After 30 years of neglect, Black Sabbath was awarded a Grammy Award for their song “Iron Man” from the Reunion album. The ceremonies were held yesterday in Los Angeles, and Bill Ward was on hand, receiving the award on stage. Bill had this to say about Black Sabbath’s winning the award for “Best Metal Performance”…

Drummer Bill Ward said it was gratifying to see artists from the Woodstock generation, including the night’s top winner, Carlos Santana, doing so well.

“I think it’s totally cool,” he said. “I didn’t think that 31 years ago, I’d be standing up in a suit. I feel more like an accountant than the guy who plays drums in Black Sabbath.”

Unfortunately, this award was not shown on the television broadcast, but there was a mention of the award during the show. Furthermore, there was a brief picture of Bill on stage accepting the award on the show during the telecast.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the Grammy Award Winning album Reunion, the only official live album by the original Black Sabbath, you can do so by clicking on the album cover below.

The long awaited reprint of Bill’s second record “When the Bough Breaks” is completed, and will be available shortly. It will be made available directly off this web site – details will be made available shortly. The details need to worked out insofar as payment, credit cards, and the lot, but we should hopefully be offering direct sales of Bill Ward CD’s, merchandise, T-Shirts and the like (hopefully) by Spring.

Bill gave it a listen in January and then set up some studio time to finish it up, and get it out this year. A date is not yet available, as Bill hasn’t looked at the record since the Black Sabbath reunion tour. A decision needs to be made as to how much work is left to do on the record – but you should expect a new Bill Ward solo record in 2000!

Well, not the actual kit itself :), but a layout.

Click here to see a fax which has the layout for the drum kit that Bill used during the Black Sabbath reunion shows of the last couple of years.

From Joe Siegler – I spoke with Bill’s Production Manager a few days ago to get an update on Bill and to see where various things stand. Here’s what I’ve found out about Bill’s upcoming activities:

Now: Bill’s back home now – spent some time with his girlfriend, and has come back to Seal Beach. The bulk of this time (before the December shows) will be used for his own solo stuff. Next week, he’s getting together with his band to evaluate the situation.

When the Bough Breaks: The final revised cover art for “When the Bough Breaks” has been finalized, and they will be going to press very very shortly with the reprint. Musically, it’s exactly the same as the existing print, but you won’t be blinded trying to read the liner notes or lyrics. 🙂

Ward One: Along the Way reissue: Around the same time, a reissue of “Ward One: Along the Way” will also be released. It’s got all new cover art too, which means it will be the third version of the Ward One cover art. However, the previously announced plan to release a double album (one disc was to be a re-release of the album w/o the Oz tracks, and the second disc was to be a complete re-recording of the album with his current band) is not going to happen. What is going to be released is the original album, without the two Oz tracks, and that’s it. The re-recording has been shelved. When I asked why, I got simply “Bill didn’t want to do it”. If I find out more on this, I’ll pass it along.

Remembering: After the band gets together, and sees where they stand, the intent is to clean up Bill’s third album, “Remembering”. It’s mostly completed, only needs touchups here and there, and then it’s off to the mix. Should be released early in 2000. There’s a chance it could come out before the end of the year, but that’s unlikely.

The Future: Bill does plan a fourth solo album, but no details at all are available on this – only the fact that he will do one.

There’s a few more things going on, but I’m not at liberty to talk about them yet – more on them once I can talk about ’em. Bill Ward solo will return! 🙂

We’ve gotten many requests for information regarding what’s going on with Bill lately. Well, as many of you know, there was this little thing called the Black Sabbath reunion that more or less has put a stop for the time being to the various band members’ solo projects.

Bill is still very committed to his solo works, and once the European dates for Black Sabbath are fulfilled in December of 1999, the guys will go back to work on their various solo projects.

Next up for Bill is a regroup to see where everything stands, and then it’s probably back to completing his third studio album, “Remembering”. There’s no time table yet, a decision won’t happen most likely until early in 2000.

There is also the issue of the re-recorded “Along the Way”. That also will be decided early next year – so hopefully 2000 will bring Bill’s solo works back in full force.

Also, the autograph requests are still backlogged, and Bill hopes to get some of them dealt with shortly.

We should have some more updates for you in September.

On January 24th, 1999, Mungus Shine Entertainment ventured into the fast paced world of motorcycle racing when Mark Jones (Bill Ward’s Production Manager) rode a 1985 Kawasaki KLR 250 in the inaugural round of the 1999 STTARS Championship, held at The Streets of Willow Springs. Jones and Mungus Shine intend to compete at all the rounds of the championship, taking place throughout the length and breadth of California.

Mark Jones out racing

In the first round, Jones finished 12th in the Sportsman class, but failed to make the start of the Middleweight class due to carburation problems. Round 2, held at Buttonwillow Raceway Park saw him finish 12th again, this time though in the Middleweight class. In the Sportsman race Mark took a light tumble and posted a DNF. The next round takes place at Willow Springs on April 3rdand 4th, when Mark and the Mungus Shine team will be going for higher finishes and more points to add to their championship totals.

You can follow the race team’s progress throughout the year here, or, you can visit the STTARS official website at http://www.supertt.com. Race results and championship standings are posted there following each event, along with schedules of upcoming races. So if you are in the area of a race, and you feel like having a day full of fun, pop on out and watch the races, and don’t forget to stop by and say hello to the team. Bill has said that he will turn up whenever possible, so who knows, you may get a chance to meet the man in person.

Mark Jones goes out racing:

As you can see, the new look for Bill’s site is now online. Bill’s site has been online for some time now without an upgrade, and we felt it was high time for one. 🙂

Let us know what you think of the new look!

The picture shown here was taken from the article Bill was interviewed for in Modern Drummer magazine. This magazine is on the stands now!

Bill’s article is entitled “Bill Ward: From Iron Man to Gentle Giant”. Scroll down for a snapshot of the magazine cover.

The Black Sabbath Reunion Tour is progressing. Bill’s not having any problems at all health wise on the tour, and is enjoying the tour immensely. Thanks to all that have seen Bill so far, your enthusiasm for his return to the drumkit in Black Sabbath means the world to him.

For the latest tour reports, please visit Joe Siegler’s Black Sabbath site at http://www.black-sabbath.com for all kinds of tour reports, phots, and other things.

Vinny Appice: Also along on the Black Sabbath tour is Vinny Appice. Vinny is not playing, he’s been brought along by Sabbath management just in case something (god forbid) would happen to Bill again. Vinny has several tour photos online at his web site. Make sure and check them out at his site! The shot of Bill here was one taken by Vinny Appice backstage at the Minneapolis, MN Black Sabbath show on January 17, 1999.

If you read Modern Drummer magazine (or even if you don’t), you might want to pick up a copy of their March 1999 issue. Bill will be appearing in this magazine, and talks about a vareity of things. We are not sure if Bill will be on the cover or not, however.

UPDATE: Bill did not have a cover picture, but he is listed on the cover. Check out this magazine – it’s on stands now.