Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi says the Hard Rock Cafe won’t let him have his prized 1964 Gibson “Monkey” SG Special guitar back, even though the original deal gave him the option to buy it back. Unfortunately, the person who made the deal with the metal icon has since passed away, making the situation particularly difficult.
Iommi’s Gibson “Monkey” SG is perhaps his most iconic guitar, as he played it on the first handful of Black Sabbath albums, all considered legendary works.
Get a Tony Iommi Gibson ‘Monkey’ SG Signature Guitar
As he explained to Guitar World (via Guitar.com) in a new interview, “The guy who used to buy memorabilia for the Hard Rock came to England and visited me. 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.”
Iommi added, “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, so that was it,” he continued. “We tried to get in touch with Hard Rock to get it back and they knew nothing about the deal.”
However, Hard Rock Cafe did loan Iommi and Gibson back the guitar a few years ago so they can make a signature run of Monkey SG replicas, including a very limited edition that matched the same exact specs.
“They made the replicas; I think we did about 50 of them and I own two of those,” said Iommi. “I have to say they are exactly like that 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.”
While the original remains in possession of the Hard Rock Cafe, fans can purchase the signature models via Reverb. Watch a promotional video for the signature model below.