Sat 13th October 2018 Edinburgh Assembly Hall
The bulldozer-crunching chords and sepulchral drone of Toni Iommis’ tortured Fender guitar, complemented by Ozzie Osbourne’s signature singing to the riff, was the escapist b*st*rd child born of Brummie metal-bashing industrial entrapment.
The Heavy Metal appellation was stamped much later. Earth, as they were formerly known, were more of the emerging Progressive Blues movement given to cranking Marshall stacks and Laney tower PA columns way beyond the possibility of manufacturers ever recognising a guarantee claim.
Iommi’s clarion wail is attributed to the necessity of his adopting new fingering styles on account of him chomping off his finger tips using an industrial guillotine. Despairing of ever playing guitar again a friend introduced him to Django Reinhardt who had a similar trauma. Also, with Brum, ever the city of a thousand trades, Iommi’s mum fashioned Squeezy bottle tops as prosthetic thimbles. A lesser known peculiarity being that he also played flute in the early days.
This writer must submit two confessions. When the band changed their name from Earth it was considered a heinous disaster. Not least that, being of a devout Catholic family, having to explain at the age of fifteen, you were going to see a band called Black Sabbath. Also, having never paid to get in to a gig on account of always helping the band carry their gear in to venues. The rest, as they say, was to become history in the making until well documented pharmaceutical pursuits took their toll. Scrolling forward, Tony Iommi will give a fascinating insight into his life and career at two very special events this October.
Billed as Tony Iommi with Phil Alexander: A Life In Music, fans will witness Tony in conversation with respected journalist and broadcaster Phil Alexander at dates in both Paisley and Edinburgh. Besides releasing three solo albums, Tony has been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, written a New York Times bestselling autobiography, received two Grammy Awards and had Birmingham’s Broad Street add his star.
Looking ahead to these special events, Tony said: “I’m really looking forward to spilling the beans with Phil Alexander at our ‘A Life In Music’ shows. I’ve known and worked with Phil for a long time and he probably knows more about my career than I do! He’s got a great sense of humour and, combined with a nose for every last detail, it’ll be fun delving into all periods of my career.”
The evenings’ host Phil Alexander comes from a print, radio, TV and online background. As editor of Kerrang! he transformed the magazine into a multi-platform brand by launching the Kerrang! branded TV, radio, website and awards and, besides also being editor-in-chief for MOJO, was later appointed Global Creative Director of Kerrang! Magazine and Rock Music Media.
Fri 12th October Paisley The Spree Festival Tickets
Sat 13th October Edinburgh Assembly Hall Tickets
http://www.iommi.com @tonyiommi facebook.com/tonyiomm/
