Original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has stirred up a lot of press lately, with his demands to Ozzy Osbourne for an apology and a new contract. In an interview with Classic Rock Revisited writer Jeb Wright, Bill Ward discusses the chaos…

CCR: Part of the controversy is that according to certain camps, the rest of Black Sabbath, you are unable to play an entire concert, physically.

Bill: “Oh, that’s their fear - that has nothing to do with me. That is somebody else’s fear. That is simply fear and that’s all that is. It is not the truth and it has nothing to do with the truth. The only thing that happened to me that is the truth is that I actually got sick on October 18, 2013. Up until that point I was fully capable of playing drums and I could have played multiple world tours, et cetera, et cetera. I just had not signed a contract. Had I signed a contract then I wouldn’t have been sick, according to them!

“I hate what’s going on, it is terrible. It is a good question: Had I signed the contract that was offered to me, which I wouldn’t have done, but had I signed it I probably would have been exonerated from health problems! That is crazy. Once you sign, you just don’t have health problems.

“I would never, ever, ever commit to taking on any type of live commitment, or studio commitment, if I knew there was something going on inside of me which could stop me from doing it. There wasn’t a fucking thing going on inside of me that would stop me from playing in the studio or in a live band rehearsal. It absolutely didn’t exist.”

CCR: You’re saying this all strictly boils down to money with Black Sabbath.

Bill: “In my particular case, when I try to get a sign-able contract, yes.”

CCR: That’s crazy.

Bill: “The sickness agenda started after I wouldn’t sign the contract. You know all the problems of what I was like in 2011, it all started to happen after the event. In 2011, nobody said anything to me about that as they all seemed to be quite happy that I was there. I am getting better with it now, but I was infuriated when I first heard of that as my health was really good. I was playing drums every day and practicing 130 beats per minute for a half an hour on the bass drum. I wasn’t walking ten miles, I usually walk ten miles a day but I was walking six to eight miles a day. It is what I would be doing anyway. It is what I am doing now. I am walking on treadmills. I had to rebuild my core after the operation I had.

“What happened on October the 18th of 2013 was serious shit and I needed surgery. Had I been on tour then, yes, that would have happened. That was something that was unexpected and unforeseeable, as life can be. That would have meant that I would not have been able to continue on with the band for at least five months. It would have taken that amount of time. They have cancelled shows as well when unforeseeable events happen. They say, “He couldn’t have done it anyway because he got sick.” I think that is a bunch of bullshit. These things are unforeseeable and everybody knows that we go in good faith and we know unforeseeable events can happen. Ozzy has had to cancel on multiple occasions because of unforeseeable events since all of this has happened.”

CCR: Should we hold out any hope that Sabbath will reunite with you?

Bill: “That statement that I made was actually an olive branch. It was a real olive branch, not a pie in the sky olive branch. I gave exact specifications of what would put me back in the band. I don’t fuck around, you know. ‘You want me back I the band? Then make a public apology about the things that you said about me that weren’t true. That’s the first thing. The next thing is give me a sign-able fucking contract’.

“This contract isn’t the Rockefeller of all Rockefeller contracts. I just want something that is decent and fair and what every other person on earth who is playing rock and roll would want.”

CCR: There are two sad things that come from this.  All of the fans, including me, want to see you on that drum stool. The other sad thing is that Ozzy and you were always close, but this is really fucking everything up between you.

Bill: “Definitely. I love him and I miss him. I grieved his loss in 2012. I went through absolute murder, emotionally, with him saying the things he was saying. I was absolutely gob smacked, I couldn’t believe it was somebody that I had known for so many years. It was really horrible going through that.

“I don’t dislike Oz. I don’t have any animosity, or any revenge, and I am not seeking to be better than him, or anything like that. I am not trying to be right in these things in terms of ‘You are wrong and I am right’. I am simply stating the facts and asking for an amendment of the facts, as they stand. It is very matter of fact with me. It is actually quite simple.

“I am really saddened that all of the Ozzy fans and all of the Bill fans are all upset. All the Ozzy fans fucking hate me. There is a lot of controversy. We try to keep an open mind to all of the fans and all of the interested parties. We are very concerned, my team, we are very concerned about the way these things are handled. We are very concerned about the people who dislike me, but they have every right to dislike me. I actually support them in their right to dislike me and they are entitled to their opinions. I don’t necessarily agree with them that I am an asshole, but if they want to call me an asshole I will support their right to do that. I’ve got no axe to grind with anybody. I am at peace in this. I offered a real pathway. I just did it a couple of weeks ago.”

Read more of this interview with Bill Ward at Classic Rock Revisited.

Ward has released his first solo album in 18 years called Accountable Beasts, on iTunes. The CD features Ward's drumming on seven of the album's nine tracks, as well as contributions from his longtime collaborators Keith Lynch (guitar, keyboards), Paul Ill (bass) and Ronnie Ciago (drums), along with drummer Walter Earl and an array of session singers, including Ward's daughter Emily.

 

 

Accountable Beasts features the following tracks:

“Leaf Killers”
“Accountable Beasts”
“Katastrophic World”
“D.O.T.H.”

‘First Day Back”

“As It Is In Heaven”
“Ashes”
“Straws”
“The Wall Of Death”