The BBC is reporting that Black Sabbath: The Ballet will premiere in Birmingham, UK in September 2023.

The brainchild of Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta and the band's Tony Iommi, the ballet will premiere in Birmingham in September. It will feature eight Black Sabbath tracks plus new music inspired by them. Iommi told Radio 4's Today he hopes the "rags to riches" tale will attract "both our fans and ballet fans."

In a press release announcing the production, guitarist Iommi said: "I'd never imagined pairing Black Sabbath with ballet but it's got a nice ring to it! I'm looking forward to seeing how this all develops. Black Sabbath have always been innovators and never been predictable, and it doesn't come any more unpredictable than this! I've met with Carlos several times and his enthusiasm is infectious."

The eight Black Sabbath tracks from the show include "Paranoid", "War Pigs", "Orchid" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", and the music will be re-orchestrated for the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

The idea of a Black Sabbath ballet has been on Acosta's mind since he first arrived in Birmingham at the start of 2020, just before the pandemic hit.

Acosta said: "Black Sabbath is probably Birmingham's biggest export, the most famous - and infamous - cultural entity to ever emerge from the city - so I was naturally drawn to the idea of a collaboration between what most people might think are the most unlikely of partners. The band's enthusiasm for the project is a huge endorsement. They are putting their trust in us to deliver something completely new and original, and that's quite a responsibility but one that we are beyond excited to take on."

Read the complete report here.

Sharing a New Year message for 2023, found below, Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi summed up what was a very busy 2022 for him and out lined his plans for the year.

Iommi: "Of course, we're gonna have the Tony Martin box set, and Cozy Powell and Neil Murray. I'm looking forward to that because a lot of people have asked about that, which is great. They wanted to see when it's coming out, and we've done them in succession with these albums. You can't just bring everything out together; it has to come out in the right times. So we've had all the original Sabbath stuff come out, and then we've got the Ronnie stuff. The next thing will be the Tony Martin, and then my solo stuff, so it's gonna be busy again."

Iommi has confirmed that Black Sabbath's I.R.S. Records-era albums, which feature Tony Martin, will be released in 2023. Martin was with Black Sabbath from 1987 - 1991, then again between 1993 - 1997. He recorded five albums with the band: The Eternal Idol (1987), Headless Cross (1989), Tyr (1990), Cross Purposes (1994), and Forbidden (1995).

Iommi recently confirmed that the reissues will be available next year, while marking the birthday of late drummer, Cozy Powell, who performed on three of the I.R.S. albums - Headless Cross, Tyr, and Forbidden

Says Tony: "Cozy Powell would have been 75 today. Looking forward to the release of the IRS albums in 2023, a tribute to his great playing."

Stay tuned for further details.

(Photo - Max Sticca)