Black Sabbath Former Frontman Tony Martin Says The Band Still Has a Chance with Bill Ward

After saying he “can’t see a reunion” with Tony Iommi, the former frontman of Black Sabbath has seemingly been thinking the former drummer Bill Ward is the right choice for the band to do something with instead of himself.

During an interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece recently, former Black Sabbath frontman Tony Martin was asked if he had an inkling he would be fired after the release of 1995’s Forbidden. “I asked Tony directly. I said, ‘Are you guys planning to do something with Ozzy again?’,” started answering Tony Martin, and continued.

“I said, ‘Just tell me so then I can plan what I’m gonna do.’ He said, ‘No, no, no, no. It’s all just rumors.’ Yeah, right. Everybody’s talking in the business about it. My manager had told me. So I kind of knew it was coming; I just didn’t know when. I don’t think they really knew when. But they sort of denied it and denied it. But then it was gonna happen anyway.”

To be honest, I think getting Ozzy back after that, that was the right thing to do. It couldn’t go anywhere else. They couldn’t get another singer and start again. I think it was the right thing to do. And I still think there’s an opportunity out there for them because they’re all still alive. Bill Ward is still out there. And if you think about what Def Leppard did with their drummer. They’ve got a one-armed drummer, Def Leppard, and they waited until they got a drum kit and he could play with one hand. If they can do that for a one-armed drummer, it’s possible they could do something with Bill. It’s just time. That’s all, really. So I still think there’s an opportunity there.”

Back at the time when the original Black Sabbath reunited, Bill Ward was also expected to be in as he upset many fans deciding not to join among them. He later shared that he decided to stay out because he didn’t like the contractual terms in the recording and touring processes. Other members later hinted in some of their interviews that Bill Ward wasn’t physically able to perform.

So, while all other original members of the Black Sabbath were at the reunion, Bill Ward couldn’t be a part of the band’s reunion in 2012 due to an unsignable contract he had. Ultimately, the members continued without him and released “13” LP just before hitting the roads for touring.

As for Tony Martin, the talented singer fronted Black Sabbath initially from 1987 to 1991 before he came back again in 1993 to stay until 1997, becoming the band’s second-longest-serving vocalist after Ozzy Osbourne. And after his departure, Tony Martin has also worked on many other projects with other famous names such as M3, Misha Calvin, The Cage, Giuntini Project, and Phenomena, as he has also been promoting his new album “Thorns” nowadays, which was just released on January 14.

In the meantime, while there have been words that keep popping out about Black Sabbath to return to music, Tony Iommi talked about the acrid days when the band was on their final tour, during one of his recent interviews, saying “You can never say never, can you?” about the possibilities of Black Sabbath‘s future.

Black Sabbath had announced its final tour “The End” which concluded on 4 February 2017, in the band’s home city of Birmingham, along with being documented as a concert film, wandering across North America, Europe, Oceania, and South America before wrapping. While the actual reason for the regarded band’s disbandment was the 73-year-old musician being diagnosed with cancer in early 2012, “The End” tour of Black Sabbath was also accompanied by the release of an exclusive EP, The End, which contains leftover tracks from their final album “13” sessions, and live tracks recorded on tour between 2013 and 2014.

Ultimately, you can also hear and watch the whole interview of Tony Martin while he talks about Black Sabbath and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqsjvauUu0w&feature=emb_title