Tony Martin (British singer)

For other people named Tony Martin, seeTony Martin (disambiguation).

Tony Martin
Martin performing in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Anthony Philip Harford
Also known as	The Cat
Born	(1957-04-19)19 April 1957 Birmingham,England
Genres	Heavy metal hard rock blues rock doom metal power metal
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1970s–present
Member of	Giuntini Project
Formerly of	Black Sabbath Cozy Powell's Hammer Empire Phenomena Forcefield The Company Of Snakes Blue Murder

Anthony Philip Harford(born 19 April 1957), better known by his stage nameTony Martin,is an Englishheavy metalvocalist, best known for his time frontingBlack Sabbath,initially from 1987 to 1991 and again from 1993 to 1997.Martin was the band's second-longest-serving vocalist afterOzzy Osbourne.He has since been involved in many other projects (such asM3,Misha Calvin,The Cage,Giuntini Project,andPhenomena).

Despite performing almost exclusively as a vocalist, Martin is a multi-instrumentalist, stating in an interviewthat he plays guitar, bass, drums, violin, keyboards, harmonica,bagpipes,andpan pipes.On his 2005 solo albumScream,Martin performed vocals, bass, drums, violin and additional guitar parts.

Career

Black Sabbath,The Eternal Idol,Headless CrossandTyr(1987–90)

During the recording ofThe Eternal Idol(1987), Martin was brought in to re-recordRay Gillen's tracks, alongside formerElectric Light OrchestradrummerBev Bevanwho had previously been in Black Sabbath during 1983–84 on theBorn Againtour.

Martin had been contacted by Black Sabbath to replaceGlenn Hughesthe year previous. He secured his place in the band after a successful audition singing the track "The Shining".Before the release of the new album, Black Sabbath accepted an offer to play six shows atSun City,South Africa during theapartheidera. During this periodGeezer Butlerwas coerced into rejoining the band withBev Bevanremaining on drums. The band was supposed to play a music festival inPlymouthon 18 July, but Butler backed out at the last minute even though Martin and Sabbath had been in rehearsals from 14–16 July in preparation.

The band drew criticism from activists and artists involved withArtists United Against Apartheid,who had been boycotting South Africa since 1985.Bev Bevan refused to play the shows, and was replaced byTerry Chimes,formerly ofThe Clash.After nearly a year in production, Martin's debut with SabbathThe Eternal Idolwas released on 8 December 1987 and ignored by contemporary reviewers. On-line internet era reviews were mixed.AllMusicsaid that "Martin's powerful voice added new fire" to the band, and the album contained "some of Iommi's heaviest riffs in years".

The album would stall at No. 66 in the UK, peaking at 168 in the US.Sabbath toured in support ofEternal Idolin Germany, Italy and for the first time, Greece. Unfortunately, in part because of a backlash from promoters over the South Africa incident, other European shows were cancelled.BassistDave Spitzleft the band shortly before the tour, and was replaced byJo Burt,formerly ofVirginia Wolf.

Following the poor commercial performance ofThe Eternal Idol,Black Sabbath was dropped byVertigo RecordsandWarner Bros. Records,and signed withI.R.S. Records.The band took time off in 1988, returning in August to begin work on their next album. As a result of the recording troubles withEternal Idol,Tony Iommiopted to produce the band's next album himself. "It was a completely new start", Iommi said. "I had to rethink the whole thing, and decided that we needed to build up some credibility again".Iommi enlisted ex-RainbowdrummerCozy Powell,long-time keyboardistGeoff Nichollsand session bassistLaurence Cottle,and rented a "very cheap studio in England".

Black Sabbath releasedHeadless Crossin April 1989, and this album was again ignored by contemporary reviewers. Eventually, AllMusic would give the album four stars, callingHeadless Cross"the finest non-Ozzy or Dio Black Sabbath album".Anchored by the number 62 charting single "Headless Cross", the album reached number 31 on the UK charts, and number 115 in the US.QueenguitaristBrian May,a good friend of Iommi's, played a guest solo on the song "When Death Calls". Black Sabbath was told by Gloria Butler that Geezer was going to join the band again. The band waited until April 1989 for Butler, but Geezer instead went and joined Ozzy Osbourne's band.Following the album's release, the band added touring bassistNeil Murray,formerly ofWhitesnake,Gary Moore's backing band, andVow Wow.

