hennemusic

Black Sabbath guitar legend Tony Iommi says he was “extremely nervous” before playing the band’s semi-reunion show Saturday in their hometown of Birmingham.

“I was extremely nervous beforehand about playing a long set, not knowing whether I'd be able to last,” writes Iommi. “It turned out to be no problem whatsoever because Ozzy [Osbourne], Geezer [Butler] and Tommy [Clufetos] were nailing everything, no chance to feel tired! I'm really pleased with how it turned out, fantastic crowd and I want to say thank you to all of them for giving me such an amazing reception. On our way again at last!”

“Finally, a special thanks to Tommy,” Tony added, “we invited him to play and he was brilliant.”

In January, Iommi announced that he had been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphocytes, a type of cell that forms part of the immune system.

Iommi’s illness and timely treatment – including chemotherapy, steroids and radiotherapy - shut down plans for a full Sabbath reunion tour, which was scaled back to three shows: the Birmingham date, the Download Festival in June and Lollapalooza in August.

The previously scheduled Sabbath shows have been replaced with an “Ozzy & Friends” series of conerts.

With original drummer Bill Ward on the sidelines searching for a better contract than presented by an unidentified band representative, Ozzy’s drummer Clufetos has been brought in to handle drum duties.