Sabbath wanted a backup drummer
In a recent interview at the studio where Black Sabbath recorded their first two albums, guitarist Tony Iommi answered a series of questions related to the band's career and their reunion for their final tour, which ended on February 4th with a show in Birmingham, the band's hometown.
Iommi spoke in more detail about the absence of the band's founding drummer, Bill Ward, on the last tour. The reasons for this were never really clear, with the band claiming that Ward wasn't in shape to play and the drummer claiming that Sabbath never offered him a fair financial contract.
Now, Iommi said that the band had proposed to the drummer that there be a substitute musician on tour, in case Ward was unable to play. See his statement:
"It would have been great to do these last shows with Bill, but it just didn't happen. And it's really silly because there was no reason for it. Even if he had only played a few shows, it would have been amazing.".
I don't think he fully understood how difficult it would be for him. So we wanted to bring in another drummer just in case Bill realized he couldn't make it to one or two shows. It's very risky to commit and then have him say 'I can't do it' and then you have to cancel the show for 70,000 people. It's very difficult and it's not fair to the fans or to him.”
Unconfirmed rumors claim that Bill Ward suffered two heart attacks in the last decade and recently underwent shoulder surgery.
