Tony Iommi will raffle off one of his Gibson SG guitars to give back to the hospital where he received his cancer treatment.
The Black Sabbath guitarist and forefather of heavy metal was diagnosed with lymphoma at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital in 2012. He would go on to battle the disease for four years, entering remission in 2016.
Now, he’s hoping the sale of his personal SG will contribute to the hospital’s £150,000 (approx $195,000) fundraising appeal, which will fund the refurbishment of its cancer treatment center.
“It was a terrible shock,” Iommi says, speaking to the BBC of his diagnosis. “It's really hard when you're going through that. You just never think until you're in that situation, and I know how difficult it is, and how they feel. I like to be able to give something back and be involved and help.”
Chief on the refurbishment’s shopping list are special chairs designed for chemotherapy patients.
“The more comfortable you can make the patient, the better,” Iommi reflects, looking back at his own experiences. “I know when I was in, they treated me so well, that everybody was so nice, the nurses were nice, everybody was great. To have the right environment means a hell of a lot.”
Iommi, who re-released his signature pickup set with Gibson over the summer, is back at work on his new solo album following Black Sabbath’s history-making Back to the Beginning bow out. He has admitted he’s in no rush to finish a record that’s set to involve orchestrations and Kemper amp modelling.
He’s also spoken about his long-running love affair with the SG, including why he shunned Les Pauls for them despite craving an LP for years, and the disappearance of two of his special white models.
Meanwhile, another SG – the mystery axe that Kirk Hammett played at Back to the Beginning – is headed to auction.
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