The ill-fatedHeadless CrossU.S. tour began in May 1989 with openersKingdom ComeandSilent Rage,but because of poor ticket sales, the tour was cancelled after just eight shows in the US and two in Canada.The European leg of the tour began in September, where the band were enjoying chart success. After a string of Japanese shows, the band embarked on a 24 date Russian tour withGirlschool.Black Sabbath was one of the first bands to tour theUSSR,afterMikhail Gorbachevopened the country to western acts for the first time in 1989.

Tony Martin returned to the studio with Black Sabbath in February 1990 to recordTyr,the follow-up toHeadless Cross.While not technically aconcept album,some of the album's lyrical themes are loosely based onNorse mythology.Tyrwas released on 6 August 1990, and reached number 24 on the UK albums chart, but was the first Black Sabbath release not to break theBillboard 200in the US.The album would receive mixed internet-era reviews, with AllMusic noting that the band "mix myth with metal in a crushing display of musical synthesis",whileBlendergave the album just one star, claiming that "Iommi continues to besmirch the Sabbath name with this unremarkable collection". The band toured in support ofTyrwithCircus of Powerin Europe, but the final seven UK dates were cancelled because of poor ticket sales.For the first time in their career, the band's touring cycle did not include US dates.The tour had a few surprises, that being thatIan Gillan,Geezer Butler, & Brian May made appearances during a few of the shows.

Butler officially rejoined the band after the end of the Tyr tour ahead of theDehumanizer(1992) album with the intention of putting something back together with Tony Iommi and Cozy Powell. In an interview with Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi in Kerrang in mid-1991 they talked about having to "get rid of" Tony Martin. This effectively ended Martin's first spell with the band.

Brief Departure from Sabbath andBack Where I Belong(1991–93)

Tony Martin recorded his first solo albumBack Where I Belong(1992) whileBlack Sabbathhad reunited withRonnie James Diofor theDehumanizer(1992) album.

At the demo level forBack Where I Belong,Tony Martin played all the instruments and the album itself featured former Black Sabbath members bassistNeil Murrayand drummerCozy Powell,as well asBrian Mayon guitar, among others.Cozy Powellalso joined the band for the subsequent tour after leavingBlack Sabbathhimself. There were two singles released for the album. The first was "If There Is a Heaven", and the second was "Angel in the Bed". This album includes a version of "Jerusalem" from the Black Sabbath albumTyr(1990).

Tony Martin stated that "Back Where I Belong is an album of songs that were written over the period between 1990 and 1991. The title reflects my feelings at having this opportunity to write, record, and perform my own material. The recording of this album has been made possible due to the contributions of the following people who have all given their individual and very special talents to this project, for which I would like to express my eternal thanks!" Tony Martin returned briefly to Black Sabbath to work onDehumanizer(1992) when things were not working out withRonnie James Dio.He,Geoff NichollsandCozy Powellworked on a song called "Raising Hell" during these sessions which subsequently ended up on Martins second solo albumScream(2005).

Martin said: "I had already started my first solo album Back Where I Belong so when I got the call to go back I was committed by that point. And in fact it was just a couple of months after they had started the thing with Ronnie James Dio. I was determined to finish my solo thing and so turned them down at that point. We did keep in touch though and I went to some shows. Ronnie wasn’t too pleased, but eventually they had enough and asked me to rejoin again later so it felt like I hadn’t actually left. In fact, I was never formally fired, the phone just stopped ringing.Ian Gillan[Deep Purple singer, also another ex-Black Sabbath lead singer] asked me once if I had actually been fired and I said, "No." He said, "Neither have I." We should just turn up one day and walk on stage! "

Martin's return to Sabbath at this stage was again short lived as Warner Bros had paid a huge amount of advance money forDehumanizer,and again, record company pressure forced another change, they wanted either Ozzy Osbourne or Dio. Tony Martin was again forced out from the band in favour of Dio.

Tony Martin famously met Dio on theDehumanizertour after being invited to the show by Iommi & Butler. Martin would be flown in to replace Dio (who had left the band over the Ozzy Osbourne retirement show) on the last show of the tour but after visa problemsRob Halfordwas asked to do the show instead.

