BLACK SABBATH GUITARIST TONY IOMMI SAYS THAT BILL WARD WILL NOT BE JOINING THE BAND FOR THEIR FAREWELL TOUR, BUT ADDED “WHO KNOWS? YOU NEVER KNOW”
Gigwise caught up with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi at the Q Awards.
When asked what it was like seeing original drummer Bill Ward at the Ivor Novello awards? Iommi responded, “It was good, it was really nice to see Bill. We do stay in contact..It was a nice warm feeling.”
When asked if thought Ward would be joining the band on their The End tour? Iommi replied, “No, to be honest – I don’t know if that’s going to happen. But who knows? You never know.”
Watch the entire interview below.
source: gigwise.com
Share : 
tony’s hinting that keith moon will be the drummer. got it.
I heard Phil Collins.
I’m so over Bill Ward. Don’t care about him anymore or his “signable contract” whining. Tommy Clufetos has done an excellent job behind the kit. He should had been the one to record “13” instead of Brad Wilk.
There’s probably a better chance that Tony will be seen wearing a white leisure suit than Bill being in Sabbath again.
Let’s see now….Tony Iommi is friendly with Bill Ward. Geezer Butler is friendly with Bill Ward. I could be completely wrong, but why do I always get the feeling that it’s Black Sabbath leader Sharon Osbourne who’s behind all the turmoil in this band?
For the love of God. I take a few days off and you pull out the Sharon crap? Do you honestly think for one second that Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler…essentially the founding fathers of Heavy Metal and two of the biggest legends in the history of rock can’t have Bill Ward in the band because Sharon won’t let them, so they’re yielding to her?
Yes. That is exactly what I’m saying.
You may be correct that Iommi and Butler are the “founding fathers of Heavy Metal” and “two of the biggest legends in the history of rock,” and they can have Ward in the band. You also would be correct that Black Sabbath – the band – is not managed by Sharon Osbourne.
However, Ozzy is managed by Sharon Osbourne. Ward’s grievance with Sabbath is that he’s not being offered an “equitable” contract, and his complaints have all been directed at Ozzy. For Black Sabbath to function, all the members and their various managers have to come to agreement – that includes Ozzy and his manager. So at the very least Sharon – representing Ozzy – is involved in Sabbath’s business negotiations.
If you think I’m so ridiculous to pin some (if not, all) of the responsibility on Sharon, maybe a direct quote from Ozzy would help (Billboard Magazine): “I would absolutely love that (Ward’s participation). We all would. We were all sad he didn’t come the last time. But I don’t deal with the dough and the business side; that’s my wife’s job. The thing is, when you’ve got four guys with four different agendas and managers, it gets pretty crazy. I just go, ‘You do what you’ve got to do, Sharon. I’ll do what I’ve got to do.’”
Care to show me why I’m wrong?….
I appreciate the hard work and research you’ve done to prove your point to me. However, Sharon looks after Ozzy as your quote states. The other 3 have their own representation, again as your quote states. If Sharon Osbourne can rule over the management of Iommi, Butler, and Ward, then I blame said managers, not Sharon. If Iommi and Butler want Bill in but yield to Sharon and Ozzy cause there’s a bigger pie to split then aren’t they just as selfish as the Osbourne clan? Ozzy had the balls to respond to Bill’s whining. Ozzy stated that Bill wasn’t in shape and couldn’t handle a tour anyways. Well Bill’s shoulder and Diverticulitis diagnosis confirms EXACTLY what Ozzy stated. Look, Sharon Osbourne isn’t on my Christmas card list, and I’m sure back in the day she’s probably eaten a few of the dwarfs that used to come on stage during Ozzy’s Madman tour. But Bill Ward is the guy who bailed on this band more than anyone in the history of the band. He wants to cash in, I get it. But he isn’t a creative force in the band, never has been, and physically he has a massive question mark on top of his head. So blaming Sharon 100% for Bill’s situation is redundant and tiring. So he can play for what he was offered, or stay home and make nothing. I’m sorry it had to come to blows RT. You’re a respected poster here and I appreciate your respectful response to me, and I hope I did the same in kind.
Hey, I’m happy to have the debate (it’s fun!). Honestly, I’ve never been that big a fan of Black Sabbath, although I respect their contributions and influence. I am a fan of Ozzy’s first two solo albums and The Ultimate Sin. That said, I saw Sabbath on the last tour and thought they were great. Tommy Clufetos was such a monster on the drums, as a casual fan, I really didn’t miss Bill Ward. Cheers, dude!
