Tony Iommi Can’t Get His Guitar Back From the Hard Rock Cafe
Tony Iommi is at odds with the Hard Rock Cafe over one of his most iconic guitars.
The Black Sabbath guitarist told Guitar World (h/t Guitar.com) that he sold his Gibson “Monkey” SG to the Hard Rock Cafe a number of years ago. At the time, Iommi was working with a rep for the restaurant chain who dealt with memorabilia acquisitions, and they struck a deal that if Iommi wanted the guitar again, he could purchase it back from the Hard Rock Cafe.
Unfortunately, that rep has since passed away, and current reps for the Hard Rock Cafe say they were unaware of this arrangement, and they won’t sell the guitar back to Iommi.
The “Monkey” SG is notable because Iommi played it on Black Sabbath’s early albums, which are now classics. Iommi said he sold the guitar to the Hard Rock Cafe in the first place because, “I’d retired the Monkey SG because it was too valuable to me; I didn’t want to take it on the road and risk it getting damaged … it seemed like a good idea because the guitar could be displayed for people to see and kept safe, instead of sitting in a case somewhere in my storage.”
The Hard Rock Cafe notably allowed Gibson in the past decade to borrow the guitar to create replicas for sale. Iommi said of the replicas, “I think we did about 50 of them and I own two of those. I have to say they are exactly like that one I owned and they are what I used in the studio. They have the same knocks and bumps as the original, plus the little monkey sticker. It’s the same guitar, basically.”
Hopefully, with the attention this story has started to get in the rock world, the Hard Rock Cafe will agree to sell the guitar back to Iommi.
Positive Black Sabbath News from 2024
Looking back on this year, one significant thing happened in the world of Black Sabbath: Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler are talking to each other again.
The Black Sabbath bassist said there’s been a lot of “miscommunication” and, perhaps, some misunderstandings, too. Butler said he heard about how Osbourne told Rolling Stone that he didn’t reach out while he was dealing was his various health issues. It turns out Butler was, in fact, sending messages to Osbourne, but those messages weren’t making their way to the Prince of Darkness.
Butler explains, “So I went through the accountant, and he got in touch with Ozzy and said, ‘He’s just been sending you stuff. He wants to talk to you.’ And we’ve been fine since that.”
It’s a good thing Osbourne and Butler are back on speaking terms, because things seemed awfully strange for a while.
Back in June 2023, Butler released his memoir Into the Void. In the book’s epilogue, the bassist shared he and Osbourne don’t speak due to a falling out between their wives. He wrote, “Me and Ozzy are fine; it’s just that we’re both ruled by our wives. He’s got a big heart and was always there for me in times of trouble.” Apparently, a falling out between Sharon Osbourne and Butler’s wife, Gloria, has led to some tension between the Black Sabbath bandmates.
Despite Butler saying he and The Prince of Darkness were “fine,” Osbourne clearly wasn’t “fine” at all about their situation.
In a November 2023 interview with Rolling Stone UK, Ozzy shared Geezer hadn’t called him at all during his many health struggles of the past five years. He added that Tony Iommi has been very supportive during his health issues. Ozzy also said that Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has been in contact, despite ongoing tension with him.
“We all grew up together, and he can’t pick up the f—ing phone like a man and see how I’m doing,” said Osbourne. He added that the falling out between their wives was between the wives, not them.
“Are you really going to hide behind your wife’s skirt because of that?” noted Ozzy.
After Osbourne’s comments to Rolling Stone UK received a lot of attention, Butler took to Instagram to respond.
He wrote, “Rumour has it Ozzy is upset, saying he never received my get well messages. I made two different attempts at getting in touch during his illnesses. My first email (8 Feb, 2019) went through his office because I didn’t have Ozzy’s new number to text him. Sharon responded, but I didn’t hear back from Ozzy.”
Butler added, “Eleven months later (21 Jan, 2020), I emailed Sharon to check on Oz. That email went unanswered.”
He concluded, “I don’t want to engage in a tit for tat. Having made two attempts to wish Ozzy well, without a reply, I figured it best to privately keep him in my thoughts.”
The comment section of the post was filled with supportive messages. Glenn Hughes wrote, “Class, lad.” Meanwhile, Alex Skolnick wrote, “My (very) brief time in their camp was mid-90s, with you on bass, an experience I’ll always cherish. Sorry to hear the dysfunction (which you understandably stepped away from a few months later) hasn’t gone away. Well expressed, Geez.”
