Royal Birmingham Conservatoire to host exclusive career retrospective with Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi, the renowned guitarist for Black Sabbath, will spend one evening at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday, September 17, discussing his incredible musical career and the city that gave rise to it, as per Blabbermouth. Tony, who has released over 45 albums, is getting ready to release “From The Dark,” a new solo album, in October 2026. There’s never been a better moment to hear a few stories from the heavy metal godfather, who was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in June 2026. According to Midlands-based sports broadcaster and journalist Gary Newbon MBE, this is sure to be an amazing evening filled with tour tales, gig anecdotes, and insights.

Many people consider Iommi to be one of the most important guitarists in contemporary music. Iommi is recognised for having contributed to the development of the language and sound of heavy metal as the principal composer and founding member of Black Sabbath. Iommi has received numerous Grammy Awards, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and received honorary academic awards in the United Kingdom in recognition of his services. He received the Freedom of the City of Birmingham, a Lord Mayor’s Award, and a PhD from Coventry University. He most recently received an MBE, one of the highest accolades in British public life, in June 2026.

Tony Iommi is a heavy rock icon whose inventive, detuned, gloomy riffs are thought to have served as a model for hundreds of bands who came after. Tony, a left-hander who was born in Birmingham, England, on February 19, 1948, took up the guitar as a teenager after being influenced by bands like Hank Marvin & The Shadows. Iommi had a terrible accident at a sheet metal shop where a machine cut off the tips of his right hand’s fingers, almost ending his musical career too soon. He thought his days of playing the guitar were over, until a buddy introduced him to Django Reinhardt, a guitarist who lost two fingers in a campfire accident involving a gipsy caravan.