t drink! But yeah, we did talk about the old days. We had some fun just talking about it, remembering it, and even not remembering it!

-- Was there an easier closure with Black Sabbath than there was with the end of Heaven And Hell and Ronnie James Dio’s passing?

-- Well it was different with Ronnie because Ronnie passed away. But you know, I still stay in touch with Ozzy and Geezer. We’ve never really stayed in touch every day. Even on the road, we don’t see each other until we do the show; it’s not because we don’t like each other, it’s just the way it is, everybody does their own thing and you give them their space. We’re still the same now; I’ll email Geezer or Ozzy, and he’ll get back and let me know what he’s doing, and that’s the sort of thing we do and we always have done. It used to be phone calls and now you can reach anybody by just leaving a text.  

-- Have you missed performing some of the tracks from the Ronnie era such as ‘Mob Rules’ and ‘Heaven And Hell’?

-- Yeah, I did actually, because they were good songs, and when we did the stuff with Ronnie, we played all that stuff; we didn’t do any of the old Sabbath stuff. But we enjoyed that, and that was that set, and then we went back to doing the old stuff, which again I enjoyed, so it was a real nice difference. 

Eamon O’Neill for Eonmusic.co.uk, 20 June 2017

Tony Iommi participates at the unveiling of Blue plaque at Vale Park for Lemmy

A blue plaque commemorating the life of legendary rock star Lemmy was unveiled this evening, 15 June 2017. The memorial has been installed at Port Vale's ground just down the road from where Motörhead frontman Lemmy was born in Burslem. Vale Park was also chosen because Motörhead headlined an iconic gig there back in 1981 and their most famous hit, Ace Of Spades, has been adopted as an anthem by the club's fans.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was invited to Stoke-on-Trent for a special ceremony to reveal the tribute. The heavy metal star said: 

"It is fantastic to be unveiling this plaque because Lemmy really deserves one - it is a shame you have to be dead before you get one. He lived his life to the full with sex drugs and rock'n'roll but eventually they had to drop off with drugs and drink. The influence he had was massive and proved that you could come from anywhere and take the world. He was all about the fans and he has a massive fan base of people with Motorhead t shirts. Lemmy was a really genuine guy and what you saw was what you got. He loved the music and he lived the life with that. Motorhead were loud, I know that we were loud but they were louder and in many ways were the first thrash rock group."

Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in Burslem in 1945 although he moved out of the Potteries to North Wales when he was still a young boy. A rock innovator and one of Tony's and Ozzy Osbourne's best friends, Lemmy's music was one of the foundations of the heavy metal genre. In all, he spent four decades in Motörhead. He passed away aged 70 on December 28, 2015 just two days after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

Stokesentinel.co.uk, 15 June 2017

Tony Iommi awarded Golden God by Metal Hammer

For more than 30 years, Metal Hammer has been the biggest heavy metal magazine on the planet, and after a turbulent end to 2016, and their resurrection in 2017, they threw the party of all parties for their readers at this year's Golden Gods Awards 2017 in association with Orange Amplification. 

Taking place at IndigO2 at The O2, London on Monday, June 12, the 2017 edition of the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards was hosted by WWE megastar and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, and like all Golden Gods shows, this year's event was all about the fans. There are no tables, no sit-down dinners, no industry backslapping — this is a room full of genuine fans who have voted in their hundreds of thousands to see their favorite bands be victorious. The night celebrated the best of heavy metal from the past twelve months as well as performances from some of the world's most exciting bands.

Guitar legend Tony Iommi was on hand to collect the Golden God award on behalf of Black Sabbath, who brought the curtain down on their 49-year career earlier this year.

Director of Birmingham based Home of Metal Lisa Meyer delivered a powerful speech, and invited on stage the Golden God - One and Only Tony Iommi, accompanied by fan crowd going wild and chanting his name: Tony, Tony, Tony! The images of a rising demon, the same Black Sabbath used at the beginning of their shows during The End tour, are on the screen. Then Tony appeared to fans, accepting the award, and giving a very gentle speech. Iron man blasts, and Tony waves his hand to metalheads.

"Congratulations to Black Sabbath for their Metal Hammer Golden Gods award - it is an absolute honour for us to present the award to Tony Iommi." - said Lisa Meyer. 

