Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi spoke to Absolute Radio ahead of the band playing British Summertime @ Hyde Park later this year.
On great form Tony Iommi told Leona Graham that he was looking forward to the event, gave an update on his cancer treatment and new album possibilities.
Read the interview snippets below.
On playing Hyde Park:
We are incredibly excited to hear the news that you are going to be headlining the Barclaycard Presents British Summertime Hyde Park in July.
TI: Yes, and we are too.
LG: How did you feel when you were asked to do this?
TI: Well, I mean, it’s great, it’s really great to be playing in England again anyway. But, to do that gig is a legendary gig, and we’ve never done that, so that’s really brilliant, another first in our lifetime, you know.
On cancer treatment:
LG: Everybody wants to know, how are you in yourself, how’s your health?
TI: It’s okay thanks Leona. I’ve finished a treatment two years ago which I’ve been on for two years now, so now it’s just wait and see really. I mean, it’s not going to go away, I just have to try and control it, and they want to take me off the treatment now and see what happens. They’ll probably check me up again when I get back. I just have constant checks really and see if it’s growing or what, you know.
LG: But, you’ve still got the stamina to go on stage and everything like that?
TI: Yes, what tires me out more than everything is the travelling and the late hours really, I find that hard on my body at the moment. Maybe once I’ve been off the treatment a bit it might get a bit better, because I think the treatment drags me down and makes me very tired, and feeling sick and stuff. So, maybe now I’ve stopped for a while my stamina may come back.
LG: We’re all absolutely impressed that you are going through this treatment whilst performing, it’s just brilliant.
TI: Oh thanks, yes, well I don’t have any option, I have to have it, and I want to play, so you know, I just get on with it. When I told them at first that I was going to be touring they went, oh god, I mean, they were quite shocked thinking I would be going out on tour. But, you know, we’ve coped with it now for the last year so it’s been alright.
LG: That is brilliant. And, 50 years ago, when you first got signed, and you were first starting out, did you ever envisage that you’d be going all this time later, and then headlining at Hyde Park?
TI: No. You never really think of stuff like that, really all you think about is you want to get out and play, and you want to get to as many people as you can, and go as many places as you can. And, that was what we wanted to do, and try and conquer different territories and it’s brilliant, you know, and here we are going all the way round and back in England again.
On a new Black Sabbath album
LG: Are you going to be working on a new album?
TI: We don’t know yet. We’ve left everything really loose for the last couple of years, basically because of me. But, I think we’d like to do another album, but we’ll have to see. We’re going to finish this tour off, and no doubt within this tour we’ll be talking about if we’re going to do anymore of anything. But, I think an album would be great, although, you know, after the last one, it would probably be an anti-climax to have another one, I don’t know.
