Tony Iommi was born at Handsworth, Birmingham on February 19, 1948, and is the only guitarist Black Sabbath has ever had. Black Sabbath was formed in 1969, the year the band recorded their debut album, although they actually started as a band named Earth in 1968 with the same line up, and all through the 70s they were synonymous with heavy metal. After their 1979 Never Say Die album, lead vocalist Ozzy Osbourne was replaced by the late great Ronnie James Dio with whom they recorded Heaven And Hell.
The band recorded their 18th album Forbidden in 1995, but their next studio album was not released until last year, and was called aptly 13.
What had Mr Iommi been doing in the interim? Well, in May 2010, Ronnie Dio died of stomach cancer, and it looked as though the Big C would claim him as well, but only last month he announced he would be finishing a course of cancer treatment. The band performed on and off at the beginning of the new Millennium, and in November 2005 they were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The man himself also worked on a number of his own projects including solo albums, and as a songwriter. Among his credits are Lonely Planet which was recorded by Armenian rock band Dorians, and was their 2013 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest; although it finished ahead of the British entry it deserved better than 18th.
You can follow Tony Iommi on his official website, which includes a message board. He will be touring with Black Sabbath from the end of next month, but today he’s entitled to put up his feet and look back with pride on a long, iconic career. Happy birthday, Iron Man.
