Black Sabbath under spotlight in documentary
A new video containing a live interview with Black Sabbath star Tony Iommi has been made to commemorate the reinstallation of the band’s ‘heavy metal’ bench.
The mini documentary is presented by Christian Martin, the former Argentinian rugby player, who is himself a huge Black Sabbath fan, and features rare footage of the band performing in its early days.
The video was commissioned and released by Westside Business Improvement District to commemorate the rededication of the bench in Broad Street, Birmingham, which first appeared in 2018 but had been temporarily removed during the Midland Metro tram extension works.
During the 20-minute video, Martin sits on the bench – which features steel cut-outs of all four original members of the band – and uses a live Zoom link to interview Iommi from his home in the Cotswolds.
Black Sabbath’s lead guitarist who was born in Aston, talks about his Broad Street links and how apt it is for the bench to be there.
He said: “I used to be on Broad Street all the time as a youngster at the Rum Runner nightclub, so this brings back a lot of memories to me.”
He recalls the band’s early days, saying: “We had a tough road as no-one had heard our kind of music and we could only play in small Blues clubs across the city. But we loved and believed in what we did.”
The video also features an interview with Councillor Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for transport and environment, who originally allowed the bench to be placed in Broad Street.
Mike Olley, the general manager of Westside BID, cuts a huge black ribbon to rededicate the bench.
