When Black Sabbath embarked on their final tour, there was one missing component: drummer Bill Ward. It seemed odd, especially considering Ward's importance to the heavy metal band's legacy. However, the drummer had been absent for a few years before that, as he cited a bad contract that had been tabled to him, as per Rolling Stone. Ozzy Osbourne told Mojo (via Ultimate Classic Rock) that the reason the band parted ways with Ward was because he struggled to remember his drum parts, and they couldn't make it work.
Ward was unhappy about the accusations levelled against him, taking to his official Facebook page to lament his former bandmates, especially Osbourne, for their comments. "I'm looking for an honest accountability of all of Ozzy's statements that I felt were untrue," Ward wrote. "I would want Ozzy to amend his opinions and exaggerations. I would want him to be forthcoming about his unrealistic viewpoints. And because I was chastised publicly, I would want him to amend publicly in his words, and not through an Ozzy representative, the nature of the wrongs." The feud between Ward and Black Sabbath went back and forth for several years afterwards. Ultimately, the band completed the final tour without their original drummer.
Later, following the final show of the Black Sabbath reunion in 2017, Ward said of the parting of ways (via Rolling Stone), "The biggest loss has been Oz. I loved him in a very special way. That's been the toughest one to let go and to wish him farewell and happiness in his life and everything else."
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