With the recent report of Tony Iommi wanting to reunite Black Sabbath again, Bill Ward has come out with a statement.
Here’s what Bill said:
“Well, I’m not done with BLACK SABBATH legacy. [Laughs] I haven’t been done. I was made done, but I’m not done. So, the others might be done, but I’m not. But being realistic about that, as far as touring with BLACK SABBATH, I don’t have the chops, and I don’t have the ability to drive a band like that on stage. I have to be back to 60 years old to be able to do that.”
Ward continued:
“I would love to do a studio album with SABBATH, with all the original members. I’m just saying that — I’m just floating that out there. I haven’t talked to anybody about that or anything else. But I’m not done. So, the other three might be done, and I respect that, but no, I’m not done. I think as long as we all exist [laughs] and we’re still breathing in air, I think we have every possibility of making some great music together.”
“I’m being honest,” he said. “I’ll be 73 next birthday [in May], and I know what kind of energy it takes to drive that band.”
Tony Iommi, the riff master has expressed his desire to work again with other Black Sabbath members.
In a new interview on The Mercury News Tony was asked:
The final Sabbath tour was called The End, seemingly leaving no wiggle room on whether the band would ever regroup after those 2016-17 tour dates. Yet, rock stars are famous for changing their minds. So, any chance you, Geezer, Ozzy, and Bill – or maybe Tommy Clufetos filling in again on drums – will decide to mount another Sabbath tour?
Here’s the response from Tony:
“I wouldn’t think so. But it’s a strange thing with Sabbath – how many times we thought we were with Ozzy, then we had Dio, then back to Ozzy, then Dio again, and then Ian Gillan and Tony Martin and Dio and back to Tony Martin. It’s gone backwards and forwards at different stages. So, you just never know. I think it’s highly unlikely that we’d get back onstage again. It certainly wouldn’t be touring. We’d only do so many shows, if anything. I would like to play with the guys again. But I can’t see that happening.
“The reason we stopped touring in the first place was basically my fault because I had to be careful of my health. When you book a tour – and it’s always an 18-month tour – it doesn’t sound a lot when you talk about it at first. But when you get out there, and you are touring, it’s bloody hard work. And it wasn’t particularly good for my health, because of the blood cancer. So, I said, “Look, you know, this should the last tour, I think.” But I really do miss it. I really miss playing onstage. I miss seeing the audience.”