Bill Ward

Bill Ward
Bill as he appeared in the early 1990s.
Background information
Birth Name	William Thomas Ward
Born	5 May 1948, Aston, Birmingham, England
Occupation	Musician, Visual Artist
Genres	Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock
Instrument(s)	Drums, Keyboards, Vocals
Years active	1966 – 1984, 1985, 1989 - Present
Labels	Vertigo, Capitol
Associated acts	Black Sabbath, Mythology, The Rest, The Mezmerist
Website	Official Page

William Thomas Ward, known often as Bill Ward, is an English musician and visual artist. Ward is best known as a founding member of Black Sabbath, contributing a style that mixes a hard hitting style common of early hard rock and heavy metal bands along with a jazz influence, as he was schooled on jazz drummers such as Joe Morello and Gene Krupa. Along with drums he would also on occasion contribute keyboards and even vocals, namely doing lead vocals on two Black Sabbath songs: "It's Alright" (From 1977's Technical Ecstasy) and "Swinging The Chain" (From 1978's Never Say Die).

Since beginning his career as a musician in 1966 Ward would perform drums on ten of Black Sabbath's nineteen studio albums. With his style widely influential to the development of heavy metal, Ward has also been regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin and Total Drum Sets among others.

Biography

Black Sabbath

Bill Ward Drum Solo 1978

• For more details feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Black Sabbath.

Bill Ward started to play drums as a child, listening to the big bands of the 1940s and his major influences were Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson. Later he was influenced by drummers such as Larrie Londin, Bernard Purdie, Joe Morello, Keef Hartley, Hughie Flint, John Bonham, Ringo Starr, Jim Capaldi and Clive Bunker. In the mid-1960s Ward sang and played drums in a band called The Rest. Ward and guitarist Tony Iommi played together in a band called Mythology, and upon that band's dissolution joined vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler, who had played together in a band called Rare Breed. The new band called themselves Earth, but were soon renamed Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath would release eight studio albums with their original lineup between 1970 and 1978, charting with a major hit in "Paranoid" on their second album and selling millions of albums, all the while harboring a major influence on the development on the heavy metal and doom metal genres. Ozzy would be fired from the band in 1978, with Ronnie James Dio eventually joining in 1980.

Ward's drug and alcohol use increased throughout Black Sabbath's heyday. By the late 1970s he was drinking during gigs, something he had never done before. He also began experiencing panic attacks. Ward has said he cannot remember the recording of the 1980 album Heaven and Hell due to his alcohol abuse. According to Black Sabbath bandmate Iommi, Ward disappeared on 21 August 1980, without saying goodbye, other than a telephone call to then-Black Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio informing him "I'm off then, Ron." He then briefly played in a band called Max Havoc. He sat out one album (1981's Mob Rules) before returning to Black Sabbath for 1983's Born Again album, with Ian Gillan of Deep Purple on vocals. However before the band would tour, Ward once again left for health reasons and coping with the death of both of his parents. He again rejoined Black Sabbath in 1984 to record new material with David Donato but after several demo tapes, he once again left Sabbath.

Before the full Black Sabbath reunion, Ward and the original Sabbath had reunited twice for short sets, first for Live Aid in 1985 and then at a Costa Mesa, California Ozzy Osbourne show on 15 November 1992. Sabbath, with Judas Priest singer Rob Halford replacing Ronnie James Dio who had recently left the band, opened the show for Osbourne. The Ozzy Osbourne band (Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Mike Inez, Randy Castillo and John Sinclair) then did a full set before Osbourne was reunited with Iommi, Butler and Ward for four songs.

Ward made a brief return to the band for a South American tour in 1994 with Tony Martin fronting, before finally rejoining the band for the two shows at the Birmingham NEC, England on 4 and 5 December 1997, which made up the Reunion album. When what was billed as the original line-up reunited for the Ozzfest tour in 1997, Mike Bordin however would play the drums. The band also recorded a new song together in "Psycho Man" to promote the Reunion live album (The b-side "Selling My Soul" however, utilized a drum machine.). In 2000 the live rendition of Iron Man would win Black Sabbath their first Grammy.

Ward was forced to skip all but the last two Black Sabbath appearances in 1998 while he recovered from a heart attack suffered during the tour rehearsals that May. As the band rehearsed, Ward stopped and asked if he could lie down for a spell. He then asked for his assistant and informed the band that his arm had gone numb. Iommi and Butler then left for a short time, not knowing the severity of Ward's condition. Outside, they saw an ambulance pass but weren't aware what was happening. Upon returning to the rehearsal space a short time later, a frantic Osbourne informed them "Bill has had a heart attack! Bill has had a heart attack!" As was the case in 1980, he was replaced at short notice by Vinny Appice, although this time it was always intended to be a temporary absence for Ward, health permitting.

