THE BEAST

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has once again said that he agrees with singer Ozzy Osbourne that the band should play the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England — the city where the group formed in 1968. Iommi told Planet Rock on the red carpet of the Kerrang! Awards in London last night (Thursday, June 21): "I haven't spoken to Geezer [Butler, SABBATH bassist] about it, but I know Ozzy wants to do it and I'm up for that. I think it's great. We're from Birmingham and if we can represent Birmingham and they ask us, that's great. If we can still play by that time. And if we're still here."

Tony also suggested that he might return to making music soon. Asked about his upcoming plans, Tony said: "I'm going to carry on playing, but I've been taking it easy, you know, just to figure out what and pick things that I want to do as opposed to… You know, when you do a tour you have to go out there for a year, 18 months, so that time's gotta be taken. But now I don't have to do that, and I can pick and choose what I want to do. So, I've been doing a lot of charity stuff, and eventually I will start writing and putting some stuff together."

Ozzy recently told ITV News that he would definitely consider playing the opening ceremony of the Games after his farewell world tour ends. He said: "Yeah, that would be fantastic. With BLACK SABBATH or on my own."

SABBATH completed its last major tour in February 2017 with two shows in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

The trek was the band's last because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time. But he has said he would not rule out special events or one-off shows. via Blabbermouth