Dear Sabbath Fans and Musicians,

I have read Geezer’s statement of May 19, 2012 titled “Heavy Heart.”  Out of respect for the Birmingham gig, I wanted to wait 24 hours before releasing this statement.  There are some points he brought up which I want to respond to.

1)  I had indeed notified Ozzy, Tony and Geezer, well before my first public statement, that I was having contractual difficulties.

2)  I came out into a public forum to be accountable to the fans primarily, and to say at a public level there’s a problem.  The band members stopped talking and corresponding with me some time ago, with the exception of a nice letter from Tony on my birthday.  Prior to that, Geezer and I were corresponding, but that stopped abruptly in late February after I emailed a specific question to him.

3)  In my statement of May 15, I clearly stated I would play Birmingham for free.  That was not a problem – charity or otherwise.

4)  My Download fee was not an extravagant amount.  Originally, when Download was part of a full tour, I had asked for a decent fee.  More recently, as we were negotiating just Download/Birmingham and Lollapalooza, I told my attorney that I would accept the proposed small Download fee, but there were other parts of the offer that were unsatisfactory.

I will continue to be honest and respectful towards the band and our fans.  I will also confront any untruths about me, and any fault finding missions aimed at me that come to my attention.

I hope the band and the fans had a good gig in Brum.

Stay safe/stay strong.
Bill Ward

Dear Sabbath Fans and Fellow Musicians,

I sincerely regret to inform you that after a final effort to participate in the upcoming Sabbath shows a failure to agree has continued. At this time I have to inform you that I won’t be playing with Black Sabbath at the Birmingham gig dated May 19th, 2012, nor will I be playing at Download on June 10th, 2012. Further, I will not be playing at Lollapalooza on August 3, 2012.

It is with a very sad heart that I bring you this news. I am sincerely passionate in my desire to play with the band, and I’m very, very sorry that it’s fallen to this. This statement is even more painstaking to write, as I was particularly excited to play alongside Tony Iommi after the recent treatments he underwent. I wanted that to become a reality. (continue reading…)

H! Everyone,

This month’s Rock 50 show (May 12) is my birthday show. I’m turning 64, and I feel slightly entitled to play some of my favourite Metal songs.  Band’s appearing: Celtic Frost, Strapping Young Lad, Arch Enemy, At The Gates, Rob Zombie and many more.

I hope you’ll like the show.

Stay strong.  Stay safe.

Rock forever,
Bill