Tony Iommi’s “demonic” favourite band inspired him to guitar greatness
Looking up the greatest guitarists of all time, one name is likely to be further down the list than he should be. Tony Iommi‘s stint as black Sabbath’s resident riff-master may have garnered him millions of fans, but few would label him the greatest musician to pick up a guitar. Much like The Rolling Stones man, Keith Richards, owing to his distrust of noodling solos and unwarranted fretboard histrionics, Iommi is often underrated.
It’s a real head-scratcher, especially when you consider the mammoth influence Iommi has lent to the rock scene. Looking back at the explosion of heavy metal, it is easy to see Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Iommi holding four matches to the fuse of the genre. Their initial turn as Black Sabbath would spark a generation of rock lovers concerned with the heavier, darker side of music.
Another artist who is rarely given the kudos he deserves is Hank Marvin. The guitarist is a formative player in the blues rock scene of Britain. While most of the guitarists of the British invasion were keen to share their appreciation of America’s bustling blues scene and not some of those players as their favourites, there is a suggestion that they did so to gain extra credit. In truth, it was far more likely that they were shaped by the weird and wonderful world of Marvin and his band, The Shadows.
George Harrison, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page would all later share their appreciation for Marvin, and Iommi was also a fan of both his guitar playing and his band’s music at large. “The Shadows were the only band that really appealed to me [in the early 60s],” Iommi revealed in a conversation with Total Guitar.
It might seem strange that Iommi, one of the darkest guitarists in the rock scene, would be so enamoured with a group sometimes fronted by ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ crooner Cliff Richard. But The Shadows represented something different to the Black Sabbath man. “There was rock ‘n’ roll, but I liked the idea of an instrumental band, and they had a real sort of demonic sound in some ways – ‘Frightened City’ and stuff like that had an eerie feeling to it. I really liked what they were doing, and they had a nice guitar sound for what they did.”
“Me and Brian May both loved Hank,” Iommi conceded. “We’re not widdly diddlies. Brian and I have done a few things, played together on albums. We were in the studio together once and we started playing Shadows stuff. So it was mainly Hank, then Chuck Berry and a bit of Buddy Holly.” Marvin was noted for his unique take on guitar playing, providing a narrative tone and soul that few can emulate.
The line between the work of The Shadows and that of Tony Iommi’s Black Sabbath is not straight, but along the meandering curves are the same reference points. The Shadows, like Black Sabbath, refused to conform to a genre identity and instead expanded their sound and pushed what was accepted into new and uncharted territory, allowing the growth of music itself in the process.
Iommi and Marvin may not get the recognition they deserve from guitar purists, but few music enthusiasts would doubt their importance.
