During the interview with Regent Sounds, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi talked about band’s dispute with Bill Ward, saying:
“It would have been nice to do these last shows with Bill, but it just didn’t happen.
And it’s silly, really, because it was over nothing. Even if he’d have played a couple of shows, it would’ve been great.
“I don’t think he quite realizes how hard it would have been on him.
“So we wanted to bring another drummer just in case Bill ended up saying ‘I can’t do it’ for a couple of days or whatever.
“It’s too risky to go out and then have Bill say ‘I can’t do it,’ and you have to cancel [a show] on seventy thousand people, or whatever it might be. It’s very hard, and it’s not fair on the fans and it’s not fair on him.”
Ward was reportedly insulted when SABBATH offered him a contract stipulating that he would only play a portion of the show each night, with another drummer along to take over.
