Don’t worry about Bill Ward, he’s doing just fine. The Black Sabbath drummer, 78, issued an update via social media on Thursday informing fans that if they see him out and about in a wheelchair, well, that’s just being 78. Nothing to worry about.
“I’ve reached a place where publicly more and more I need to use a wheelchair, mostly in airports, or public events,” he wrote on Instagram. “I can still walk, let there be no doubt, but I can’t walk very far without needing to rest, meaning I need to sit down.”
The drummer started using a wheelchair, as needed, about a year and a half ago, before he performed with his Black Sabbath bandmates at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell gig, the Back to the Beginning concert. He emphasized in his post that he’s “still a drummer” and “can still play pretty good” for his age.
“My talents and ambitions, and my unyielding need to be artful, and to play drums, is still as strong as it was so many years ago now,” he wrote. “I’m just saying if you see me in a wheelchair, I’m just catching a ride, I’m not in retirement or ill or giving up, or any of those thoughts that ignite when we see people in wheelchairs. I’m making myself public and transparent about my new transport, and letting you know I’m OK.”
He also invited fans to say hello to him if they see him out and about. “I don’t bite,” he wrote. “I’ll just look different, as pictured here.” At the end of his missive, he swore, “I’ll keep rocking until I’m dead.”
Like his Sabbath bandmates, Ward began his musical career in their hometown of Birmingham, England, gigging with bands named the Rest and Mythology, the latter of which featured future Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. Joining forces with Osbourne and Geezer Butler from another group, the Rare Breed, Black Sabbath began in earnest in 1968. Ward stayed in the group through 1980, playing on hits including “Iron Man,” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” and “Heaven and Hell,” among others.
He participated in intermittent reunions in the decades that followed, culminating with 2025’s Back to the Beginning concert. He has also kept active with a solo career. His most recent solo album, Accountable Beasts, came out in 2015.
