Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has had his say on the speculation of the metal legends playing one final show together.
Rumours about the possibility of a one-off reunion show from the band, with Ward back on board for the first time in nearly two decades, have been swirling in recent months.
Ward parted ways with the metal legends in 2012, citing an “unreasonable contract”. He would go on to miss the band’s Reunion Tour and the swansong The End Tour, which culminated in 2017.
With Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler all having expressed interest in the idea, Ward has now added his position with a post on X.
“Bill Ward checking in regarding all the updates on a possible Sabbath show in England,” he posted. “I’m in for playing some of everyone’s old favourites. Loved playing them then, I’d love to play them one last time.”
Hey ya,
Bill Ward checking in regarding all the updates on a possible Sabbath show in England.
I’m in for playing some of everyone’s old favorites. Loved playing them then, I’d love to play them one last time.
I’m not going to talk about my health publicly except to say,…
— Bill Ward (@billwarddrums) July 25, 2024
“I’m not going to talk about my health publicly except to say, everyday I’m pretty good for 76 years old, I’m active musically every day, and I have a very busy and gratifying life,” he added. “Love you all, all the fucking time.”
In May, Osbourne revealed that he would “jump at the chance” to play a final concert with Ward. Speaking on an episode of his podcast The Madhouse Chronicles, the singer reflected on the climactic show at the Birmingham Arena in 2017, saying he was “sad” that Ward was not there.
He said he feels Black Sabbath are “unfinished”, adding: “If they wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I would jump at the chance. Do you know what would be cool? If we went to a club or somewhere unannounced and we just got up and did it. We started up in a club.”
Bassist Butler then said later that month that he and Osbourne had “agreed” to play one last concert. It came after the Prince Of Darkness’ wife and manager, Sharon, said Ozzy was planning “two more shows to say goodbye” before he fully retires.
“Of course there’s an interest [on my part to do it], but there’s a big ‘but’ — you’d have to speak to Bill [Ward] about it. Everybody wants to do it [but I don’t know if he is] capable [of pulling it off],” he said.
The provisional shows would likely take place at Villa Park, the home of Butler and Osbourne’s beloved Aston Villa. “I’m definitely up for it, to finish the whole thing off,” Butler added. “Me and Ozzy have agreed, but I’m not sure about anybody else.”
Butler later commented in June that Osbourne “desperately wants” to play the final show, while guitarist Iommi has also expressed interest, saying it would be “a nice thing to do, but whether it happens will be another thing”.
In November, Ozzy said he might have to “accept the fact” that a live comeback may not be possible due to his ongoing health issues, including Parkinson’s disease and recovery from multiple surgeries.
“I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will,” he told Rolling Stone UK at the time. “But it’s been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life.
In January, Ozzy said he was going through a “slow recovery” process after his final operation.