Birmingham Mail, UK
March 10 2013
Tony Iommi: “A song for Eurovision? I’ve plenty more where that came from”
10 Mar 2013 19:00
Black Sabbath legend says he has a shelf full or unused songs which he
has no plans to use
Black Sabbath guitar legend Tony Iommi – whose song was bizarrely
selected as Armenia’s Eurovision Song Contest entry – last night
admitted: `I’ve plenty more where that one came from.’
The 65-year-old godfather of heavy metal has a treasure trove of
tracks he has written over the years, but which he has no intention of
recording himself, either with Sabbath or on a solo album.
He said he was gobsmacked when the Armenians chose Lonely Planet – a
song he wrote more than five years ago – as their Eurovision contender
but now has high hopes for the track.
`I was as shocked as anybody when they came knocking,’ he said. `They
got in touch with me because of the charity work we’ve been doing out
there, building a new music school to replace one wrecked by an
earthquake.
`They asked if I’d got any spare songs.
`Well, I write loads of songs and they just get put away. They lie on
a shelf because either they’re not suitable for Sabbath or for another
project, and never see the light of day.
`I searched out Lonely Planet – it’s a bit of a power ballad – and sent it off.
`I was surprised when it made the shortlist and gobsmacked when the
people of Armenia voted for it. With a little luck, who knows, it
might win.’
The track will be sung by self-confessed Sabbath fan Gor Sujyan at
Eurovision’s second semi-final in Sweden on May 16, aiming to land a
place in the big final in Malmo on May 18.
Tony, back in Britain after recording the new Sabbath album in LA,
faces long-term treatment in his battle against cancer but said
recording sessions went well and he was excited by the results.
`The tracks sound good and I’m looking forward to getting the album
out there,’ he said. `At the moment I’m doing promotional work in
London. Then we have gigs in Australia and Japan.’
The album, titled 13, is set for release in June and is guaranteed to
top the charts, such is interest in the reunion.