"For me, every time we get an award it reiterates that people are thinking about you and saying how much they appreciate what we’ve done." - said Tony.

Speaking to Red Carpet News TV  Tony stated about Sabbath's final performances:

"I think the whole tour, for us, was great, but the last shows were — because we knew they were gonna be the last shows… it didn't quite sink in properly until sort of afterwards. And even afterwards, because we'd done three days of filming after that for the DVD, so we were still together. But after the three days of filming, that was weird, because we were saying goodbye to each other, and it was really strange. But to see the crowd on those last shows was spectacular. There was people from all over the world and all the emotions coming out. I mean, you could see it from where we were. [It was] fantastic."

Also, Tony Iommi is keen for Black Sabbath to have their own musical. The 69-year-old Guitar God has revealed despite previously shunning the idea of putting their music into a stage show he now has the backing of his bandmates Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler, and it could be something they work on in the future now that they have stopped touring. The 'Paranoid' rocker told The Sun newspaper:

"Years ago we were asked if we would produce our stuff as a musical and we said no, but now it would be nice to see that. I think Ozzy and Geezy are up for it. We've all got life stories which could be musicals."

And fans of the legendary heavy metal group can expect even more from the 'War Pigs' hitmakers as they are also working a documentary and potential live album from their 'The End Tour'.

CONGRATULATIONS, DEAR MASTER, FROM ALL US YOUR DEVOTED DIEHARDS! \m/ 

Blabbermouth.net, Photo by Katja Ogrin, 13 June 2017

Tony signs a vintage Vox guitar for MacMillan Cancer Charity

A supporter of Macmillan UK Keith Stubbs has made it his mission to collect as many music legends signatures as possible on a classic sixties vintage Vox guitar.

The guitar has been happily signed by Tony Iommi along with other music legends as: Bob Geldoff, Paul Weller, Ray Davies, Richard Hawley, Chris Martin, Brian May, Jonny Marr, Elvis Costello, Cliff Richard, Hank Marvin, Van Morrison, Robert Plant, Ricky Wilson, Kelly Jones, Graham Coxon and many more, and was auctioned online starting from 10 June 2017 to raise funds for MacMillan.

It's possible to place a bid and get the rare axe following this LINK. 

Tony and his fans are known for their long term collaboration with Macmillan. Tony supported them, participating on events, and donating directly, and both Tony Iommi Fan-Tastic & Global Black Sabbath Convention fan teams raised funds for this great charity, helping Tony. 

Good luck to a winner!

Macmillanyorkraceday.co.uk; Iommi.com; 10 June 2017

Tony Iommi will get his next Golden Gods from Metal Hammer

Exciting news arrived today from Metal Hammer - on Monday 12 June Black Sabbath will be crowned 2017 Golden Gods! Tony Iommi will collect Metal Hammer’s most prestigious award on behalf of the band at next week’s Golden Gods event.

The 15th annual event will be held at London’s IndigO2 at The O2 on Monday, June 12, which will be hosted by Fozzy frontman and WWE megastar Chris Jericho.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi will be on hand to receive the night’s most prestigious award on behalf of the band, who brought the curtain down on their 49-year career with a pair of sold-out shows in their home town of Birmingham in February.

Bassist Geezer Butler says: “Thank you for this award. It's good to know that after almost 50 years Sabbath is still relevant, and has its importance in the history of music. I want to thank our fans who have been with us along the way, without them there would be no Sabbath.”

Metal Hammer editor Merlin Alderslade adds: “Black Sabbath are, quite simply, the Ground Zero for metal. Without them, heavy music wouldn’t exist as we know and love it today, and it only seems right that in a year where we’re celebrating the power of our scene, we acknowledge the influence of the Mac Daddies themselves."

We can't wait for Monday to come, to see more detailed news about Tony's and the band's new award, it's gonna be a great evening.

Congratulations, Tony, well deserved, and many more to come!

Teamrock.com, 6 June 2017

Tony Iommi and Tony Martin: possible collaboration

Former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin was interviewed by Metal Jacket Magazine on 14 May 2017. Here's an excrept from the interview where Tony opens about his future plans on collaboration with Tony Iommi again. 

