Tony Iommi spoke candidly about the painful decision he had to make when they ousted Ozzy Osbourne from Black Sabbath.
Osbourne ultimately lost his position on Black Sabbath when he got embroiled in alcohol and drug abuse. His absence from the band affected the recording of their ninth album in 1979.
Iommi, who celebrated his 75th birthday, recalled the painful moment of firing Osbourne in an interview with Express UK.
Speaking exclusively with the news outlet, the guitarist revealed how losing Osbourne was painful but benefitted him and their band.
"We went to Los Angeles to write and record an album. But it never really got off the ground really because Ozzy just wasn't into it anymore," Iommi said. "He was doing too many drugs. He'd just gone off the idea of it."
According to the musician, he thought Osbourne already had too much of everything that he could no longer contribute something useful for Black Sabbath.
Things started to get worse when he was called into Warner Bros. From there, the active Black Sabbath members met to have a serious conversation during which they were torn between disbanding Black Sabbath or replacing Osbourne.
Making the decision was tough for Iommi, especially since the band members wanted to do everything together as Black Sabbath.
Tony Iommi's Comments on Black Sabbath's Ballet
As Black Sabbath's career goes through on and off in the past years, the band received good news when they learned about the ballet based on the band's music.
The show, titled "Black Sabbath - the Ballet," is set to debut in their hometown in September. The show will feature eight of the band's classic songs, including "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," "Iron Man," "Black Sabbath," "Laguna Sunrise," "Solitude," "War Pigs," and "Paranoid."
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"I'm looking forward to seeing how this all develops," Iommi penned in a statement. "Black Sabbath has always been innovators and never been predictable, and it doesn't come any more unpredictable than this. I'd never imagined pairing Black Sabbath with ballet, but it's got a nice ring to it!"
Birmingham Royal Ballet director, Carlos Acosta, commissioned the show. It will open on September 23 and run through September 30.
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