In 2000, Ward participated in a partial Black Sabbath reunion of sorts, joining Iommi and Osbourne to record the track "Who's Fooling Who" for Iommi's first solo album.

In October 2006, news leaked that Ward would be reuniting with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ronnie James Dio for a tour though under the moniker Heaven & Hell, performing the Dio-era of Black Sabbath. However, Ward later decided not to participate in the tour or continue participation in the band because of musical differences with "a couple of the other bandmembers" and a reported concern about extended touring. According to Geezer Butler, Ward did not join due to monetary disputes.

On 11 November 2011, Iommi, Butler, Osbourne, and Ward announced that they were reuniting to record a new album with producer Rick Rubin and to start touring in 2012. In February 2012, however, Ward left before work commenced on 13, the first studio recording to include original band members Iommi, Osbourne and Butler since the live album Reunion (1998), which contained two new studio tracks. Ward said that he had failed to reach an agreement regarding his contract. Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine) would take over as a session drummer for the album while Tommy Clufetos would serve as the band's live drummer. Wilk would state that he wished Ward had played on the album in some capacity.

Osbourne also suggested in an open letter that Ward's decision not to take part was down to his health, something Ward would later admit to in 2015. In April 2015, Ward criticised Osbourne on his Facebook fan page via a letter to his and the band's fans. This would prompt a rebuttal from Osbourne on his own Facebook page, noting shoulder surgery Ward would also speak negatively about the "13" album, stating he couldn't even get through "20 bars" before he turned it off.

Ward however would reunite with Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler to accept the "Lifetime Achievement" award at the May 2015 Ivor Novello Awards. He once again reunited with Iommi and Butler in Los Angeles in May 2019, as Black Sabbath were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. Though Sabbath did not perform, Rival Sons performed a set of their songs for the occasion. A short time later Osbourne said in an interview that he wants to play one last show with the band's original lineup. Ward announced 3 weeks later on his Instagram that he loved all 3 of his former Black Sabbath bandmates very much and was open-minded to playing a final show with them.

Solo Career

Bill Ward - Bombers (Can Open Bomb Bays)

Bill Ward Band - Bombers "The Remake" (Official Audio)

After a few years in hiatus, Ward decided to return to playing music in the late 1980s. In 1989 he went to work on a solo album, which featured a huge array of guest musicians, including former Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne and his guitarist, Zakk Wylde. Released in January Ward One: Along the Way would see release on 10 January 1990, showcasing Ward's versatility in musical tastes and abilities. Along with performing drums, keyboards and piano, Ward would sing on several of the tracks. However little is known if this lineup had toured at any point or performed live.

Seven years later, on 29 April 1997, Ward would release a second solo album in When The Bough Breaks. When The Bough Breaks' sound would range from hard rock and blues to singer-songwriter selections such as "Children Killing Children", which had a music video. However around the time of it's release, Ward would re-join Black Sabbath for several years. Ward would record a song in response to the 9/11 attacks entitled Straws, released in 2003 and limited to 2200 CD copies, 1000 of which sent to government officials.

Work would begin on a third studio album, recording through the 2000s. Beyond Aston was originally intended to be released in 2006 but due to being unable to find a label the album would be ultimately unfinished. Years later the songs from the Beyond Aston sessions, along with Straws and several new songs, would be released as Accountable Beasts on 21 April 2015.

Ward would join a project known as Days of Errors in 2016, which played its first gig in June that year at Gaslamp in Long Beach, California and also features Joe Amodea on guitar/vocals and Kill Devil Hill singer Jason "Dewey" Bragg on vocals. Days of Errors were intending to tour in late 2017 with Witch Mountain. However this tour would be canceled due to health issues.

Ward would re-record "Bombers (Can Open Bomb Bays)" and release it on YouTube circa 2 September 2020 in light of Ward One's thirtieth anniversary.

Pranks

Ward would often become the subject of numerous pranks during his tenure with Black Sabbath. According to Tony Iommi, he and the band would often set Ward's beard on fire and perform other harmful pranks on him. On one occasion, Ward even received third-degree burns. In an interview with Guitar World, Tony described it as follows:

“	"Bill and I were in the studio rehearsing one day and out of the blue I asked him, "May I set you on fire, Bill?" And he said, "Well, not now, not now." And then I forgot about it. Later on when the day ended, he said to me, "Well, I'm going home now; you still want to set me on fire or what?" And I said, "Sure." So I took a small can of lighter fluid and sprayed it on him, lit a match, and whoomph. He was wearing these polyester pants so they burned really quickly and he was on the floor screaming and crying. I could not help him because I was so busy laughing. It actually turned out to be quite serious. I felt really bad for him. He was sent to the hospital. Later on, his mother called me on the phone and said, "You barmy bastard, it's about time you grew up. Our Bill is going to have his leg off." But things like that always happened to Bill."	”
	— Tony Iommi, Guitar World

