Da Capo reportedly paid a six-figure amount at auction for the rights to the 352-page book, which was described as "'Angela's Ashes' meets'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' meets 'Spinal Tap'" by Foundry Literary + Media co-founder Peter McGuigan, who completed the North American rights deal for the memoir.
In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, Iommi explained how his autobiography came together. "I had a chap called TJ Lammers, who I met many, many years ago when he used to work at Phonogram Records," he said. "He later became a journalist and he had his own magazine. He lives in Holland and we've stayed in touch over the years. I've had a few people say, 'Oh, I can write a book for you,' but I wanted a different outlook to the normal music journalist, and that's what happened. He came over to England and stayed with me for a few days. Then he'd write it up, come back again and do more. The whole thing took a couple years to finish."
When asked how his book will be different to the typical rock biography,Iommi said, "I don't know. I don't read rock biographies, so it could be the same, it could be different. It's just my life, really. It's about what happened and what I grew up from, and how I've gone through life to where I am now. It's something I probably should have done a long time ago because there are so many books out now. I've been meaning to do it for many, many years but never got around to it."
The name "Tony Iommi" sends shivers down the spines of guitarists around the world. As lead guitarist and songwriter of Black Sabbath,Tony Iommi is considered to be one of the most influential musicians of the past four decades and the inventor of heavy metal. From working-class, Midlands roots, his unique playing style - a result of a disfiguring hand injury he suffered working in a sheet metal factory - created a dark and gothic sound unlike anything that had been heard before and which captured the mood of its time. Sabbath went on to become a superband, playing to massive audiences around the world and selling millions of records, and Iommi led the life of a rock star to the fullest — with the scars from all the drug-fuelled nights of excess and wildness to show for it.
"Iron Man" is the exclusive account of the life and adventures of one of rock's greatest heroes. It chronicles the story of both pioneering guitaristTony Iommi and legendary band Black Sabbath, dubbed "The Beatles of heavy metal" by Rolling Stone magazine. "Iron Man"reveals the man behind the icon yet still captures Iommi's humor, intelligence, and warmth. He speaks honestly and unflinchingly about his rough-and-tumble childhood, the accident that almost ended his career, his failed marriages, personal tragedies, battles with addiction, bandmates, famous friends, newfound daughter, and the ups and downs of his life as an artist.
Everything associated with hard rock happened to Black Sabbath first: the drugs, the debauchery, the drinking, the dungeons, the pressure, the pain, the conquests, the company men, the contracts, the combustible drummer, the critics, the comebacks, the singers, the Stonehenge set, the music, the money, the madness, the metal.
Brian May (Queen): "Tony Iommi is the true father of heavy metal, a continuously creative genius riff-meister, and one of the world's great human beings."
Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen): "Without Tony, heavy metal wouldn't exist. He is the creator of heavy! Tony is a legend. He took rock and roll and turned it into heavy metal."
James Hetfield (Metallica): "Mr. Iommi, aka . . . The Riffmaster. It's all his fault I am where I am."
Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath): "Tony Iommi should be up there with the greats. He can pick up a guitar and play a riff that'd knock your fucking socks off."
Available for pre-order at Amazon.
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