Why rockstar Toni Iommi lives a normal life with wife Maria in the West Midlands

The Brummie musician has lived through the hedonistic rockstar life and lives a quieter life now
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Black Sabbath co-founder Tony Iommi, 74, is ready to make a new solo album for which he . He also said that the band’s Tony Martin-era albums will be reissued in 2023.

The musician shot to fame in the 1970s and 1980s and has lived through the hedonistic excess of those periods. However, the musician, who is one of the pioneering heavy metal creators, has slowed down since then and lives a pretty normal life in the West Midlands with this fourth wife, Maria Sjoholm.

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The Brummie rockstar Tony, met Maria in the 1990s, who moved in with him soon after.

Who is Maria Sjoholm?

The 57-year-old wife of Iommi is the former vocalist for Swedish alternative metal band Drain STH. They met in 1998 when Tony was collaborating with the band. They kept a long-distance relationship on but within a year, Maria moved in with him. The couple married in 2005 in a low-key wedding in California, US.

Tony’s day-to-day life now

The dark guitar god has seen many friends lost their life to drugs and alcohol, and lives a quite and normal life now. He has also fought off a major health issue. He was said to be in remission in 2016 - four years after his diagnosis.

Tony Iommi from the band Black Sabbath  (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images for Gibson)Tony Iommi from the band Black Sabbath  (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images for Gibson)
Tony Iommi from the band Black Sabbath (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images for Gibson)

The son of Italian immigrants, he has a joi de vivre that can be attributed for his long life. He will turn 75 on February 19, 2023. The father-of-one lives in the West Midlands with wife Maria.

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“I get up at 6.15am – which is very unlike me – and I have a regime of having my breakfast, taking the dog out, then I’ll play guitar for a while. The time just flies by. I’ve got a life now like everybody else.

“I have to be careful. I go to bed at a sensible hour. I have to anyway – I fall asleep if it’s late and I’m sitting down,” he told The Herald in 2018.

“You’ve got to keep enjoying life,” he said. “Whatever it takes. I’m doing things now that I did in the 1970s – I’ve started collecting cars again. I’m buying cars I can’t f****** get in because they’re too low.

“It’s always been a passion – fast cars and stuff. I’ve got a Ferrari 488, a McLaren 650S and a Bentley Bentayga. I don’t want a hundred cars. I want ones I can use. I like them. I enjoy them,” he added.

 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath performs at Ozzfest 2016 (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA) Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath performs at Ozzfest 2016 (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA)
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath performs at Ozzfest 2016 (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA)

The love of his life

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There is no doubt that the love of his life is music but it has not always been the best thing for him. However, he has a positive outlook towards it.

The legendary musician lost the tips of two of his fingers in a factory accident in his early 20s. He created light-guage strings for his guitar to help him play because even after fashioning prosthetic fingers, it was painful for him.

“[Music] made my life and sometimes it’s caused me problems. When I was married before … Your music takes over and you end up being in the studio all night and touring and your marriage becomes lost, but now I’m very, very happy,” he said.

Tony confirmed that the band’s albums featuring Tony Martin will be re-released in 2023 in a tweet honoring former drummer Cozy Powell’s birthday.

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The heavy metal pioneers went through many lineup changes in the 1980s and 1990s, beginning with the firing of Ozzy Osbourne for excessive substance use in 1979. Tony Martin was the band’s second-longest serving vocalist, fronting the band from 1987-1991, before being briefly replaced for a two year-tenure by Ronnie James Dio. Martin came back in 1993 and stuck around until 1997.

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