| Tony Iommi | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anthony Frank Iommi |
| Born | 19 February 1948 Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal, hard rock, blues rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, keyboards, piano, viola, flute, drums |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros., I.R.S., Rhino |
| Associated acts | Mythology, Velvett Fogg, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Glenn Hughes, Heaven & Hell |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instruments | |
| Tony Iommi Signature SG | |
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi[1][2] (born 19 February 1948, Heathfield Road Hospital, Handsworth, Birmingham, England) is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.
Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in heavy metal music. According to Allmusic, "Iommi is one of only two guitarists (the other being Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page) that can take full credit for pioneering the mammoth riffs of heavy metal."[3] In 2004, Iommi was ranked number one on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time",[4] and in 2011, ranked 25th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[5] On 13 October (Europe) and 1 November (United States) 2011 Iommi's autobiography was published entitled Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath.[6]
Contents |
The son of first generation British Italians, Tony Iommi originally wanted to play the drums, but due to the noise they produce he picked up the guitar as a teenager, after being inspired by the likes of Hank Marvin and The Shadows.[7] He plays guitar left-handed. In an industrial accident at the age of 17 on his last day of work in a sheet metal factory, he lost the tips of the middle and ring finger of his right hand.[8] After attempting to learn to play right-handed,[9] Iommi instead strung his guitars with lighter strings and made thimbles to extend his fingers.[10]
Iommi had played in several blues/rock bands, the earliest of which was The Rockin' Chevrolets from 1964 to 1965. The band had regular bookings and when they were offered work in Germany, Iommi decided to leave his factory job to take up the opportunity. From 1966 to 1967 Iommi played in a band named The Rest. This was the first time Iommi played with future Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward.
From January 1968 until July 1968 Iommi was guitarist in Mythology, with Ward joining a month later in mid-February. In May 1968 police raided the group's practice flat and found cannabis resin, which resulted in a £15 fine and a two-year conditional discharge for Iommi, Ward, Smith and Marshall. Mythology split up after a gig in Silloth on 13 July 1968.
In August 1968 at the same time as the breakup of Mythology, a band called Rare Breed also broke up. Rare Breed vocalist John "Ozzy" Osbourne and rhythm guitarist Terry "Geezer" Butler joined with Iommi and Ward from Mythology and also slide guitarist Jimmy Phillips and saxophonist Alan "Aker" Clarke. The six-piece band, now with Butler as bassist, were named the Polka Tulk Blues Company. After just two gigs (the last of which was at the Banklands Youth Club in Workington), Phillips and Clarke were dismissed from the band, which soon after shortened its name to Polka Tulk.
Iommi, Butler, Ward and Osbourne renamed the band Earth in September 1968. They carried on under this moniker until December 1968 when Iommi briefly departed to join Jethro Tull. However after only one performance (an appearance on "The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus" in which the band mimed "A Song for Jeffrey", which Ian Anderson sang live), Iommi was back with Earth once more.
Iommi on his brief working relationship with Jethro Tull vocalist Ian Anderson:
I learned quite a lot from him, I must say. I learned that you have got to work at it. You have to rehearse. When I came back and I got the band (Earth) back together, I made sure that everybody was up early in the morning and rehearsing. I used to go and pick them up. I was the only one at the time that could drive. I used to have to drive the bloody van and get them up at quarter to nine every morning; which was, believe me, early for us then. I said to them, "This is how we have got to do it because this is how Jethro Tull did it." They had a schedule and they knew that they were going to work from this time till that time. I tried that with our band and we got into doing it. It worked. Instead of just strolling in at any hour, it made it more like we were saying, "Let’s do it!"
In August 1969, following the confusion with another group named Earth (who had minor success in England), the group renamed themselves Black Sabbath. His aforementioned factory accident affected the Black Sabbath sound later on, as Iommi detuned his guitar from E to C# (a minor third down), in order to ease the tension on his fingers; Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler did the same to match Iommi. Sabbath were among the first bands to detune, and the technique became a mainstay of heavy metal music. The first two Black Sabbath albums are actually in E tuning, however, as Iommi didn't start tuning down to C# until 1971's Master of Reality. Iommi combined blues-like guitar solos and dark, minor-key riffing with a revolutionary high-gain, heavily distorted tone with his use of a modified treble-boosting effect-pedal and a Gibson SG, as well as plugging his guitar into his amp's bass input.
Rob Halford, vocalist for Judas Priest, when filling in for Ozzy Osbourne during an August 2004 concert in Philadelphia, introduced Tony Iommi to the audience as "The man who invented the heavy metal riff".