On the question about the status of the previously proposed reissues of albums from his era of Black Sabbath, featuring bonus material, including some new music:

Tony Martin: "It is definitely possible. I spoke to Tony Iommi just a few weeks ago. He's bought a new house and he's building a new studio. He said he needs to set that up and get that all ready. But when he's ready, I'm happy to do it, and I know he wants to do it. And just the fact that he wants to do it, it's, like, 'Oh, yeah. That's cool.' [Laughs] 'That's cool.' 'Cause those albums have been deleted for a long time, and I think they could sound better. Especially 'Forbidden' — oooohhhh… I hate that. It was the end of my time with Black Sabbath, so it's so… When I listen to it now, I think how I could make it better. So if he gives me the chance, I would love to do that again. Yeah, the possibility is definitely there. If he doesn't die… [Laughs] But, yes, I'm happy to think that it will be sometime soon."

On Black Sabbath's much-maligned "Forbidden" album not sounding like a true Sabbath release:

Tony Martin: "I told Iommi that. It was me, Cozy Powell and Geoff Nicholls, I think, who is also not with us now. We were saying that 'this is not Black Sabbath.' And I understand what they were trying to do — the RUN-D.M.C. thing — but no, it didn't work. It didn't work. I have demos from the rehearsals, and it sounded really cool — really hard, and some of the songs are really kicking it. So I would love to re-record that. And if I got the chance, I'd actually like to re-write some of the lyrics, because my head wasn't there in the album. But if I get the chance, we'll have a go."

Lets hope this collaboration will soon give us all great surprises!

Blabbermouth.com, 1 June 2017

Tony Iommi launches the brand new scholarship at BIMM Birmingham

Amazing news arrived from Birmingham's BIMM Music Institute, where on 25 May 2017 was held a special event with a very special hero - Tony Iommi! This is what BIMM's official website www.bimm.co.uk says:

Birmingham has produced a host of exceptional bands over the years, but few have rivalled the creative genius of Black Sabbath. So, you can only imagine how privileged we are to have the one and only Tony Iommi sponsor our brand new BIMM Birmingham scholarship. The legendary guitarist recently joined us at Birmingham’s Spotlight Studios to launch the Tony Iommi BIMM Birmingham Scholarship – which recognises talent and creativity in music – and a further three BIMM bursaries to support students. As part of the celebrations, we invited a very lucky group of prospective BIMM Birmingham students to give them a taste of life and the fantastic opportunities available at our new state-of-the-art college, which will open its doors in Digbeth this October. Introducing the £20,250 award, BIMM Birmingham’s Executive Principal, Dara Kilkenny, said: “Tony Iommi has agreed to put his name to a scholarship which will be worth £20,250 for one of the applicants, and it could be one of you in this room. It’s available to all disciplines, all degree students. You will not pay any fees.”

Giving his thoughts on the scholarship and how one lucky BIMM student can utilise it, Tony said: “It’s fantastic; I just think that you have to go for it and work as hard as you can. Believe in what you are doing. You have to believe in it, and follow it through. Work as hard as you can. You have to love it and enjoy it."

After the announcement, Tony sat down with BIMM’s resident Black Sabbath aficionado and Orange Goblin drummer, Chris Turner, for an exclusive interview about his life in music and his work with Black Sabbath, following the band’s decision to bid farewell after spending a half century and the forefront of heavy metal. Tony, whose ear-shattering riffs and unique sound provided the blueprint for all metal bands who have followed, shared a wealth of insight and a host of amazing anecdotes about the band’s formation. Black Sabbath’s sound was actually part inspired by horror movies, which explains a lot!

“We were fascinated with horror movies. Geezer and I used to go to a Midnight Horror night at the cinema. “I said to Geezer; it would great if we could write music that to give you the same fear as a horror movie and that’s what started it off,” he told the audience.

Opening up about Black Sabbath’s immense sound, Tony Iommi spoke about the significance of his Laney LA100BL and LA412 amp and the now vintage equipment used during the recording of their first album. Many have tried to recreate that sound, including super-producer Rick Rubin. Recalling the recording sessions, Tony said: “He brought out some Laney clip amps that I’ve never used. I used the Laney LA100BL, LA412. Just because they’re vintage [amp] doesn’t mean they sound great. He was trying to create the sound of the amp before. I pointed out that he was using modern mics, we didn’t have them.”

