More about: Black Sabbath
Ward apparently had post-it notes on his drumkit
Ozzy Osbourne has said that the reason Bill Ward wasn't part of the Black Sabbath reunion is because he can no longer play.
The band reformed last year, playing their first concert since 2005 - but they used Tommy Clufetos as a drummer instead of original Black Sabbath member Bill Ward. Ward has claimed that the snub was due to contract issues, but the band have now said that Ward simply didn't know what he was doing.
Speaking to Mojo magazine, frontman Osbourne said, "I guess it's to do with finances or something... But there was also another side to it. When Bill came along we all had to ask, 'Can he do an hour-and-a-half, two-hour gig? Can he cope?' My suggestion was that we run through a set and see how he got on because he was so out of condition and the drummer is the most demanding job in the whole band.
"We looked at Bill and he couldn't remember what the f**k we were doing. But he didn't come clean and say, 'I can't cut this gig but can we work something out, guys, where I'll come on but with another drummer backing me up?' Or, 'I'll come and play a few songs', that would have been cool."
Bill Ward: Not going to be included in future Black Sabbath concerts, then
Osbourne continued, "I get where he's coming from, though. His pride was hurt and I get it. I really do get it. The guy will always be a dear, dear friend and a brother to me, but you either s**t or get off the pot... He can't be surprised that he didn't get the gig. He can't be! F**king hell!
"You know them yellow f**king stick-on memo notes? He had them all over his f**king drums. I was like, 'What the f**k's that for, Bill?' He said, 'I can't remember what I'm doing.' I go, 'How are you gonna remember out of those 500,000 bits of paper stuck all over your kit, which one you're looking at, Bill?'
"(He said) 'I'll know.' Ah, okay, great. I'm not gonna give Bill a hatchet job, but at the same time we haven't got the patience to deal with it."
Black Sabbath Reform: 10 Facts You Need To Know
Black Sabbath were set to perform at an old English castle, but strange things happened during night. Ozzy fell asleep in a room with a fireplace. A piece of burning coal fell off the fireplace and the whole room started to burn. Luckily Ozzy escaped in the last minute. Later the band saw an unknown person which walked in a room. They followed him but the room was empty and only door out was locked from the inside. In the end the members were so scared that they had to leave the castle the same night.
The band were originally named the less scary 'Polka Tulk'.
Bassist Geezer Butler has claims he has had psychic abilities since a young age. On one occasion during the early '70s when Geezer was heavily into the occult, Ozzy gave him a handwritten book some 400 years old. When Geezer took the book home a black cat just appeared in front of him. As he turned back to the book, he found that it had simply disappeared. Geezer said "It freaked me out, I knew it wasn't a cat - I knew what it was".
After a drunken night out, Ian Gillen (Black Sabbath vocalist for a brief year-long stint) decided to race a brand new Granada, belonging to Paul, the then SABBATH tour manager, around a grand prix go-kart track. After umpteen laps he struck a rock and flipped the machine over leaving it upside down, completely written off. Ian left a note on the message board saying "Dear Paul, I've left the Granada down on the go-kart track and the keys are in it!" Paul was so angry when he discovered his pride and joy wrecked that he poured petrol over Ian's boat, set it alight and torched it in true Hawaiin funeral tradition down a nearby canal!
Bassist Geezer Butler supports football team Aston Villa, with many of the band's lyrics alluding to the team and watching them as kids.
The last album the band recorded before Ozzy originally left was the ironically-titled 'Never Say Die'. Then Osbourne left and the band drafted in Dio and continued just as strong.
US cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead chant Black Sabbath song 'Iron Man' on the show but fail to remember any of the words correctly.
The band's name comes from the 60's horror movie (obviously entitled 'Black Sabbath') featuring Boris Karloff.
The album 'Paranoid' was originally named 'War Pigs' but had to be changed because of the Vietnam War.
Black Sabbath have long featured mysterious persons on their album covers. Their debut showed an unknown woman who the Black Sabbath Appreciation Society have blocked the true identity of and there is even less known about the person on the cover of 'Paranoid'.
More about: Black Sabbath
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