Tony Iommi is a musician without whom the cult band Black Sabbath cannot be imagined. Over a long creative career, he realized himself as a composer, musician, and also the author of musical works.
Along with the rest of the band, Tony had a strong influence on the development of heavy music and metal. It would not be superfluous to say that Iommi has not lost popularity among metal fans to this day.
Childhood and youth Tony Iommi
The artist's date of birth is February 19, 1948. He was born in Birmingham. The family did not live in the most prosperous area of \uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbthe city. According to Tom's memoirs, he was often molested by hooligans. Ordinary walks grew into almost an extreme form of recreation.
Tony Iommi drew the right conclusions. He signed up for boxing to be able to fend for himself and his family. In this sport, he achieved pretty good results and even thought about a professional career as a boxer.
However, soon another passion appeared in his life - music. At first, Tony dreamed of learning how to play the drums. But, then guitar riffs “flyed” into his ears, and he was convinced that he wanted to master this musical instrument.
Iommi spent a lot of time trying to find a comfortable tool for himself. He was left-handed, which made it difficult to choose. After receiving the matriculation certificate - Tony went not to the stage, but to the factory. Despite this, he did not abandon music and continued to develop data.
The creative path of Tony Iommi
In the mid-60s of the last century, he managed to realize his dream. The fact is that during this period of time he joined The Rockin' Chevrolets. The guys got frantic pleasure from creating covers.
The team did not last long, but it was here that Tony got invaluable experience on stage. He then tried his luck as a member of The Birds & The Bees. When Iommi became a member of the team, the team was just preparing for a European tour.
Artist's hand injury
Dreamy Tony decided to free himself from boring work at the factory. A fatal accident led to the fact that the young man was pressed down by a limb with a press. The hand was badly hurt, but most importantly, it called into question Iommi's participation in the tour.
He was admitted to the clinic. As it turned out, the musician lost the tips of the middle and ring fingers. The doctors said that Tony would never pick up a guitar again. The experience shocked the musician.
Depression enveloped him. Iommi could not believe that he was not destined to fulfill his cherished dream - to become a professional guitarist. But one day he listened to what he was doing with the guitar of Django Reinhardt. The musician played the instrument with just two fingers.
Tony began to believe in himself again. The musician began to look for new techniques and performance techniques. In addition, he created fingertips and acquired a musical instrument with thin strings.
Creation of Black Sabbath by Tony Iommi
He spent six months learning to play the guitar. The effort exceeded the artist's expectations. He has grown to the level of a professional. After some time, the young man created his own musical project. The brainchild of the artist was called Earth.
The musicians of the newly minted group wanted recognition and popularity. They even managed to one interesting trick. When performances of already popular bands were arranged in their town, they hurried to the site in the hope that the stars would not come and they would perform in front of a hundred spectators.
By the way, once their trick worked. The Jethro Tull team was delayed for technical reasons. The musicians approached the organizers of the concert and begged to let them on stage so that the audience would not get bored. The artists received a positive response.
When the band Jethro Tull arrived at the place, the frontman literally listened to Tony's playing the guitar. After the performance, he made him an offer to move into his team. Iommi took advantage of the offer, but soon realized that he was "cramped" within the framework of this project. He returned to Earth. Soon the group began to perform under the sign Black Sabbath.
Presentation of the band's debut album
In the 70th year, the group's debut LP was released. The record was warmly received not only by fans, but also by music experts. Tracks that were saturated with notes of hard rock and blues rock finally fell in love with music lovers. Iommi composed the original riff himself, using the tritone interval, which in the Middle Ages was called diabolical.
On the wave of popularity, the artists presented the second studio album. We are talking about the collection Paranoid. The disc repeated the success of the debut work. The musicians were at the top of the musical Olympus. A year later, their discography became richer by one more collection. It was called Master of Reality. The last record included songs imbued with provocative themes.
Then the musicians pleased the "fans" with the release of the LP Black Sabbath Vol. 4. When recording this collection, the guys experimented not only with music, but also with illegal drugs.
Work on the studio album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath took place in the castle. Rumor has it that it is infested with ghosts. The musicians themselves did not feel the mood of fear and mystery.
In the mid-70s of the last century, Tony was recognized as the best guitarist. The growth of popularity and demand in a negative way affected the atmosphere that prevailed within the team. So, at the end of the 80s, Osbourne leaves the group. The dropout was replaced by Ronnie James Dio.
Black Sabbath creative break
After a couple of years, creative differences led to the fact that the newcomer refused to be part of the team. His place was taken by Ea Gillan. It lasted exactly one year. Further, the team included Ward and Butler, and then it became known that Black Sabbath ceased their vibrant existence for an indefinite period of time.
Since the mid-80s, Tony has been reanimating the group. Soon the inimitable Glenn Hughes was accepted into the team. Everything was fine up to a certain point.
When Glenn became addicted to drugs and alcohol, he was tactfully asked to leave the team. Since then, the composition of the team has changed several times. Surprisingly, the frequent change of musicians did not reduce the popularity of the group. In the late 90s, Black Sabbath even appeared before the fans in the so-called "golden line-up".
In the new century, Tony performed along with the main project. He also embarked on a solo career. From this period of time, he increasingly began to enter into interesting collaborations.
Tony Iommi: details of his personal life
The personal life of the artist turned out to be as rich as the creative one. He first married in 1973. The musician married the charming Susan Snowdon. The couple was introduced by Patrick Meehan. Alas, they turned out to be too different to build a strong union. Three years later, it became known that Susan and Tony broke up.
Some time later, he was seen in the company of the charming model Melinda Diaz. The love relationship has gone too far. In 1980, they legalized the relationship. Spontaneous marriage also turned out to be short-lived, although it gave the couple many happy and unforgettable moments.
In this union, the couple had a common daughter. After the birth of the child, Melinda's mental state began to deteriorate rapidly. These and other points were the main reason for the divorce. The child was taken away from the mother, and the girl was transferred to another family. As a teenager, Tony took custody of the girl, officially confirming paternity. By the way, Iommi's daughter also chose a creative profession for herself.
At the end of the 80s, he met an attractive English woman named Valeria. They also quickly legalized the relationship. This is one of the musician's longest marriages. He helped raise Valeria's son from a previous relationship. The couple divorced in 1993.
He was seen in a relationship with Maria Sjoholm in 1998. In 2005, the lovers played a luxurious wedding.
Interesting facts about the musician
- Iommi yearned for success all his life to show his parents that he was worth something. He was brought up in a rather impulsive family. He was deeply hurt by some of the words of the head of the family, so he wanted to prove that he was worth something.
- At the very beginning of his career, Tony pulled banjo strings on the guitar.
- He wrote an autobiographical book about his life.
- The artist beat cancer. In 2012, he was given a disappointing diagnosis - cancer of the lymphatic tissue. He underwent surgery on time, and then a course of chemotherapy was prescribed.
- He is listed as one of the greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone.
Tony Iommi: present day
He continues to be actively engaged in creativity. In 2020, the artist gave a detailed interview, which is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the release of Black Sabbath's debut LP.
In 2021, it became known about the reissue of the classic 1976 Black Sabbath record "Technical Ecstasy". This was announced by the label BMG. Technical Ecstasy: Super Deluxe Edition will be released in early October 2021 as a 4 CD and 5LP set on 180g black vinyl.
