Bill Ward Says He Won’t Perform with Black Sabbath at Final Show
Story by Anne Erickson
Black Sabbath’s final show won’t include their original drummer
Why can’t the Black Sabbath guys just get along? Bill Ward, the original drummer for the metal band, has written a new note telling fans that he won’t be included in Black Sabbath’s final scheduled concert in February in the guys’ hometown of Birmingham, U.K. The note, which appears on Ward’s website, is a response to things said by Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne in a new Rolling Stone interview.
Osbourne told Rolling Stone that he was upset that “Bill never came through” when it came to getting back with Black Sabbath, saying that whenever he reaches out to the drummer, “I get yelled at for something.” Ward, however, says that Osbourne hasn’t been in touch with him since January of 2012, when he phoned Ward to ask if he was going to be a part of recording session for Black Sabbath’s “13” album. Ward decided not to drum on the album or do the tour in support of it because he wasn’t pleased with the contract they gave him.
“Ozzy needs to look to those who stopped me from coming through,” Ward stated in the note. “The contract was impossible to sign; the group rhetoric of 2012, 2013 and throughout, was fault-finding, condemning and full of dishonest evaluations of me as a person, including my so-called health issues.”
Ward goes on to assert that he contacted a rep for Black Sabbath September of 2015 to ask if performing live shows with the group was still an option and was told “no.”
“It’s been heartbreaking enough not to record and tour and it’ll be heartbreaking not to play to the Birmingham fans,” Ward said. “Please know the prevailing circumstances are not by my design.”
Ward added that he said no to the initial contract because it “undermined and devalued” him.
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