Tony Iommi on Touring: ‘My Body Won’t Take It Much More’

With Black Sabbath announcing their final tour last week, Tony Iommi has admitted the reason they are calling it quits. In a new interview, he revealed that it's because he's feeling the effects of his age.

“I can’t actually do this anymore,” he told the Birmingham Mail. “My body won’t take it much more.”

His three-year battle with lymphoma has contributed to his weakened state and, while he's fine right now, the possibility of it returning is never far from his mind.

“I don’t want that creeping back again,” he continued, “and all the traveling involved in Sabbath tours increasingly takes its toll. That’s why we’re going out on one last tour, to say our farewells. And then it very definitely is the end. We won’t be doing it again.”

Sabbath's tour starts Jan. 20, 2016 in Omaha and continues for five weeks across North America. The only other announced dates are two weeks of shows in Australia and New Zealand, but Iommi says that more will be added in time to give all their fans around the world one last chance to see them.

"There will be U.K. dates,” he promised. “And, of course, we’ll be playing Birmingham. “This is where it all began for us; this is where family and friends live; this is where our longest-standing fans are. It would be unimaginable for the Sabbath farewell tour not to include Birmingham. But you’ll have to bear with us. The logistics are still being worked out. Even we don’t know all the dates yet.”

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