Tony actually commissioned an exclusive line of replica Laney LA100BL, LA412 amps for Black Sabbath’s Farewell tour, of which only 50 have been made. Earlier this year, BIMM were extremely fortunate to acquire one of the priceless amps – a piece of musical history which now sits pride of place in our college, now signed by the man who made them famous! So, what of those elusive recording tapes of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath? Do they exist? We simply had to ask. After all, it’s not every day you get to sit down with the guitarist who revolutionised heavy metal. The audience hung onto Tony’s every word as he recalled the story of that historic tape. “John [Bonham] and I were good friends. He used to play me their stuff, and I would play him our stuff at rehearsals,” he revealed.

“One night we were in the studio, and they came down -it ruined our session- John said let’s play Supernaut, so we started playing it, and then we started making stuff up. It was quite good. There is a tape somewhere of those sessions.”

On the subject of BIMM, Tony spoke of the opportunities now available to aspiring musicians and the ease of which you can make music nowadays thanks to advances in technology but admits his allegiances will always lie with the warm, fuzzy analogue sound that many are still trying to attain years later. So, how does he feel about his riffs being an inspiration to so many bands? “We are proud of it. It feels weird, so many bands of the years recognise us as their influence  It’s a great honour,” he explained.

It was our honour to host one of the world’s most prolific and forward-thinking guitarists. His support of the BIMM scholarship and bursaries is a testament to the college’s close ties with the industry and the perfect precursor to BIMM Birmingham’s grand opening. Summing up the event, Chris said: “It’s not often you get to meet your heroes, and I have today.” We’re sure he isn’t the only one. After the Q&A, Tony signed records and took pictures with our 20 soon-to-be freshers.

Watch the Q&A Session with Tony, led by Orange Goblin’s Chris Turner. It was an amazing opportunity for 20 Prospective BIMM Birmingham students. 

Discussing his career and asked if there was ever an instance when he can remember being there and thinking ‘this has all been worth it, this is it’, Tony reveals: 

“You know what? I’ve always thought it’s all been worth it, ever since day one, because that’s the drive you’ve got to have if you’re gonna survive in the business. You’ve got to have that in your head because you get so many knockbacks and so many people that don’t like you, but you have to forge through that.”

Bimm.co.uk, 26 May 2017

RIP Jimmy Copley

Sad news arrived this morning about Tony's friend, drummer Jimmy Copley, who worked with Tony on his solo albums Iommi 2000 and 1996 Dep Sessions with Glenn Hughes. Jimmy was affected with Leukemia, and was given few weeks of life by doctors, just a couple of days ago. Tony and his guitar tech Mike Clement went to visit him to hospital just other day... Jimmy passed the day after Tony's visit. 

Jimmy's work lives in our hearts... he had a very distinctive personal drum style, remarkable talent. He was largely a session musician who has worked with Jeff Beck, Graham Parker, Upp, Paul Young, Roger Glover, Magnum, Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, Go West, Killing Joke, Tears for Fears, Seal, Paul Rodgers and many others. Also he was the drummer with Manfred Mann's Earth Band since 2007. We listen and enjoy his great work on Tony's compositions as Laughing Man In The Devil Mask, Patterns, and the whole Dep Sessions today. Jimmy Copley sadly missed but not forgotten. 

That's what Tony posted on his social networks today...

"My friend Jimmy Copley lost his battle with Leukemia the day after Mike Clement and I went to visit him in hospital. So sad... he was a brilliant drummer and a fantastic man. He worked with me on my solo album and on the Dep Sessions with Glenn Hughes and myself. We had some great times together and lots of laughs. He was a really wonderful person who loved playing. We'll miss you Jimmy. My condolences to his family at this time.RIP my friend,Tony"

From all Iommifans in the world - rest in peace. Jimmy Copley 1953 - 14 May 2017.

Iommi.com, 14 May 2017

From Raising Hell to Holy Music: Tony Iommi talks to NBC News

For half a century, Tony Iommi's ominous guitar riffs propelled the dark, apocalyptic sound of Black Sabbath. Now the high priest of heavy metal has taken his music in an unexpected direction — to church.

