A guitar owned by Black Sabbath rocker Tony Iommi has raised £53,000 for a cancer charity.
The 77-year-old musician donated the instrument to the Heartlands Hospital Charity in his home city of Birmingham after the charity announced that it was fundraising to create a new state-of-the-art Haematology and Oncology Centre for cancer patients.
Tony, who himself has beaten the disease after being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012, said as he thanked fans for their support: “It’d be nice if other people can donate and support, to give patients the help they need.
“In December, we had a guitar raffled for Heartlands Hospital for their Cancer Unit and I’m glad to say it raised £53,000, which is amazing, thanks to you guys.”
The guitar will be delivered to its new owner in the United States.
Charlotte Schofield, director of fundraising for Heartlands Hospital Charity, says she was “overwhelmed” by Iommi’s gesture and could “not thank him enough for his generosity and support”.
She said: “Thanks to this incredible donation we are well on our way to our fundraising goal of £150,000 and creating a beautiful space for patients to be comfortable while they receive their treatment.”
Meanwhile, the guitarist recently promised that he would be releasing a new solo album in 2026 – marking his first standalone record since 2005’s Fused.
In a New Year’s message to fans on his YouTube channel, Tony said: “I shall have definitely, definitely my solo album out. And I’m really looking forward to that. I’m enjoying doing that, and it’s been great fun, and I really hope you enjoy it.”
The star also reflected on a busy 2025 which saw Black Sabbath play their epic Back To The Beginning farewell show at Villa Park in Birmingham in July – just weeks before frontman Ozzy Osbourne died at the age of 76.
Iommi said: “It was really great seeing Ozzy, Bill (Ward) and Geezer (Butler) for the Freedom Of The City. And at that point, of course, we were into rehearsals for the Back To The Beginning show at the Villa grounds in Birmingham.
“And the amount of bands that turned up to support Sabbath on that was just fantastic. What a great event. And, of course, it raised a lot of money for charity.
“It’s just unfortunate and sad that Ozzy passed away a couple of weeks after that, may he rest in peace.”