Tony Iommi “embarassed” of Black Sabbath’s Legacy

Tony Iommi laughingly described Black Sabbath’s legacy as “almost a bit embarrassing” as he reflected on his career with the iconic British band. He also expressed surprise that, while many of his friends had been lost to rock ’n’ roll excess, Rolling Stones counterpart Keith Richards had survived so long.

“I’ve seen so many of my friends of people in the business who have done drugs and whatever else and died, from John Bonham onwards,” Iommi told the Herald in a new interview. “John was a good friend. I’ve seen other friends go a similar way through drugs and alcohol abuse.” Explaining the lifestyle he said, “You get lonely. You get bored in the hotel, so you try to find something to do to be somewhere else. We saw it with Lemmy. … He was the one who would burn the candle at both ends all the time, but at some point you’ve got to look at it and say, ‘I can’t do that any more.’”

“Music’s always been the love of my life,” Iommi said. “It’s made my life, and sometimes it’s caused me problems. When I was married before, your music takes over and you end up being in the studio all night and touring, and your marriage becomes lost – but now I’m very, very happy.”

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