Instead of the Satanic imagery that figured in so many Sabbath songs, Iommi has drawn inspiration from The Bible — specifically Psalm 133 — to produce a haunting choral composition called "How Good It is" that he wrote specifically for the cathedral in his hometown of Birmingham, England. But when asked if he had gotten religion after all his hell-raising years, the 69-year-old lapsed Catholic who often used religious icons onstage chuckled:

"It really wasn't anything to do with religion," Iommi told NBC News. "I don't follow any religious path… religiously. It just seemed like a nice thing to do. It was really nice to work with a choir and to do something for our city."
And while working with a boys choir may seem like a radical departure for a musician whose best known songs like "Paranoid," "Sweat Leaf," "War Pigs" and "Sabbath, Bloody, Sabbath" featured the spooky vocals of Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi said writing religious music for the Birmingham Cathedral "was not really off the wall for me."

In less well-known Sabbath songs like "Supertzar," Iommi said he used orchestration and a choir to "take the music to a new level. I enjoy the challenge of doing something most people wouldn't expect from me," he said.

Iommi, Osbourne, and their bandmates Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, all grew up in and around Birmingham, a still gritty industrial city that is now one of the most diverse in Europe and home to large populations of Jamaican, Pakistani and Polish immigrants. Himself the son of Italian immigrants, Iommi grew up in a family where the favored instrument was the accordion, not the guitar. And his career was nearly derailed just as it was starting when he accidentally chopped off the tips of his middle and ring fingers on his right hand while operating a machine at his day job in a factory.Iommi, who is left-handed, compensated by fashioning homemade thimbles out of plastic bottle caps for his injured fingers and tuning his guitar down to make the strings easier to bend. In doing so, Iommi came up with Sabbath's signature heavy sound and ushered in a whole new type of rock music.

"It's brilliant," Iommi answered when asked how he feels about being called the inventor of heavy metal. "I'm very proud that I've been able to do something that's become very popular."

But heavy metal wasn't what the Very Reverent Catherine Ogle had in mind when she approached Iommi about making some beautiful music as Black Sabbath was embarking on its final tour, which ended in February with a concert in the city where they launched their career. "You two should get together and have a chat," Iommi recalled his pal Mike Olley telling him, when he broached the idea of a sit down with Ogle. "Be a nice idea to do something together for Birmingham and the cathedral." Exhausted from touring and from an arduous but ultimately successful battle with lymphoma, Iommi said he was ready to for a change of pace.

"Don't get me wrong, I love playing with Black Sabbath and I'm still involved in the Sabbath thing," he said. "But this was a chance to do something different."

And as he and Ogle were speaking about the proposed choral piece, "I sort of could hear the thing in my head. I knew was that I would not write anything with really heavy riffs," he said. "The idea was to record it in the cathedral." So Iommi, who still lives in Birmingham, returned to his home studio and recorded the music coursing through his head. "I put an idea down, sent to the reverend, she really liked it and that was it," he said. It would be another nine months before Iommi, who plays acoustic guitar on the track, was able to record the piece with the choir and cellist George Shilling. It was played in public for the first time at the cathedral in January. "This is a most wonderful gift Tony offered to the Cathedral," Ogle told The Birmingham Mail newspaper. "He has a huge fan base in the city."

Iommi said his touring days may be over, but he still wants to keep making music:

"I'm certainly not retiring from playing and doing stuff," he said. "But I think since my illness I've had to look at things differently, think sensibly. I feel fine, but I still go for checkups and tests and at the moment I'm okay." He's written a piece for the long-running "CSI" television series and he's in the process of mixing the sound from the final Sabbath shows in Birmingham for a possible live album. "We'll actually be doing a documentary," he said. "My job at the moment is to have a listen to what we've done."

Iommi says he also he says he has "bags" of riffs he came up with for Black Sabbath that might one day wind up on a solo album. (Sabbath aficionados, Iommi's favorite guitar riffs are "Into the Void" followed by "Iron Man." ) Asked what he has been listening to of late, Iommi said it hasn't been Black Sabbath. "You can't listen to the stuff you play all the time," he said. Iommi said of late he's been tuning into the vintage rock and roll from the 1950's and 1960's that first influenced him as a musician and confirmed a British newspaper's report (which apparently shocked some self-respecting Sabbath fans) that he is fond both of Doris Day, who had her heyday in the 1950s, and the soft-rocking 70s duo, The Carpenters. "That got blown out of proportion," Iommi said with a laugh. "I love heavy rock, but I don't sit and listen to heavy rock because I do that." Iommi said it's not the first time his musical detours have surprised Sabbath fans:

"I'll never forget I was driving through Hollywood and I had some Frank Sinatra on, because I like Frank Sinatra," he said. "I was at the light and another car pulled up and the people inside looked over and recognized me and then realized what I was playing. The look on their faces…." 

