TONY IOMMI On BLACK SABBATH: 'We Might At Some Point Do One-Off Shows'

September 13, 2017

BLACK SABBATH brought its farewell tour to an end in February in the band's hometown of Birmingham, England, but like many acts who've said goodbye, it's never really the end — as guitarist Tony Iommi explained to Express.co.uk in a new interview.

Tony said: "Who knows? We might at some point do one-off shows. There's nothing planned at all."

Asked if a new studio album could be on the cards even though touring is over, Iommi said: "I don't know. Nobody's talked about it. I think everybody wants to do their own thing at the moment. Ozzy's [Osbourne, vocals] certainly going to be out touring with his own band until God knows when. If anything, it's not going to be in the near future."

Iommi told U.K. online radio station Planet Rock earlier in the year that BLACK SABBATH hasn't "ruled anything out apart from me not wanting to tour anymore on that scale, but who knows, we may do something. We haven't spoken about it. But I'm sure something can happen somewhere."

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time. He admitted in a 2016 inteview: "It was only when I got ill, that's when I stated getting vulnerable. Before that, I could do anything... And they're going, 'You shouldn't be flying, really.' And, 'You shouldn't be doing this, you shouldn't be doing that.' So that's what brought that about — the end of this, really, because the constant touring does eventually get to you."

SABBATH wrote and recorded its 2013 reunion album, "13", and toured it all over the world while Iommi was going through treatment for his illness, with the guitarist having to fly back to England every six weeks.

The original lineup of SABBATH came together in 1969 with Iommi, Osbourne, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums. That lineup recorded and toured through 1978, and periodically reformed through the '90s and 2000s for live work.

They regrouped again in late 2011 for a new album and tour, although Ward dropped out after a few months over financial issues. SABBATH has used Ozzy's regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on "13", which came out in June 2013.

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