Bill Ward Not Doing Black Sabbath Reunion Shows

Since Black Sabbath announced a reunion tour and album in the fall, Bill Ward appeared to have been on the fence, with a contract being the obstacle to commitment. This week, however, Ward announced through his website that he will not be joining the other three original members for the Birmingham, Download Festival, and Lollapalooza performances.

In his statement, Ward delineates all contract conflicts up until this point. First, he explains, he was asked to participate “minimally” at the Download Festival; he would have done three songs, and another drummer would have filled in the remainder of the set. Ward, however, states he couldn’t watch another drummer play a set of Sabbath.

He also explained he found out about on April 30 the Birmingham appearance; before then, he had no knowledge of the gig. By May 9, he was given an offer for a free show in the U.K. to see how that gig would go; that would’ve opened opportunities to do the festivals. About this, Ward wrote: "I can't prioritize the Sabbath fans making one show more important than the other. I can't do that. All of you are important. It's all the gigs or none at all. I can't come to Birmingham and 'see what happens' knowing there is a risk of not being able to play Download or Lollapalooza. Again, for me, it's all or nothing.”

Then, regarding contract issues, he stated: “I made a solemn vow after the last European and Ozzfest concerts that I would never again enter into what was, in my opinion, a totally unsatisfactory contract. I have to stand for something, and as painful as it is, I’m doing it.”

Plans for a tour and album were announced in November, but by January, Tony Iommi dropped out for most of the tour, after revealing his struggles with lymphoma. With Iommi leaving, with the exception of the Download Festival, the tour was turned into Ozzy & Friends.