Tony Iommi insists the rumours that Michael Bolton auditioned to replace Ronnie James Dio in Black Sabbath are true.
In 1982, “there was a lot of looking for another singer, and we would audition various singers — including Michael Bolton, believe it or not,” he told GibsonTV last month. “He was one of them, which was an odd one. It just went on a bit, and we couldn't decide.”
Iommi previously mentioned the soft rock singer’s audition in his 2012 memoir Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. “We had Michael come in and we had him sing 'Heaven and Hell,' 'War Pigs' and 'Neon Knights.’. He was quite good, but he wasn't exactly what we were looking for then.”
Bolton denied Iommi’s claim, calling it “only a rumour” in a 2014 interview. Three years later, in another interview, Bolton said the confusion likely stems from his ‘70s stint in a rock band called Blackjack – which opened for Ozzy Osbourne.