IOMMI On SABBATH Reunion: 'We Would All Like To Do It, But It's A Bit More Involved Than That'

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi was interviewed on the U.K. digital radio station Planet Rock to promote his upcoming memoir, "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath". You can now listen to the entire 16-minute chat using the audio player below.

When asked by Planet Rock DJ Darren Redick about the rumors that the four original members of BLACK SABBATH are planning a reunion, Iommi said, "At the moment we're in talks [about] it. But what's gonna happen with it, I don't know. There's no definite decision on anything at the moment, but at least it's going We're talking we're all talking to each other. We've met up, had a play [rehearsal], and it was great. But you never like to say We haven't announced anything yet, because nothing's definite. We're taking it steady, because these things have a tendency to backfire. 'Oh, you said you were getting back together, but you haven't.' So I don't know. We'll have to see. It would be nice to think we could, and I think we would all like to do it, but it's a bit more involved than that."

The story of the reunion of SABBATH's original lineup first appeared on a specialist music web site and was expanded by the Birmingham Mail for an article that was published on August 16.

Iommi's manager said the guitarist's comments made to the Birmingham Mail in June during a wide-ranging interview that included the charity single he had recorded with DEEP PURPLE's Ian Gillan, his contract to write music for a series of horror films and his contribution to Birmingham's Home Of Metal exhibition, were taken out of context.

"That's sort of what started it," Iommi told Planet Rock. "Somebody said on the Internet that they saw Geezer [Butler, BLACK SABBATH bassist] and Bill [Ward, BLACK SABBATH drummer] together, which is absolutely impossible. And then the Birmingham Mail got hold of that and made a complete story out of that. 'Cause I'd spoken to the Birmingham Mail in confidence. And everybody asks, 'Oh, do you think you'll ever get back together?' And you go, 'It's possible. We may do.' 'When was the last time you talked to Ozzy?' 'I talk to Ozzy a lot.' And they put two and two together. I mean, we always talked to each other; we all stay in touch. Geezer doesn't talk very much; I always talk to him by e-mail, 'cause he hates the phone. And Bill, I'm frightened to talk to him, 'cause I'm on for three hours. He talks But yeah, we've all been in touch with each other. But it's not written in stone [that there will be a reunion], so we'll have to see what happens."

Interview (audio)

"Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath" will be released in the United States on November 1 in hardback by Perseus Books/DeCapo Press.

Da Capo reportedly paid a six-figure amount at auction for the rights to the 352-page book, which was described as "'Angela's Ashes' meets 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' meets 'Spinal Tap'" by Foundry Literary + Media co-founder Peter McGuigan, who completed the North American rights deal for the memoir.

In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, Iommi explained how his autobiography came together. "I had a chap called TJ Lammers, who I met many, many years ago when he used to work at Phonogram Records," he said. "He later became a journalist and he had his own magazine. He lives in Holland and we've stayed in touch over the years. I've had a few people say, 'Oh, I can write a book for you,' but I wanted a different outlook to the normal music journalist, and that's what happened. He came over to England and stayed with me for a few days. Then he'd write it up, come back again and do more. The whole thing took a couple years to finish."

When asked how his book is different to the typical rock biography, Iommi said, "I don't know. I don't read rock biographies, so it could be the same, it could be different. It's just my life, really. It's about what happened and what I grew up from, and how I've gone through life to where I am now. It's something I probably should have done a long time ago because there are so many books out now. I've been meaning to do it for many, many years but never got around to it."