Tony Iommi Reveals How Music Helped Him During Cancer Treatment

Tony Iommi says music played a vital role in helping him get through his battle with cancer.

The 78 year old Black Sabbath guitarist was diagnosed with non Hodgkin lymphoma in 2012 and faced months of intensive treatment while recording the band's 2013 album, 13. During that period, he regularly travelled between the UK and Los Angeles to continue working on the record, and he believes keeping busy with music helped him cope with the challenges he was facing.

Speaking to Krishnan Guru-Murthy on the Channel 4 News podcast Ways to Change the World, Tony joked: "I sometimes wonder when I'm going to keel over. I really do."

He continued: "But I love being creative. I enjoy what I do, and it gives me a reason to keep going. When I was diagnosed with cancer, we were working on the last Sabbath album, 13, and I wanted to carry on with it to take my mind off everything rather than just give up. And it worked.

"I was travelling back and forth to LA after we'd finished the recordings with [producer] Rick Rubin. I'd fly back to have my treatment, then return to LA to continue recording. But I enjoyed having something to keep me occupied.

"I really needed to keep my attention on the music, and it made a huge difference to me."

Tony, who released his latest solo album From The Dark last week, also discussed how having a recording studio at home has changed his approach to making music, giving him greater freedom to work at his own pace.

He explained: "Now I can come into my home studio, put down a few ideas and leave it at that. In the past, whether it was with Sabbath or another project, there was always a deadline to meet.

"You'd spend six weeks rehearsing and writing the material, then you'd book studio time and get everything recorded. After that, you'd be out on tour for 18 months.

"This time around, there hasn't been any pressure. I can come in and work whenever I feel like it. I worked on the album with my engineer and would say, 'Let's work on Monday and Tuesday each week for a while. If something comes up that keeps you busy, we'll cancel. And if I'm unable to make it, we'll work around that.'

"That's pretty much how we did things. I still had hospital appointments for my cancer check ups, and he had other commitments to deal with too. We'd get together whenever we could, record our ideas and gradually develop them. It's been a really relaxed way of working."