Return to Black Sabbath,Cross PurposesandForbidden(1993–97)

DrummerVinny Appiceleft the band following the reunion show to joinRonnie James Dio's solo band, later appearing on Dio'sStrange HighwaysandAngry Machines.After Iommi & Butler realised that the Ozzy Osbourne reunion talks were breaking down they enlisted formerRainbowdrummerBobby Rondinelli,and reinstated Martin. Martins 4th album with Sabbath,Cross Purposes,was released on 8 February 1994. The album received mixed reviews, withBlendergiving the album two stars, callingSoundgarden's 1994 albumSuperunknown"a far better Sabbath album than this by-the-numbers potboiler".AllMusic's Bradley Torreano calledCross Purposes"the first album sinceBorn Againthat actually sounds like a real Sabbath record ".

The album just missed the Top 40 in the UK reaching number 41, and also reached 122 on theBillboard 200in the US.Cross Purposescontained the song "Evil Eye", which was co-written byVan HalenguitaristEddie Van Halen,although uncredited because of record label restrictions.Touring in support ofCross Purposesbegan in February 1994 withMorbid AngelandMotörheadin the US. The band filmed a live performance at theHammersmith Apolloon 13 April 1994, which was released on VHS accompanied by a CD, entitledCross Purposes Live.After the European tour withCathedraland Godspeed in June 1994, drummer Bobby Rondinelli quit the band and was replaced by original Black Sabbath drummerBill Wardfor five shows in South America. Following the touring cycle forCross Purposes,bassistGeezer Butlerquit the band for the second time.

Iommi would criticize Martin during this period in his book, to which Martin responded; "It surprises me. I mean, they never said anything to me. Surely, if you've got a problem, the first person you should say something to is the person that's in the band with you... You don't wait ten years. It sounds like a really stupid thing to say, as they didn't say anything to my face – and, if that's the case, then more fool them for not saying anything, because, you know, we could have fixed it. I said to them, endlessly, that if there was anything they wanted changed, done differently, just to say and we could fix it, but clearly they didn't, they hadn't got the guts to, obviously, and to write about it in a book afterwards seems a bit daft to me. I'm not bitter about it, but it is surprising… it seems a bit stupid to say that after the event".

Following Butler's departure, newly returned drummerBill Wardonce again left the band. Butler and Ward were meant to have recordedForbidden(1995). In the wake of their departure Iommi then reinstated former members Neil Murray on bass and Cozy Powell on drums, effectively reuniting theTYRline-up. The band enlistedBody CountguitaristErnie Cto produce the new album, which was recorded in London in the fall of 1994. The album featured a guest vocal on "Illusion of Power" by Body Count vocalistIce-T.The resultingForbiddenwas released on 8 June 1995, but failed to chart in the US or the UK.The album was widely panned by critics; AllMusic's Bradley Torreano said "with boring songs, awful production, and uninspired performances, this is easily avoidable for all but the most enthusiastic fan";whileBlendermagazine calledForbidden"an embarrassment... the band's worst album".

Black Sabbath embarked on a world tour in July 1995 with openersMotörheadandTiamat,but two months into the tour, drummer Cozy Powell left the band, citing health issues, and was replaced by former drummerBobby Rondinelli.This would be Martin's final tour with the band.

In December 1996, both Tony Martin (via a letter to Sam Naugler) and Iommi (via an interview with Pete Scott) both confirmed that Martin was not "out" of Sabbath, so as late as December 1996, it would appear that Iommi intended on going forward with the band as it last existed at the end of 1995. As for the rest of the band, Neil Murray was working with Cozy Powell in Peter Green's (founder ofFleetwood Mac) 'Splinter Group'.

In 1997, Tony Iommi disbanded the contemporary line-up to officially reunite with Ozzy Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath line-up. Vocalist Tony Martin claimed that an original line-up reunion had been in the works since the band's brief reunion at Ozzy Osbourne's 1992 Costa Mesa show, and that the band released subsequent albums to fulfill their record contract with I.R.S. Records. Martin later recalledForbiddenas a "filler album that got the band out of the label deal, rid of the singer, and into the reunion. However I wasn't privy to that information at the time".I.R.S. Recordsreleased acompilation albumin 1996 to fulfil the band's contract, entitledThe Sabbath Stones,which featured songs fromBorn Again(1983) toForbidden(1995).

