When Tony Iommi was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, his Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne came up with a unique form of treatment: Guinness. At the time, the singer was obsessed with the Irish beer, once promoted with the slogan “Guinness is good for you” – which apparently he took literally.
“He sent somebody to set up a Guinness bar at the house,” Iommi tells the Telegraph. “They turned up with this truck and said, ‘We’ve been told to deliver this.’ I said, ‘Who told you this?’ And of course it was Ozzy.”
The guitarist told the installer to go away, but that didn’t stop the iconic frontman from trying again. “And then Ozzy said, ‘Well, I’ll just send you some cans of Guinness then.’” He sent more than just a few cans: “Barrels of it! It’s a bit over the top, but that was him. He was really caring.”
Iommi – whose cancer has been in remission for 10 years – admitted that Osbourne’s death, soon after Black Sabbath played their final show in 2025, had left him considering his own mortality.
“Ozzy said, ‘I’m really tired. I’m absolutely shattered,’” he recalled of their last phone call. “I said: ‘Well, it’s been a tough few weeks. You’re bound to be.’ Then I heard the next day that he’d gone. And that was weird.”
Asked if the experience turned his thoughts to his own passing, he confirmed: “Yes, it does. A lot. I’ve had a few friends go now, and you think: ‘Blimey, hang on, I’m 78, how much longer?’ You do.” He added: “Brian May and myself have this conversation. He’s more dismal than me. Bloody hell.”
Iommi – who’ll release solo album From the Dark on October 23 – was also asked about the various plans underway to keep Osbourne’s profile in the public eye, including a movie, Ozzfest events, a theme park ride and an AI avatar. “I can’t really answer that because it sounds like I’m moaning about it,” he said.
“But whatever they do is what they do. And I think people are going to remember him anyway. He’s not going to just fade away.” But he sounded a note of caution: “You can overdo it.”
