In a tale mixing rock history and an unexpected twist, Tony Iommi has revealed he was unable to reclaim the iconic Gibson "Monkey" SG guitar he played on Black Sabbath's early albums, even though he had negotiated a buy-back clause. Iommi originally sold the custom guitar to the Hard Rock Cafe with the promise that he could repurchase it at the same price whenever he chose.
In a recent interview with Guitar World, Iommi recounted the deal with the Hard Rock, recalling the reason he parted with the cherished instrument. "The guy who used to buy memorabilia for the Hard Rock came to England and visited me," Iommi explained. "He wanted to buy some stuff, and I said it should be fine. I'd retired the Monkey SG because it was too valuable to me; I didn't want to take it on the road and risk it getting damaged."
Selling the guitar to Hard Rock was a difficult decision for Iommi, who wanted the instrument preserved rather than stored away. "The deal was if I ever wanted it back, I could let him know and buy it back for the same price," he noted. "It seemed fair enough, a good deal."
Years later, when Iommi decided to reclaim the guitar, he was met with an unexpected obstacle: the Hard Rock buyer who had made the agreement had passed away, and nobody involved knew about the original arrangement. "Anyway, he passed away, so that was it," Iommi shared. "We tried to get in touch with Hard Rock to get it back, and they knew nothing about the deal."
Though Iommi never regained possession of the original guitar, Hard Rock allowed him to borrow it briefly in 2020 so that Gibson could create a signature model. In an interview with Guitarist (via Ultimate Guitar), he shared that he had used the legendary SG on Black Sabbath's first "four or five" albums—a legacy now immortalized in the replica model.
