LITA FORD: TONY IOMMI 'Will Always Be A Superhero In My Mind'

February 23, 2016

In a brand new interview with radio DJ Eddie Winters, '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford opened up about what she has described in her newly released memoir as an abusive relationship with BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi. The former RUNAWAYS member said (hear audio below): "Tony Iommi was my idol, him and Ritchie Blackmore [DEEP PURPLE]. When I was growing up, the first concert I ever saw was BLACK SABBATH, when I was 13, and Tony Iommi was just like a God in my eyes; he was a hero to me, and still is. Even though… You have to read the book, but he was abusive, and that almost killed me — literally. And I didn't expect that from my superhero."

She continued: "When your superhero turns around and he's not the person that you'd hoped him to be. He becomes… you know, hurting you and just being abusive. It's like, 'Wow!' I mean, if you go up to Spider-Man and say, 'Oh, I love you, Spider-Man. I think you're the best thing. I love how you crawl upside down on the walls and I just wanna be you. And I wish I could do that. And I wish I could be like you.' And then if he turns around and hits you in the mouth, you're gonna go, 'Woah! That's not the Spider-Man I thought you were.'"

Asked if she was concerned about including such explosive claims in her book, considering how revered Iommi is by rock fans and other performers, Lita said: "Well, if they read the entire story, they'll see that I don't have any hard feelings, and Tony will always be a superhero in my mind; he will always be that guitar-playing God. That's how I wanna remember him. Because I don't have to live with him and I don't have to see him anymore. I know what kind of person he is — musically and personally. And the personal side never has to exist again. So I will remember him for his great riffs and his great music."

In "Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir", Lita writes at great length about her relationship with Iommi, which she claims started when she and THE RUNAWAYS opened for BLACK SABBATH, and they tried — but failed — to have sex because Iommi was "too high" on cocaine. Ford writes: "He seemed so charming, confident and handsome. I would later find out that looks are deceiving."

The physical abuse began on a flight to England to meet his mother, she claims, when Iommi "out of nowhere… hauled off and punched me in the eye."

The abuse continued, she says, culminating in a frightening episode that she said occurred after they became engaged. "After snorting tons of blow, he got angry and choked me unconscious," she writes. "When I woke up, I saw him holding a chair above my head. It was a big, heavy leather chair with studs around the arms, and he was about to smash it over my face. I rolled over, and luckily I moved fast enough that he missed me and the chair smashed into the ground."

She eventually parted ways with Iommi, who went on to hire her band behind her back, she claims.

"Lita Ford - Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir" was released today (Tuesday, February 23) via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books),an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Lita Ford photo credit: Dustin Jack

litafordmemoirrunaway

Find more on Lita ford
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).