TONY IOMMI Says BLACK SABBATH Show With ROB HALFORD Was OZZFEST Highlight

January 6, 2005

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi recently spoke to Revolver magazine about his recently released collaborative CD with singer Glenn Hughes (ex-DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH),entitled "The 1996 DEP Sessions", and the possibility of a new SABBATH studio album, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

Revolver: Any plans to work again with SABBATH?

Tony Iommi: "None at the moment. I think we'd all like to do another tour and maybe even make another album. But Ozzy has been very busy, so it has been hard to get together."

Revolver: What was the highlight of the last Ozzfest?

Tony Iommi: "The whole thing was a highlight. It's always great to play with those guys, and our feelings for each other have just gotten stronger. But one thing that sticks in my mind was the day in New Jersey when Ozzy couldn't perform so we had Rob Halford sing, which was the second time he saved the day for us." [Halford finished the last two dates for SABBATH in 1992 after Ronnie James Dio quit the band.]

Revolver: Were you ever afraid fans wouldn't react well to Rob?

Tony Iommi: "At first we were worried, because people expect Ozzy, but if Rob hadn't helped us out, there wouldn't have been a show at all. When our manager told me Ozzy had bronchitis and couldn't sing, he asked me what I thought about Rob doing it. I said, 'I think it's a good idea as long as you tell everybody beforehand so they know.' Of course, they told the audience right before we went onstage, so I thought, 'Oh, no.' But the crowd received him really well."

Revolver: BLACK SABBATH never recorded with Halford, but after Ozzy was fired, you played with some other great singers — Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Tony Martin. Any chance you'll get together again with any of those guys?

Tony Iommi: "The only unfortunate thing about the SABBATH reunion is that it squashed a lot of the stuff that went on for years after that. The first 10 years with Ozzy were great, but I think we did plenty of stuff afterward that was also really good."

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