Bill Ward won’t rejoin Black Sabbath unless Ozzy Osbourne apologises to him.
The band’s original drummer has been feuding with his one-time bandmates since 2012, when he opted out of the group’s reunion over what he called an "unsignable" contract.
Black Sabbath are currently working on a new album following the success of their 2013 comeback LP ’13’ and sell-out tour, but Bill is adamant he won’t get back with the band, unless the singer admits that some of the statements he made about him "were untrue".
Bill said: "With a sad heart, I have to say I will not participate in any musical undertakings until a righting of the wrongs spoken against me has been achieved. I must admit, I have little to no expectations of this happening, but in the order of first things first, I’m looking for an honest accountability of all of Ozzy’s statements that I felt were untrue."
The offensive statement that the 66-year-old musician could be talking about is when Ozzy called him "incredibly overweight" in August 2013 and said: "I don’t think he could have done the gig, to be honest … A drummer has to be in shape. He’s already had two heart attacks. I don’t want to be responsible for his life."
Bill insists he’s not the type of person who can "sweep the offensive stuff under the carpet" and unless he gets an apology he’s finished with Black Sabbath – also comprised of Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler.
Bill added in a Facebook post: "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. I would not want to continue on with him without this seemingly [impassable] dilemma being addressed. I don’t think previously strong relationships can remain strong after dispute by just sweeping the offensive stuff under the carpet, or by saying a puny sorry, or, ‘Oh, that’s all over now.’ It doesn’t work like that for me. Righting of wrong works, and that’s what I want if I’m ever going to be his friend again."
Bill Ward wants apology from Ozzy Osbourne
