The soap opera that is currently Black Sabbath is still well under way. The back and forth statements about original drummer Bill Ward's affiliation with the band on its final tour have heated up emotionally. This time Ward is claiming a statement made by singer Ozzy Osbourne is completely false.
In a recent report Osbourne says he is:
“sad that Bill never came through” for this last round of Sabbath dates. “Every time I reach out to Bill, I get yelled at for something,” he added. “If something can be worked out [for the last show], great.”
However, Ward in a Facebook post he recently made contests this statement (saying the band hadn't reached out to him since 2012), saying:
“Ozzy needs to look to those who stopped me from coming through. The contract was impossible to sign; the group rhetoric of 2012, 2013 and throughout, was fault-finding, condemning and full of dishonest evaluations of me as a person, including my so-called health issues. Had I signed the contract, I suspect I wouldn’t have been labeled as having poor health or having all the other judgmental character references.”
As for the final show in Birmingham, Ward woefully continues his statement, saying:
“To toss around ideas that I might play the Birmingham shows is both emotionally heartbreaking for me and spiteful,” he continued. “I think the Sabbath fans who have loved the original band have gone through enough in terms of disappointment and sadness. For me to play Birmingham only, would, I feel, be discriminating and elitist towards our other fans all over the world. My absence at the current shows and the future Birmingham shows reflects an undeniable and unseen misadventure that my accusers won’t bear. It’s called selfishness and self-centeredness; dishonesty and disloyalty. These are the culprits of Sabbath’s original lineup’s demise.”
I wish this mud slinging fest would come to a close already. The two parties need to just get together in a room, forget the lawyers and people in suits, and just kiss and make up. This final tour is supposed to be about celebrating the legacy these four men built together and give the fans a proper farewell before they call it a day. It's not supposed to be about the money. I don't disagree that Ward should get a fair deal, but contracts and money shouldn't be the big main factor in it that it seems to be. Come on, guys. Get it together. The world needs the full Black Sabbath one more time.
Amen to that!! I just wish Ozzy would stop saying stupid stuff about Bill Ward's health. Yes, he was a little big and had a massive heart attack. Yes, he had problems with drugs and alcohol. But come on! EVERY guy in Sabbath had issues with substances-With Ozzy, it was every substance under the moon, Geezer-cocaine and other narcotics, Tony-cocaine. To be this way towards one of the original members of a band known as "The Godfathers of British Heavy Metal"? Come on!! What makes this even sadder for me is that I'm currently reading Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath by Tony Iommi. Tony and Geezer, hopefully, have nothing bad to say about the man
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