By the mid-1970s, incessant drug usage, managerial problems and constant touring had taken its toll on the band and Ozzy Osbourne was fired in 1979 by Iommi. Osbourne was replaced with Ronnie James Dio, the former vocalist for Rainbow (a band formed by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore). With Dio Black Sabbath produced Heaven and Hell, prior to replacing Bill Ward with Vinny Appice. With Iommi and Geezer Butler the only original members, this line-up produced Mob Rules. During the '80s and '90s Iommi rebuilt the band with many lineup changes with vocalists including Ian Gillan (formerly of Deep Purple), Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin and Ray Gillen. After Ian Gillan departed the band in 1984 Iommi recorded his first solo album, entitled Seventh Star. The album featured Glenn Hughes (formerly of Deep Purple) on vocals, but due to label pressures, it was billed as a release by "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi."
In 1992 Iommi appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, playing four songs with the remaining members of Queen and other guest artists. In the following year Iommi teamed up with fellow Black Country band Diamond Head and co-wrote the song "Starcrossed (Lovers in the Night)" for their 1993 Death and Progress album. At Ozzy's "farewell" concert at Costa Mesa in 1992, Dio refused to perform and abruptly left the band. As a result Rob Halford was recruited to perform as the vocalist for two gigs (Halford also sang at one of the dates on the 2004 Ozzfest tour, when Ozzy couldn't perform due to bronchitis). Following Osbourne's solo set, the show concluded with Ozzy bringing out the other members of the original Black Sabbath line-up for a 4-song reunion.
Black Sabbath went on to record two further albums with Tony Martin before the original line-up reunited as a touring band in 1997. While Bill Ward played at the two initial reunion shows at Birmingham NEC in December 1997, he was not present for the following two reunion tours, his second absence due to a heart attack. Ward was replaced by Mike Bordin and then Vinny Appice.
On 11/11/11, the original band members announced that they were reuniting and recording a new album.[11] The band are scheduled to play at Download Festival in 2012, followed by a world tour.[12]
In 2000 Iommi released his first legitimate solo album, titled Iommi. The album featured several guest vocalists including Ian Astbury, Henry Rollins, Serj Tankian, Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Phil Anselmo, Peter Steele and Ozzy Osbourne. Also in the vocal mix was Skin (of Skunk Anansie). In late 2004 Iommi's second solo album was released, entitled The 1996 DEP Sessions. This album was originally recorded in 1996 but was never officially released. However, a copy with a drum track by Dave Holland was available as a bootleg called Eighth Star. Glenn Hughes performed vocals on the album and he furthered his collaboration with Hughes with the release of his third solo album, Fused. Released on 12 July 2005, John Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff completed the trio on the album.
Iommi has signed with Mike Fleiss's movie production company Next Films to score a series of horror films entitled Black Sabbath.[13]
In October 2006 it was reported that Iommi would tour with Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ronnie James Dio again, but under the moniker Heaven & Hell. Later it was announced that Ward had decided not to participate and Vinny Appice was hired as his replacement.[14] Rhino Records released "The Dio Years" (under the 'Black Sabbath' moniker) album on 3 April 2007. The album showcased older tracks with Dio and also included three brand new songs recorded with Dio and Appice.
The band started an American tour in April 2007 with Megadeth and Down as opening acts. The tour finished in November in England with the prospect of an album to follow in 2008. During this period the band's show at the New York Radio City Music Hall was released as both a live DVD and CD with a vinyl release in the UK in 2008. During the summer of 2008 the band embarked on the Metal Masters Tour along with Judas Priest, Motörhead and Testament.[15] The band's first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on 28 April 2009.[16]
In November 2008 Iommi had a star revealed on the Birmingham Walk of Stars. On 14 June 2010, Iommi announced that Heaven & Hell would perform a one-off tribute to Ronnie James Dio at the High Voltage Festival, London on 24 July 2010. This was the band's last performance under the name.
Iommi is currently married to the former Drain STH vocalist Maria Sjoholm (1999-current).[17] He has a daughter from a previous marriage, Toni-Marie, who was the vocalist for the now-defunct band LunarMile.[18] Mikko "Linde" Lindström, guitarist with Finnish band HIM became engaged to Toni-Marie Iommi in August 2010.[19]
During the 1970s Iommi was married to Susan Snowdon, who was related to British Royal photographer Lord Snowdon.[20] This relationship lasted for some eight years, and Iommi said in a 1991 Guitar World interview that the recording and mixing of Black Sabbath's 1976 album Technical Ecstasy caused the end of his marriage. Iommi married an American model named Melinda in 1980, the mother of Toni-Marie Iommi. They divorced in the mid 1980s.[21]
During the mid-1980s Iommi was romantically involved with and briefly engaged to Lita Ford.[22] [23] He co-produced her album The Bride Wore Black, which to date remains unreleased. Ford said in a 1989 Kerrang! interview, "there's a certain amount of bad blood between Tony Iommi and I."
In 1986-7 Iommi met a Englishwoman named Valery, and after a six year relationship they married. She had a son from a previous relationship named Jay. They divorced in the late 90s. [24] Iommi confirmed in the same Guitar World interview referenced above (a co-interview with Metallica's James Hetfield) that he has a son. He told Hetfield regarding the band's so-called "Black Album," that "my son gave me a copy of your latest album..."
