Bill Ward was born in Birmingham, England, in 1948. His interest in drumming began as a toddler and by age 15, he was playing gigs.
Ward played in several bands before meeting up with
Tony Iommi in 1964. The two of them worked together in the group Mythology before they met up with
Ozzy Osbourne and
Geezer Butler in the band Polka Tulk Blues. The blues band later changed their name to Earth, but that moniker was destined not to stay with them long. Instead, in 1969 they became
Black Sabbath and that would prove to be a change that would transform
Ward's and the rest of bandmembers' lives forever. In 1970, they released their self-titled debut and their fame began. It was only a few short months later when Paranoid was released and the true glory would really begin.
Ward stayed with them through what many consider to be the classic period of the group, even when
Osbourne was ousted in 1978. He was a member of the band through the first album to feature
Ronnie James Dio in
Osbourne's place, 1980's
Heaven & Hell.
In 1981, however,
Ward left
Sabbath to play in Max Havoc, but that was not to be anything close to a permanent position because he still had
Black Sabbath work to do. So in 1983, he rejoined the group for the recording of the
Born Again album. But this stay with the band was not destined to last as long as his previous tenure. He was out again the following year. He began drumming with the band
England's Glory in 1985, but by 1986 had formed his own group, simply called the Bill Ward Band. That group released their debut in 1989 entitled Ward One: Along the Way. That group's second release, When the Bough Breaks, would be a full eight years off, though. Even then, it would only be available as a limited release until 1999. By that time, the original lineup of
Black Sabbath had reunited in late 1997 and
Ward, of course, was on board. His health became an issue in 1998, though, when he suffered a mild heart attack while in rehearsals for
Sabbath's upcoming tour.
Fortunately, though,
Ward made a full recovery and has been with
Sabbath ever since. He also found time to work on
Iommi's solo release, Iommi. Certainly a moment of pride in
Ward's life came in 2000 when he and
Black Sabbath were honored with a long overdue Grammy Award. ~ Gary Hill