After wishing his fans “Happy Halloween,” original Black Sabbath drummer, Bill Ward, has shared a new, original poem, titled “It’s Near”.
Earlier this year, BraveWords recently caught up with Black Sabbath bass legend Geezer Butler to talk about the paperback edition of his autobiography, Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath-And Beyond. During the conversation, he addressed the possibilities of one final reunion show with all the original members of Black Sabbath. Keep in mind, drummer Bill Ward wasn’t part of the band’s final tour, being replaced by Tommy Clufetos.
About doing one final Black Sabbath show with the original lineup, Butler told BraveWords:
“Ozzy has been texting me about doing one final show with Bill and that’s it, but it’s just not going to happen. But I always said that the original Black Sabbath would never get back together. So you say these things hoping if a miracle happens, that would be great to do it. But it’s up to everyone’s health, but I can’t see it happening. I’d love it to happen, even if it was one final song with the original four of us, with Bill on the drums. Even if it’s just one song.”
Well, we’re now one step closer to that “miracle”, as Bill Ward issued the following update:
“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 favourites. 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, every day I’m pretty good for 76 years old, I’m active musically every day, and I have a very busy and gratifying life.”
Ward helped found Black Sabbath in 1968 alongside bandmates Ozzy Osbourne (lead singer), Tony Iommi (guitarist), and Geezer Butler (bass).
Bill started to play drums as a child, listening to the big bands of the 1940s; his early 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.
Drumming website Totaldrumsets has listed Ward among “The 100 Most Influential Drummers Ever!” and has defined him as “the mastermind behind the unholy birth of heavy metal drumming”. In 2016, he was ranked 42nd in Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.
In the early years of Black Sabbath, Ward used Ludwig and Slingerland drum kits, as well as Zyn and Zildjian cymbals and Speedking drum pedals. Currently, he uses Tama drums, Sabian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, and Gibraltar hardware.