Gibson TV has launched a new free-to-air docu-series on the life and legacy of Tony Iommi, the undisputed godfather of heavy metal. Featuring everyone from Slash to Tom Morello and Brian May, the film details the origins of Black Sabbath and the man behind the riffs. (Guitar World report)
Its narrative, which also includes an extensive interview from the man himself, charts the musical heritage Iommi was born into, how the Shadows became one of his first loves, and why Birmingham, as “the industrial heartbeat of England,” played a vital role in the Black Sabbath’s birth.
Iommi’s famed finger-slicing accident is also covered, as is the influence that Django Reinhardt had in getting him playing again afterwards.
“We never really associated at school,” Iommi says of Ozzy. “We [Iommi and drummer Bill Ward] went into the music shop in Birmingham, and there was an advert that says, 'Ozzy Zig requires gig.' And I said to Bill, ‘I know an Ozzy, but it can't be him. He can't sing!’
“Sure enough, we went round to his house, and his mum came to the door. [We said] ‘We've come about the advert,’ and she said, ‘John, it's for you.’ I'm seeing him walk up the hall, and I said to Bill, ‘Forget it.’ We talked to him for a bit, and then we left.
“Two days later,” Iommi continues, “Ozzy came round to my house with Geezer [Butler, bass] and said, ‘Do you know any drummers?’ So we decided to get together and give it a go. It was absolutely horrible. Geezer was a guitar player; he'd never played bass before.”