Earlier these days, a substantial interview with Tony's bandmate Terry Geezer Butler was published on Musicradar.com, and the point of major interest was Terry's answer to the question: Have you ever considered returning to Sabbath’s roots for a blues project? 

Terry revealed: “The follow-up to 13 was going to be a blues album, but the tour got in the way. It would take something like two or three years to do it properly, and we thought we might not all be here by that time, so it would be better to do this final tour first and then maybe we’ll do a blues record later.”

If you did it jam style it wouldn’t take that long to do blues?

“Probably not. You’d have to make it varied instead of doing 10 tracks of the same old 12-bar blues though. But even back in the Heaven And Hell tour days, Tony would go up into his lead and we would just jam around blues riffs for eight or nine minutes. And every night was different. So that is a thought.”

By Corky Siemaszkon for bcnews.com; Musicradar.com; Photo by Paz Patel;

9 April 2017

The “Great Lefty” tribute to Tony Iommi finally on vinyl LP!

The team of Tony Iommi fans TonyIommiFantastic.com, Tanzan Music and Global Black Sabbath Convention releases the successful compilation “Great Lefty: Live Forever! Tribute to Tony Iommi Godfather of Metal” on 180 gram heavyweight double vinyl LP on 21 April! 

The music tracks were remastered specifically for this limited edition of 500 units only - a very special surprise for true Iommi maniacs!

The compilation was released on CD on May 2015, and was liked by Tony Iommi himself, who praised it, publishing a video on his social networks: watch Tony's video HERE!

The compilation is an act of solidarity towards Tony from Pals & Fans. The tribute includes participations from well-known artists, the best Black Sabbath tribute bands from all around the world, and the bands and solo artists "children of Iommi" as having Iommi's music as their major influence. All the songs were kindly donated for the cause. The profits from compilation sales will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support. 

Some of the artists participating are: Vinnie Appice (former Sabbath and Heaven and Hell drummer), Giuntini featuring another former Sabbath member Tony Martin, Barry Goudreau (guitarist for Boston), Hugh McDonald (David Bromberg, Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Lita Ford),  Dario Mollo (Tony Martin, Voodoo Hill) featuring Mark Boals (Savoy Brown, Malmsteen, Dio Disciples, Dokken),  Mario Parga (Mario Parga Band, Graham Bonnet, Forcefield, Cozy Powell's Hammer), doom legend Victor Griffin (Pentagram, Death Row) with his current band Place Of Skulls. Grammy awarded producers Damon Elliott and  Mike Exeter (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Tony Iommi, Cradle of Filth etc.) are also involved to the realization of the project. 

The tribute is a gift to Tony Iommi – the most beloved man in rock -  from a community of his fans, a way to show him admiration, love and support.  

Tracklist:   Side A

1. Dario Mollo featuring Mark Boals - Never Say Die  (3:54);

2. Maniac Rise - Time Is Mine  (5:05);

3. Kyle Cousins - Heaven And Hell  (6:16);

4. Mario Parga - Scarlet Pimpernel  (5:13);  

5. Darking - Law Maker  (3:35);

Side B

1. Children Of The Gravy - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath  (5:40);

2. Ironlung featuring Wizard Of Ozz - Electric Funeral  (5:03);

3. Tanzan Music Academy - Neon Knights (4:45);  

4. Nick Didkovsky - Orchid  (1:38);

5. Into The Void - Loner  (4:40);                       

Side C  

1. Rekuiem - Paranoid  (3:17);

2. Place Of Skulls featuring Victor Griffin - You Won't Change Me (6:43);

3. Black Sabbath Dio Tribute Cz - I  (5:10);

4. Phil Jakes - Behind The Wall Of Sleep  (2:47);

5. Giuntini - Anno Mundi, featuring Tony Martin  (6:14); 

Side D

1. Tony Reed - Live Forever  (4:44);

2. Kill Van Kull - No Stranger To Love  (5:13);

3. Aplanadora featuring Santiago Cabakian - Hole In The Sky (4:20).  

4. Blood Sabbath - Snowblind  (5:33);

5. Phenomena - The Wizard  (4:10);

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29 March 2017