Martin would also later hit out on Sabbath for being deleted from the band's history; "It seems a bit of a waste of ten years of the band's history. To cut that out, they're not just cutting me out, they're cutting themselves out. It seems like cutting your own nose off to spite your face. Why would you want to delete ten years of your history? It seems to me that they've got their minds elsewhere, and whatever brings them the most money seems to be what they go for. I mean, the Ozzy reunion. How many times do you want to go and pay to see them do the same stuff? OK, people argue that those old songs are people's favourites. Well; it's probably that way because you keep ramming it down people's throats and don't give them a chance to buy anything else. It seems disjointed and disconnected to me, and I don't understand why they would want to even cut themselves out of that history".

Solo and other collaborations (1998–2005)

After leaving Sabbath, Martin worked with a variety of projects, includingAldo Giuntini.WithDario Mollo,he released two further albums;The Cagein 1999 andThe Cage 2.Martin also worked withEmpirefor their 2003 recordTrading Souls.

Late in 2004, Tony let it be known that there would be a new solo album by him out in 2005. The album was recorded at Tony Martin's house, which is inHeadless CrossinRedditch,WorcestershireEngland. The album featured again former Sabbath member Geoff Nicholls and some drum tracks from the late Cozy Powell. Martin explained; "I have recorded 2 tracks featuring the legendary drumming of Cozy Powell. How? well, when I fronted Cozy Powell's Hammer, he gave me 20 drumming tracks to write some songs with, I forgot I had them until I found them recently in the move to my new house."

Tony Martin's Headless Cross (2006-2019) and Kingdom of Madness (2019-present)

Tony Martin established Headless Cross in 2005 and would go on to tour Europe in 2006. The band also toured Brazil in 2008.

After Dio's passing in 2010, there was some speculation that he would either return toBlack Sabbathor join the renamed Black SabbathHeaven & Hell.Martin however ruled out ever working with Sabbath again stating: "Sabbath hasn’t talked to me in 15 years. All of the albums that I was on were removed from sale completely by them and it would take unbelievable changes to get it all back together". Black Sabbath was rejoined by Ozzy Osbourne in 2011 with the band's legal disputes apparently concluded.

Tony Martin's Headless Cross last performed at the Asylum inBirmingham,UK on 27 July 2012.This marked Martin's first ever UK show as a solo artist and first show with his new Headless Cross line-up. Martin stated in interviews that this will be his only live show of the year.

In January 2013 Martin signed to a new music publishing deal by Alan Bambrough ofSony/ATV Music PublishingLimited. Martin's would be working on the fourth albumGiuntini Project IV(2013) fromGiuntini Project,the Italian people heavy metal band started in 1988 by guitarist Aldo Giuntini as a solo project. This will be the third album Martin has appeared on. Martin will also appear on releases with Layla Milou and withVeronica Freeman,vocalist withBenedictum.Martin also sang on an album with Zele fromYugoslav/Bosnianrock legendsDivlje Jagode.

In 2019, it was announced that Martin would front Kingdom of Madness, a band featuring former Magnum membersMark Stanway,Micky Barker and Richard Bailey performing material from Magnum's classic period. The COVID-19 crisis prevented the band from touring in 2020, with dates postponed till 2021.

On the 14th of January 2022 Martin releasedThorns,his third solo album.

Reunion with Iommi and Black Sabbath re-releases

In January 2016 Martin announced on hisFacebookpage that he "was greeted by Tony Iommi VERY warmly" at the unveiling of the Cozy Powell memorial (also attended by Neil Murray) and that they may work together again. Shortly after Iommi himself announced his intention to work with Tony Martin again. Iommi said: "We've held back on the reissues because of the current Sabbath thing with Ozzy, but they will certainly be happening. I'd like to do a couple of new tracks for those releases [Headless CrossandTyr] with Tony Martin. I'll also be looking at working onCross PurposesandForbidden."

In January 2024 Tony Iommi confirmed that the Martin-era box set was coming out in May 2024.The box set entitledAnno Domini 1989–1995was finally released on 31 May 2024and it includes four of five albums from the 1987–1997 Martin-era of the band, withHeadless Cross(1989),Tyr(1990) andCross Purposes(1994) all remastered, andForbidden(1995) remixed by guitarist Tony Iommi.

Personal life

In August 2015, Martin married his wife Carol.

On a religious level, Martin has claimed to be anon-believer.In a Myspace blogpost, he calls his choice to release a Christmas single "a kind of strange thing considering i dont believe there's a Christ", but goes on to explain that the song - titled "Who Put the Devil in Santa" - says that none of the Christmas message works, and in the first few lines writes that the promise of a man called Jesus "No ones seen and doesn't seem to exist".

