Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi are planning to play a prank on the Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward during their upcoming final show, but fans aren’t happy with the plan.
While discussing Ward’s place in the band during a new interview with Planet Rock, Sharon and Iommi shared their plan. “There’s always been that thing certainly I know with Oz as well with that Bill wasn’t part of it. I mean, that was Bill’s own doing, but now he’s a part of it, and we’re not doing it. Just gonna leave him up there,” he said.
“Just Bill! Can you imagine?,” Sharon continued. “There’s lights, lights, lights, and then it’s just Bill with his red tights on. Can you imagine?”
The guitarist even offered, “We should buy him some of them. He’d probably put them on.”
When asked about the ‘prank’ where Iommi set Ward on fire, the rocker responded, “One of the things we did, yeah.”
However, this plan upset fans. “Show Bill some f*ckin respect,” a user commented. Another wrote, “SIR bill ward. Put some respect on the man’s name.”
Another user added, “I’d sack it off if I were Bill, clearly they have no respect for one of the most pioneering drummers in history.”
During the band’s early days, the band members played pranks on one another, including setting their drummer on fire. Iommi poured rubbing alcohol on Bill Ward, thinking it would wear off quickly. However, Ward’s clothes soaked up the alcohol, causing him to catch fire. Iommi thought it was part of the joke and poured more alcohol on him. When he saw Ward in pain and rolling on the floor, he realized it wasn’t an act. They had to call an ambulance for Ward due to serious burns.
In other news, Ozzy Osbourne had shared his wish to do one more show with Ward months before the recent announcement about the final Black Sabbath show. “If [Black Sabbath] wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I would jump at the chance. Do you know what would be cool? If we went to a club or something unannounced and we just got up and did it. We started up in a club,” he said in a chat with The Madhouse Chronicles.
The upcoming show will be Black Sabbath’s first with original members since 2005.
