THE HOT TOPIC
SABBATH BALLET SABBATH
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has teamed up with Birmingham Royal Ballet for the world’s first full heavy metal production
WORDS: RICH HOBSON
TONY IOMMI IS the first to admit that the worlds of Black Sabbath and ballet aren’t natural bedfellows. But when he was approached by Carlos Acosta, the director for the Royal Ballet company in his hometown of Birmingham, with the idea of creating a ballet based on Black Sabbath’s music and career, he knew he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
“I knew basically nothing about ballet,” the legendary guitarist admits. “But I loved Carlos’s approach – to go out to do something he believes in. It’s what we did when we started and that’s the belief I’ve always had with our music.”
“I wanted to do something nobody else ever had,” Carlos adds. “Tony has given us his blessing from the very beginning, so we really appreciate that we’ve been able to create this in conjunction with him.”