In a new interview with Planet Rock, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi reveals that the operation he had to remove a lump from his throat was a success and it isn’t cancerous.

Back in December, Tony broke the news that doctors discovered new activity in his throat and they were unsure whether the lump was cancerous until he went under the knife. Speaking to Wyatt to promote the choral arrangement he has penned for Birmingham Cathedral, Tony said he received the ultimate gift when he was told on Christmas Day that the lump wasn’t cancerous.

“Well, I had the treatment when I got back from South America,” Tony told Wyatt. “I went in for the throat (operation) – they found a lump at the back of my sinus in the throat and we had to have it checked in case, it may have been cancerous. But it turns out it wasn’t, which I found out on Christmas Day which is brilliant! So far (I’m all good). I daren’t say that I’ll probably fall down the stairs now!”

Listen to the audio interview at planetrock.com.

Iommi has recorded a haunting choral work with the Birmingham Cathedral Choir and cellist George Shilling, reports Birmingham Mail. The five-minute-long “How Good It Is”, inspired by Psalm 133, premiereed at the Cathedral last night (Thursday, January 5th), in front of a specially invited audience.

Iommi, who plays acoustic guitar on the track, says modestly: “They’re a fantastic choir but the guitar player’s crap!”

There’s a proud smile on his face, though. Because this has been a labour of love. “It’s a bit different to Sabbath!” he says. “We’ve done instrumental work before with orchestras and it’s something I enjoy doing – but this is completely different. It’s something we have started from scratch, a completely new piece of music unlike anything I have done before.”

But is there not a sense of irony that a guitarist once accused of espousing black magic should write for the church? “No, not at all,” he laughs. “People used to think we were Satanists but we weren’t. The songs were the opposite – they were all about the dangers of Black Magic. The closest we came was Black Magic chocolates!”

Listen to the piece below, and read the full story, along with photos, at birminghammail.co.uk.

Remaining Black Sabbath tour dates:

January
17 - Cologne, Germany - Laxness Arena
20 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
22 - Manchester, UK - Arena
24 - Glasgow, UK - The SSE Hydro
26 - Leeds, UK - First Direct Arena
29 - London, UK - The O2
31 - London, UK - The O2

February
2 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena
4 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena