Tony Iommi: Hard Rock Cafe Refuses to Return Guitar as Promised

Tony Iommi said he wanted the Hard Rock Cafe to return a guitar he sold them, as per the deal they’d done with him, but the corporation wouldn’t do it.

The Black Sabbath icon parted with the red Gibson SG, named Monkey after a sticker attached to it, which he’d used on at least four of the band’s early albums. In a new interview with Guitar World (via Guitar.com) he said an agreement had been put in place should he ever want it back.

“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… 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.”

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He continued: “He offered to buy it and it seemed like a good idea because the guitar could be displayed for people to see and kept safe, instead of sitting in a case somewhere in my storage. But the deal was if I ever wanted it back, I could let him know and buy it back for the same price. It seemed fair enough – a good deal.

“Anyway, he passed away… We tried to get in touch with Hard Rock to get it back, and they knew nothing about the deal.”

How Tony Iommi’s Monkey Guitar Became His Main Instrument

On Iommi’s website, the red Monkey guitar is described as a 1965 model, which “became the main instrument when the bridge pickup on Tony’s white Stratocaster failed after the band recorded ‘Wicked World’ on the Black Sabbath album. … The guitar was donated by Tony to the Hard Rock Cafe organisation (as seen in their documentary Hard Rock Treasures). At the time of writing it is on display at the Times Square location in New York City.”

In the interview, Iommi said the Hard Rock Cafe did agree to lending the guitar to Gibson so that replicas could be made in 2020. “I think we did about 50 of them, and I own two of those,” he reported.

“I have to say they are exactly like the one I owned, and they are what I used in the studio. They have the same knocks and bumps as the original, plus the little monkey sticker. It’s the same guitar, basically.”