{"id":533058,"date":"2026-07-09T13:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/533058\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T13:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:48:09","slug":"black-sabbaths-bill-ward-declares-hes-still-a-drummer-despite-needing-to-use-a-wheelchair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/533058\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Sabbath\u2019s Bill Ward declares he\u2019s \u201cstill a drummer\u201d despite needing to use a wheelchair"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black Sabbath<\/a>\u2019s Bill Ward states that he\u2019s \u201cstill a drummer\u201d despite increasingly relying on a wheelchair to get about.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted to Facebook on Thursday (July 9), the pioneering heavy metal<\/a> sticksman, 78, reveals that he is unable to walk long distances without assistance but refuses to give up his instrument because of it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He writes: \u201cI\u2019m announcing today somewhat sadly but nonetheless truthfully, that I\u2019ve reached a place where publicly more and more I need to use a wheelchair, mostly in airports, or public events.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI can still walk, let there be no doubt, but I can\u2019t walk very far without needing to rest, meaning I need to sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward says that he started using his wheelchair \u201cabout 18 months ago, mostly in airports\u201d, but defiantly adds that \u201cI was a long distance walker, I\u2019ve walked in many different parts of the world, and I\u2019m still a drummer. I can still play pretty good for 78 years old\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy talents and ambitions, and my unyielding need to be artful, and to play drums, is still as strong as it was so many years ago now,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just saying if you see me in a wheelchair, I\u2019m just catching a ride, I\u2019m not in retirement or ill or giving up, or any of those thoughts that ignite when we see people in wheelchairs. I\u2019m making myself public and transparent about my new transport, and letting you know I\u2019m OK.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you see me in the airports or visiting friends in the music arenas or theatres say hi, I don\u2019t bite, I\u2019ll just look different.\u201d<\/p>\n

He signs off: \u201cMuch love to you all and I\u2019ll keep rocking until I\u2019m dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward co-founded Sabbath with singer Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler in 1968. Even though he speaks out against retiring in his new post, the band retired on July 5, 2025, after putting on a grand final bow at Villa Park stadium<\/a> in their hometown of Birmingham.<\/p>\n

The all-day extravaganza, which marked the founding Sabbath lineup\u2019s first time performing onstage together since 2005, featured support from such rock and metal titans as Metallica, Guns N\u2019 Roses, Tool, Gojira and Mastodon. Osbourne played a short solo set before doing four songs with Sabbath. The night marked the Prince Of Darkness\u2019 last time onstage before his death aged 76 following a heart attack on July 22.<\/p>\n

Last June, Ward revealed that, despite Sabbath\u2019s then-impending split, he was busy working on two new solo albums<\/a>. Talking to Long Beach radio station 99.1 KLBP-FM, he said that the efforts were \u201cnearly finished\u201d and that he\u2019d been \u201cliving in the studio\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just let everything go. I basically don\u2019t give an \u2018F\u2019, and I think it shows up in the record. I don\u2019t have anything to swagger about. I wanted to play something that plays in my heart and then comes out of my soul. I wanted to play some things that keep me awake at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither of Ward\u2019s albums have been officially announced at time of publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Black Sabbath\u2019s Bill Ward states that he\u2019s \u201cstill a drummer\u201d despite increasingly relying on a wheelchair to get…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46],"class_list":["post-533058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}