Dana did you get this off Blabbermouth too?? Such a Hack!
Doug,
Normally, I would take a comment, such as yours, and place it where it belongs, in the trash. But, I decided to respond, because, quite frankly, I am sick of all the snide, rude, and sometimes downright abusive remarks that I get from some of the “fans” on this site.
I have been in charge of the music news section here for close to 16 years. I do it for FREE and do NOT get paid. I choose to do so because I am very passionate about hard rock/metal music. This is why many of the articles contained in the music news section are not always original content. However, I do write my own headlines if the source is not generated from a press release.
If you think researching news, deciding what content is appropriate for the site, formatting all the text in the back end, cropping all the photos, uploading them and taking care of the video content is so easy, I welcome you to run your own music news website. Let’s see how much original content you will be able to generate on a daily basis.
Speaking of which, you do know that 99.9% of Blabbermouth.net, Ultimate Classic Rock, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer news is NOT original, right? They get most, if not all, of their news from other sources. So, just because I got this particular story from Gigwise, as did Blabbermouth, does not mean I obtained it from Blabbermouth.net Furthermore, Eddie sends me press releases to post, which are usually sent to many other music news outlets. Perhaps, that is why, it may appear as if we are duplicating news. BTW, there have been many times when Eddie has sent me press releases that other sites have not received, and they have copied them from our site. Maybe, you should go to all of those sites and label them “hacks” as well.
Finally, I do not ever wish to have to explain, or defend, myself on here ever again. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. I would say “good day sir’ but, you don’t sound like much of a gentleman anyway. Also, I tried to email you offline, but big shock, you used a fake email addy. You’re just so brave bashing me behind a somewhat fake ID-LOL! Pathetic.
Dana from ET.com
Dana, you rule! This site is awesome and your work here is the reason. I know I speak for all the regular posters when I say that we all appreciate your hard work. Your love and knowledge of hard rock and heavy metal is inspiring. Keep up the great work and don’t let haters bring you down.
James K.
It’s posters such as yourself, Doug R., DR, Carlos, Elliot (our resident comedian), Harry Taint, Taskerofpuppets, Waverider, Staten Island Clown (Shannon),Tyger of Pan Tang, RTunes, and the countless others (please forgive me if I didn’t list your name, but you KNOW who you are), that make my “job” a pleasure. You are shining examples of the Metal community.
Your words of encouragement and praise always make me smile. I am truly grateful for all your appreciation.
Have a great day, J!
D 🙂
thanks dana! I’m so happy I could blotz!
Thanks for the kind words Dana, and don’t pay any attention to that schmuck, because that’s exactly what he wants, attention.
Have a great day Dana, here’s to our moderator/referee, 😉 CHEERS! 🙂
Nice shot Dana! No Remorse, nor repent, we don;t care what HE meant…Jump in the fire!
Thanks, by the way, for taking your own time and sharing the MEtal & Hardrock news. I’ve found several times you guys post info before anyone else.
Keep on keeping on.
Taskerofpuppets \MMM/
Actually Dana, I don’t mind your getting material for Blabbermouth at all. That site has a lot of interesting info, but I gave up on it because there is, to quote the Scorpions, “no one like you” – that is, someone filtering out the trolls, whiners, etc. The personal attacks over there are just way over the top, and that’s why I came here. So thank you for your service and for maintaining civility.
BOOM!!!!
Thanks Craig!
Your comment made me blush, and you are very sweet for saying it, thanks!
Are you talking about the Garbage with the one and only Shirley Manson? Even though she isn’t metal, I love her. She is awesome!
D 🙂
Craig,
I only have their first CD and I bought it because I loved the song, Stupid Girl, and found Queer to be quite interesting, as well-LOL! I also have the CD single of I Think I’M Paranoid from their second record.
I sort of lost interest in the band after that, but my fondness for Manson has always remained. I am partial to male frontman and tend to be very discriminating when it comes to female singers. Although, Manson doesn’t have the strongest voice, she makes up for it in attitude and dynamic presence. I love her and her adorable Scottish burr brouge. She’s just so cool.
Glad you had a great time at the show.
Cheers,
D 🙂
Hi Doug, thanks for your submission to eddietrunk.com. Now go f**k yourself troll.