Appearing on the new episode of Raised on Radio, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi talked about ‘Paranoid,’ cutting off his fingers in an industrial accident, and his road to Black Sabbath. Losing his fingers during his earlier years, the rocker explained how the incident took place:
“I used to work in a sheet metal work factory doing arc welding and gas welding. They used to send the metal down to me to weld. The person do the press and bend it and send it to me. One day this person didn’t come into work and the manager said, ‘Well you’ve got to go on the machine.'”
Although he did not know how to use the machine, he had to make it work, eventually causing the accident. He continued:
“So I went on this machine which I had no idea how to work it, and you never get away with it these days the pedal was like this. As I push the sheet metal work through the gillentine come down on my hand. So as I pulled my hand back I pulled the ends of the two fingers off. So it was devastating, really.”
Doctors Told Iommi He Could Not Play Again
Iommi lost his fingertips in the middle of the 60s, at the age of 17. After the incident, the rocker was told by his doctors that he would never be able to play guitar again. Despite the doctors’ words, Iommi is now one of the world-renowned guitarists. The guitarist now thinks the accident made him invent a new sound and a different kind of music.
You can watch the interview below.
