BLACK SABBATH
THE LEGENDS. THE GROUND ZERO. THE REASON WE’RE ALL HERE TODAY. WE KNEEL AT THE ALTER OF SABBATH
How does it feel when you wake up And remember that black sabbath is no more?
tony iommi (guitars): “It’s weird, really. It hasn’t sunk in properly. I’m still running on full! I still feel like I’m on tour. It’s really peculiar. I haven’t come off it yet. I wake up and feel like I’ve got to go somewhere. I do go somewhere, but not to the stage, just some other bloody place. It does feel odd and I haven’t got used to it yet.”
is it hard to Accept that the band really HAs finished for good?
“Well, I drove the decision, so I can’t complain. It was mainly because of my health. It was a shame, but it just got to a stage where I was worrying about doing extensive touring. I didn’t want to become ill again. My outlook has changed, I suppose, and I’m just trying to stay alive, ha ha! I just felt that for me it was a good time to at least think about stopping. But I do miss being onstage. I love playing live.
We may do something later as a one-off. You never know.
I’d love to think we might be able to do one more show somewhere, but the touring had to stop.”
Have you spoken with ozzy And geezer since the last show in birmingham?
“We’ve been in touch via text and emails. After the last show, Ozzy went off to do something with Jack for his TV series and Geezer went on holiday, to Italy I think… but yeah, we’ve been in touch. To be honest, this still feels like a gap between tours and we’ll all be off again soon, y’know? I’ve had this feeling before but then we’ve always gone on tour again… now, it’s like, ‘What do I do?’ I’ve got building work going on and I’m getting involved in that instead of writing songs. It’s weird, man.”
do you feel satisfied with the way black sabbath bowed out?
“This last year or two with the band, I’ve really, really enjoyed playing, being with the guys and seeing the audience. We had some fantastic audiences. They are such great, loyal fans. You cherish those moments. The last shows we did were really emotional because you think, ‘Hang on, this could be the last time we ever play these songs!’ and you see people crying and all that stuff. It was very emotional for everybody, I think.”
Thanks for inventing heavy metal, by the way… does it ever get old
Hearing people say that?
“It feels fantastic. We came up with a style of music that everyone still likes today, and it’s still getting bigger and bigger. That’s fantastic. I’m really proud of it. All the bands that cite us as an influence, whether it’s Metallica or whoever, I mean, who wouldn’t like that, you know? This music has been hugely important in my life and I’ve always taken the music very seriously. I loved what we did and I loved creating that music, and I still do. Hopefully heavy metal will go on and on.”
What does it mean to such A decorated veteran to receive our golden god award?
“Oh, it’s fabulous. To me, it’s great to receive any award… any good award anyway, ha ha! It shows that people respect what you’ve done and appreciate what you’ve done. That’s fantastic and I’ll never complain about getting one. And I’ve got a spot for this one… I’ll move the others over and make sure it fits. It’s brilliant, they’re great talking points! People come in and say, ‘Oh, what’s that one for?’ Ha ha ha!”