Iommi has been married four times.[25]
Iommi was arrested in November 1992 during the US leg of the 'Dehumanizer' world tour and incarcerated in the Modesto, California, jail for supposed non-payment of child support (again referenced in Cross Purposes' liner notes).[26][27]
Ozzy later sued Iommi for $75,000 years later, claiming Iommi owed him the bail for this arrest. Iommi denied owing Ozzy any money. [28] Iommi maintains that bail was posted by his Managers Ralph Baker and Ernest Chapman. [29]
In 2009 Iommi was again sued by bandmate Ozzy Osbourne over ownership of the "Black Sabbath" name.[30] A Manhattan federal judge ruled in February 2010 that Osbourne could proceed with the suit, but urged both sides to consider resuming mediation.[31] In June 2010, the legal battle between Osbourne and Iommi over the trademarking of the Black Sabbath name ended, but the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.[32]
Iommi along with fellow Sabbath member Geezer Butler is a passionate supporter of Aston Villa, his home town football club. [33]
Iommi's deep and heavy sound was partly born out of necessity—his "revolutionary signature sound" being the result of the accident and the subsequent downtuning by three semi-tones. He said that his "extreme volume" was likewise necessary, "because we were fed up with people talking over us while we were playing."[10]
"It was the same with 24-fret necks. I put money into a company because I couldn't get guitars built the way I wanted them. I had to prove it to the manufacturers. So I put money into John Birch guitars, and he built my guitars. I had to prove it worked. All of this was done by experimenting and trial and error. I paid for that myself in the early days to show it could be done. And I paid for all these companies to get the benefits nowadays. Back then they all said it couldn't be done. I also used locking nuts years and years ago without a tremolo, before locking nuts were the norm."
Built in Birmingham by luthier John Diggins sometime between 1975 and 1978, the guitar was first used for overdubs on the 'Heaven and Hell' album and later became one of Iommi's main guitars. The guitar is equipped with a 24 fret neck with custom cross inlays, five control knobs (three of which are functional) and a highly distressed finish. He had two more built for him. One was made to the same specifications of his first Jaydee SG with a red finish. Another one was made and used during the Born Again era, which can be seen on the music videos for "Trashed" and "Zero the Hero." The differences are the finish, headstock, use of a stoptail brige, and use of rail humbuckers, as opposed to the 18-pole humbuckers on his two other versions.
A 1965 Gibson SG Special in red finish fitted with a Gibson P-90 pickup in the bridge position and a custom-wound John Birch P-90 style single coil in the neck position. The guitar became Iommi's main instrument after his white Stratocaster's neck pickup failed during the recording of Black Sabbath's self-titled album.
The guitar was built by the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville after Iommi's specifications and finished in 1997. The guitar is one of two made as prototypes for the Gibson Custom Shop Limited Edition Iommi Special SG. The guitar features a neck with 24 frets and four control knobs, of which only two are active (much like his old Jaydee Custom guitar).
On August 11, 2010, Iommi announced on his website that this guitar was stolen from the RJD tribute show that Heaven & Hell performed at High Voltage on July 24, 2010. He is asking that anyone with information or leads let them know. He is offering a reward for its safe return.[38]
A stock Epiphone SG signature model in black finish fitted with P-94 pickups which is a version of the Gibson P-90 pickup designed to fit into existing humbucker housings.
A regular left-handed version of the SG fitted with two extra frets to give Iommi the full two octaves which he prefers. The guitar is equipped with his signature pickup. Iommi was the first guitarist to have a signature pickup designed and built by Gibson. He also has another model fitted with a Floyd Rose floating tremolo.[40]
"I also came up with a guitar with interchangeable pickups you could slot in from the back. It was a John Birch guitar. We only sold one, and Roy Orbison bought it. I came up with that years ago and the first one was made for me to use in the studio. At the time I had a lot of problems tuning guitars because of the neck and the light strings on the Gibson. I decided to come up with a guitar that I could use in the studio with different sounds so that I didn't have to keep changing guitars. You could slot a pickup in it and get a Fender sound, then slot a different pickup in it and get a Gibson sound. That was the idea. I did use it for a while, but they were too expensive to mass-produce."
Iommi played a Fender Stratocaster that was spraypainted white by Iommi and his father during the early days with Black Sabbath. However, the pickup malfunctioned during the recording of their first album so Iommi quickly turned to his backup Gibson SG to finish the record. Currently Iommi owns two Stratocasters, one of which has been modified with his signature pickup in the bridge position.
Custom built for Iommi by BC Rich. Features include Dimarzio pickups, two built-in preamps,scalloped fretboard and Iommi's trademark cross inlays. This guitar can be seen in Tony's Star Licks Video, for Star Licks Productions along with a left handed BC Rich mockingbird.
A rare left-handed version of the jazz guitarist Barney Kessel artist model, built sometime in the first half of the 1960s.
Originally a regular right-handed version in red finish that was converted by Epiphone to a left-handed version to fit Iommi.
| Book: Black Sabbath | |
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