Iommi claims that Ward almost died after a prank-gone-wrong during recording of Vol. 4 in 1972. The band were renting a Bel Air mansion belonging to John DuPont of the DuPont chemical company. The band found several spray cans of gold DuPont paint in a room of the house; finding Ward naked and unconscious after a night of heavy drinking, they thought it would be funny to cover the drummer from head to toe in gold paint as inspired by the movie "Goldfinger". Ward soon became violently ill and had a seizure and an ambulance had to be called. The paint had blocked all of Ward's pores, which his bandmates were subsequently informed can be fatal.

During the recording of Heaven and Hell in 1980, Iommi doused Ward with a solution used by studio technicians to clean the tape heads. He then set light to the solution, which was much more flammable than Iommi had anticipated. Ward suffered third degree burns as a result and still has scars on his legs from the incident.

Personal Life

Ward has two sons, Nigel and Aron, and one daughter, Emily.

Since mid-2002, Ward has done a monthly internet-only radio show named Rock 50 on radio station WPMD from Cerritos College in California. Ward plays a variety of metal, hard rock, and some classic rock.

According to his Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne, Ward has dramatically changed his lifestyle since Black Sabbath's 1970s and early 80s heyday. Iommi says he quit smoking, gave up alcohol, adopted a vegan diet, and no longer uses drugs of any kind. Osbourne says that Ward has been sober for approximately 30 years. However, more recently Osbourne has criticised Ward's health, describing him in 2013 as "incredibly overweight" and suggesting that he would have been unable to drum for Black Sabbath had he stayed in the band following their 2011 reunion, given his physical condition, although Ward himself has insisted his health has not affected his ability to play the drums.

Ward later admitted he underwent gastrointestinal surgery in 2013, stating at the time: "My health right now is not bad but it's not good enough to certainly play in any band never mind Black Sabbath." In 2013 Bill Ward would collaborate with the Los Angeles company SceneFour for the project Absence of Corners, a series of drum-based art.

Ward stated in an interview he "lost a friend" in Osbourne after his statements about Ward's health in 2012, but maintained contact with Butler and Iommi. However, they have since appeared to have reconciled, as Osbourne named Ward as one of the people that kept in touch with him during his health problems in 2019.

Bill Ward would join onstage as part of a Hollywood jam showcase in 2019 to perform "Children of The Grave" for the first time since 2006.

Discography

With Black Sabbath (Selected)

• Black Sabbath (1970, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)
• Paranoid (1970, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)
• Master of Reality (1971, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)
• Vol. 4 (1972, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)
• Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973, World Wide Artists / Warner Bros.)
• Sabotage (1975, Nems / Warner Bros.)
• Technical Ecstasy (1976, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)
• Never Say Die! (1978, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)
• Heaven and Hell (1980, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)
• Born Again (1983, Vertigo / Warner Bros.)

Solo Discography

• Ward One: Along The Way (Studio Album) (1990, Chameleon)
• When The Bough Breaks (Studio Album) (1997, Cleopatra)
• Straws (Charity Single) (2002, Self-Released)
• Accountable Beasts (Studio Album) (2015, Aston Cross Music)

Guest Appearances

• The Mezmerist - The Innocent, The Forsaken, The Guilty - Drums (1983, Self-Released)
• Ozzy Osbourne - Live and Loud - Drums on "Black Sabbath" (1993, Epic)

Equipment

Ward would primarily use Tama Drums, Sabian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks and Gribraltar hardware.

Tama Imperialstar Drums

• 15"x13" Tom
• 16"x16" Floor Tom
• 18"x16" Floor Tom
• 14"x8" Snare Drum
• 14"x5" Snare Drum
• 26"x14" Bass Drum
• 26"x14" Bass Drum
• 20"x14" Gong Drum

AA and Hand Hammered Sabian cymbals

• 14" AA Rock Hats
• 10" AA Mini Hats
• 20" AA Medium Crash
• 29" AA China (custom)
• 22" Hand Hammered Raw Bell Dry Ride
• 14" Hand Hammered Sizzle Hats
• 22" Hand Hammered Medium Crash
• 14" Hand Hammered Mini China
• 22" Hand Hammered Power Ride
• 21" Hand Hammered Medium Crash

External Links

• Bill Ward Facebook
• Bill Ward Instagram
• Bill Ward Twitter
• 2013 Interview via Brooklyn Vegan