Black Sabbath guitar legend Tony Iommi is sponsoring a new scholarship at BIMM Institute Birmingham. A report from the institute follows:

“Birmingham has produced a host of exceptional bands over the years, but few have rivalled the creative genius of Black Sabbath. So, you can only imagine how privileged we are to have the one and only Tony Iommi sponsor our brand new BIMM Birmingham scholarship. The legendary guitarist recently joined us at Birmingham’s Spotlight Studios to launch the Tony Iommi BIMM Birmingham Scholarship - which recognizes talent and creativity in music - and a further three BIMM bursaries to support students. As part of the celebrations, we invited a very lucky group of prospective BIMM Birmingham students to give them a taste of life and the fantastic opportunities available at our new state-of-the-art college, which will open its doors in Digbeth this October.”

Introducing the £20,250 award, BIMM Birmingham’s Executive Principal, Dara Kilkenny, said: “Tony Iommi has agreed to put his name to a scholarship which will be worth £20,250 for one of the applicants, and it could be one of you in this room. It’s available to all disciplines, all degree students. You will not pay any fees.”

Giving his thoughts on the scholarship and how one lucky BIMM student can utilise it, Tony said: “It’s fantastic; I just think that you have to go for it and work as hard as you can. Believe in what you are doing. You have to believe in it, and follow it through. Work as hard as you can. You have to love it and enjoy it.”

After the announcement, Tony sat down with BIMM’s resident Black Sabbath aficionado and Orange Goblin drummer, Chris Turner, for an exclusive interview about his life in music and his work with Black Sabbath, following the band’s decision to bid farewell after spending a half century and the forefront of heavy metal.

Tony, whose ear-shattering riffs and unique sound provided the blueprint for all metal bands who have followed, shared a wealth of insight and a host of amazing anecdotes about the band’s formation. Black Sabbath’s sound was actually part inspired by horror movies, which explains a lot.

“We were fascinated with horror movies. Geezer and I used to go to a Midnight Horror night at the cinema. I said to Geezer; it would great if we could write music that to give you the same fear as a horror movie and that’s what started it off,” he told the audience.

Opening up about Black Sabbath’s immense sound, Tony Iommi spoke about the significance of his Laney LA100BL and LA412 amp and the now vintage equipment used during the recording of their first album. Many have tried to recreate that sound, including super-producer Rick Rubin.

Recalling the recording sessions, Tony said: “He brought out some Laney clip amps that I’ve never used. I used the Laney LA100BL, LA412. Just because they’re vintage [amp] doesn’t mean they sound great. He was trying to create the sound of the amp before. I pointed out that he was using modern mics, we didn’t have them.”

Read the full report and find out more about the BIMM Birmingham scholarships and bursaries at this location.