Tony Iommi Writes Song For Eurovision Song Contest
Posted by Joseph Lee on 03.07.2013
An Armenian group will play it...
BBC reports that Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi wrote a song that will represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest. It's a rock ballad called "Lonely Planet" and will be performed in Sweden by Armenian act Dorians.
Iommi is well known in the Eastern European country after he helped produce an album to raise money after an earthquake in 1988. He said it has been a "new experience" for him.
He said: "I've done a lot of things, but never that. The thing is, I've always thought, 'oh no, not the Eurovision', and here I am in it now."
The earthquake in 1988 happened in Spitak, and killed up to 45,000 people and left another 500,000 homeless. Iommi was one of several rock stars to raise the money. He since went back to the country with Queen guitarist Brian May to see what had been done since, and started another campaign to raise money to rebuild a music school. It was then that representatives from the Armenian Eurovision entry got in touch with him for a song.
He added: "I first said, 'oh God, I don't know' - it seemed really strange, me doing a Eurovision song, I don't usually do that. But I said, 'I've got a rock ballad, I'll send it over."
Iommi has sold over 80 million albums worldwide in his career. He said he "really" hoped the song does well in the contest, but expects it to be "slagged [off] like everything else does".
He announced in January last year he was undergoing treatment for lymphoma. He is still facing years of treatment but is working on an album with Black Sabbath.
