BLACK SABBATH AND THE BIRTH OF METAL
Michael Stephens
It was all a bloody accident. Mishap #1: Aged 17, Tony Iommi sliced offhis fingertips on his last work day at a steelworks on Birmingham’s Summer Lane. Told by medics he would never play guitar again, Iommi refused to give in, and instead crafted plastic thimbles (made from washing up liquid bottles) for his damaged digits and relearned the guitar. Slower and, notably, downtuned.