Discography

Date	Artist	Album title	Notes
1987	Black Sabbath	The Eternal Idol
1988	Forcefield	Forcefield II: The Talisman
1989	Black Sabbath	Headless Cross
1990	Black Sabbath	Tyr
1992	Tony Martin (solo)	Back Where I Belong
1993	Misha Calvin	Evolution
1994	Black Sabbath	Cross Purposes
1995	Black Sabbath	Cross Purposes Live	Live albums, VHS
1995	Black Sabbath	Forbidden
1996	Black Sabbath	The Sabbath Stones	Compilations
1999	Dario Mollo/ Tony Martin	The Cage
1999	Giuntini Project	Giuntini Project II
2002	Rondinelli	Our Cross, Our Sins
2002	Dario Mollo / Tony Martin	The Cage 2
2003	Empire	Trading Souls
2003	M3	Classic 'Snake Live
2005	Tony Martin (solo)	Scream
2006	Empire	Raven Ride
2006	Giuntini Project	Giuntini Project III
2008	Mario Parga	Spirit of Night	Single
2009	Tony Martin (solo)	Who Put the Devil in Santa	Single
2012	Dario Mollo / Tony Martin	The Third Cage
2012	Silver Horses	Silver Horses
2013	Giuntini Project	Giuntini Project IV
2022	Tony Martin (solo)	Thorns
2024	Black Sabbath	Anno Domini 1989–1995

Guest appearances

• Phenomena–Psychofantasy(2006)
• Candlemass–Candlemass 20 Year Anniversary(DVD 2007)
• Various –Voices of Rock: High & Mighty(2009, "Into The Night" )
• Candlemass –Doomology(2010, on "Witches" ) (Tony Martin vocals – October 2004)
• Phenomena –Blind Faith(2010, on "Liar" )
• Star One–Victims of the Modern Age(2010, on "Closer to the Stars" )
• Arrayan Path –Ira Imperium(2011, on "Ira Imperium (The Damned)" )
• Black Widow–Sleeping With Demons(2011, on "Hail Satan" )
• Wolfpakk –Wolfpakk(2011, on "Ride The Bullet" )
• Layla Milou –Reborn(2012, on "Bloody Valentine" )
• Benedictum –Obey(2013, on "Cry" )
• Schubert In Rock –Schubert In Rock(2013, on "Second King Of Darkness", "Youg Free And Deadly" )
• Herman Rarebell & Friends –Acoustic Fever(2013, on "Another Piece of Meat" )
• Lazy Bonez –Alive(2015, on "Racing Heart" )
• Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall –Kingdom of Rock(2015, on "When The Sky Falls" )
• Sebastien–Dark Chambers of Déjà Vu(2015, on "Lamb of God" )
• The V –Now Or Never(2015, on "King For A Day" )
• Feanor –We Are Heavy Metal(2016, on "Crying Games" )
• Lightning Strikes –Lightning Strikes(2016, on "Death Valley" and "301 AD Sins of Our Fathers" )
• Magnus Rosén–The World Changes(2016, harmonizing on "The Castle of Imagination" )
• Violet Janine –So Much More(2016, on "So Much More" )
• Zele Lipovača–Internal Waves of Love(2016, on "Missing You" )
• ZiX -Tides of the final war(2016, on "Metal Strike All star song" )
• Silver Horses –Tick(2017, on "Hang My Head In Shame" and "My Bad" )
• Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall –We Are The Night(2020, on "Temples & Towers" & "Far From Over" )
• Secret Society Feat Tony Martin - (2021), on "Darkest Hour"
• Giuntini Deathline - V (2021), on "Stab in the dark"
• The Sonic Overlords "Last days of Babylon" (2021) on "Past the end of time"
• Star One-Revel in Time(2022), on "Lost Children of the Universe"
• Quartz - "On the Edge Of No Tomorrow" (2022) on "Evil Lies"
• Paul Di'Anno–The Book of the Beast(2024, duet on "Remember Tomorrow" )

External links

• BLACK SABBATH Online:Tony Martin Discography – fansite
• Interview with Tony Martin March 2012
• Tony Martin biography, discography and album reviews, credits & releasesatAllMusic
• Tony Martin discography, album releases & creditsatDiscogs