Black Sabbath

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interviewsofrecordingartists.com
As one of the members of the British metal group Black Sabbath , drummer Bill Ward played an influential role in rock history. Along with the founding members, Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass,) and Ward on drums, the Birmingham, England quartet Black Sabbath, began in a "dudgeon-like" basement. The group was four working-class British teens who, at that time in 1968, were faced with the prospect of what they considered to be a bleak-looking future. With no secure employment, caused by decreasing economic growth, throughout much of industrial England, forming a rock band and taking a chance at making the Big Time in the music business, made sense. So once the quartet put together a play list of songs, using what musical equipment they could obtain, Black Sabbath started playing the British pub and night club circuit. Within three years the group was known around the world and went on to become the definitive, "heavy metal" rock band. In the following interview, Bill Ward looks back at his earliest days with Black Sabbath. According to Ward, the early material which rocketed, "four teenagers from Birmingham", to international rock "gods', was simply the sounds of music comprised of teenage anger and rebellion, written in a dark poetic tone.
(Q)- Name and age along with place of birth please?
Bill Ward - Bill Ward, I'm fifty-two years old and the town where I was born was Aston, that's in Birmingham (England).
(Q)-When did you become a part of Black Sabbath?
Bill Ward- We kind of got together at the same time. We formed Black Sabbath in 1968.
(Q)-What was the band originally called?
Bill Ward- We were originally Earth. Then we changed our name to Black Sabbath.
(Q)- What was the rehearsal room like for Earth in the early days when you first began songwriting?
Bill Ward- It was a bit "heavy" if you will. In that we started out in a cold and dank, basement cellar.
(Q)-Would there have been an alternative career for you regarding employment at that time, or were the prospects for employment bleak?
Bill Ward- I would have gone to jail. (He laughs) Prospects for employment were very bleak.
(Q)- So in looking back on that time in your life, forming Black Sabbath was a career decision?
Bill Ward- Yeah (He laughs). While I've never quite looked at it like that, it was very much a career decision. That is a pretty accurate observation.
(Q)-As far as the recordings went, there was the self titled debut album ("Black Sabbath") followed by "Paranoid". The band took off in popularity in the UK and then Europe.
Bill Ward- That's right.
(Q)-The music created by Black Sabbath, played a major transitory role in the era in rock history from the late Sixties into the early Seventies. Yet, America was not so quick to catch on. Only after success in the UK and Europe, did Black Sabbath hit the American shores and the rest is now rock and roll history.
Bill Ward- Absolutely. In a sense that, suddenly there was an incredible (period) of growth. In the Sixties, there was hope that came through the Beatles music and that came through rock and roll period. It was in a way, like the music of the Forties brought hope to an entire generation. So our music played a real role? Yeah sure. Now as it was opinionated? Yeah sure. I think it had a very real opinion but it also offered up solutions.
(Q)-Why do the classic songs from the early Seventies by Black Sabbath still remain vital and popular around the world?
Bill Ward- Why it seems so strong to me is because the music is pretty much ageless. Pretty much because it was written from the heart and looking back, it a written with incredible innocence. Especially the first four or five albums, the music wasn't contrived in any way. The music written out of sheer, black and white point of view. It was a statement of, "This is what we see. Whether it is right or wrong, whether it's proper English, even if it is outside of everything else. Plain and simple, raw ,this is what we see." And you know, in hindsight, I've looked back and I'm going, "My God, we were really self-opinionated, back then!" But that's OK, because we were teenagers. You know it was about the, "Angry Teenager", who really has a lot to say. But at the same time the things that we were seeing as current events then I think can be absolutely related to, when compared to the things that we're seeing today as current events. Because there were things that we were sharing about, like beliefs in different churches, belief in God, or belief in the government. There were a lot of anti-war songs you know and you can actually apply all of those right now today. There's still the same problems in many ways. Nothing has changed. Very little has changed. Architecture has changed. And I think that "political correctness" has brought about some changes. But not a lot else has changed now isn't it? So I think the Black Sabbath songs from the early period can stand up now a little bit. The songs have the same identification with younger people as they did with people three times removed by the generation gap of over thirty years ago.
(Q)- Which has been a blessing to your career.
Bill Ward- Yeah. It's been great yeah. It's great in a sense because it helps to keep me alive. That's from a selfish point of view.
(Q)- Many of the early Black Sabbath song lyrics speak of being victorious over an individual's problems or whatever one is confronting. In retrospect, the songs are actually not nearly as negative as critics once labeled the material to be lyrically.
Bill Ward- While the music was opinionated, it also offered up solutions and hopefully not negative, this horrible, "And that's it guys. It's the end of the world", kind of thing (he laughs). There was (in the songs) some solutions that were offered.
(Q)- What is it like to see so many new hard rock and heavy metal bands, another generation, a third generation, actually crediting Black Sabbath with major influences?
Bill Ward- Totally an inspiration. It came as totally unexpected. I started to feel the energy of that a couple of years ago and it almost a rebirth to the band in some ways. In a sense that, all of these bands are making all of these hit records and they're turning around and saying, "We love Black Sabbath." So, it's brought the band a lot of interest from young people. I'm very grateful for the bands who have acknowledged they were influenced by us and were honest enough to do that. It's brought if you will, a little bit of life back into an old dinosaur if you'd like. Now by no means is the band down and out. As individuals, everybody has been achieving various degrees of success. As musicians or as men, if you like. I think with the enlightenment from the other bands, I think it's helped a lot.
(Q)- People want to be entertained once again in rock music. Metal is staging a major comeback internationally. Metal music recorded with no computerized drum machines. That must be good for Bill Ward. Many metal drummers credit your jazz influenced style of drumming, as the major influence on their careers as musicians.
Bill Ward- I love what I'm doing. Playing live, I never know what's going to happen on any given night. I mean, that's all a part of the excitement, that's a part of the upbringing I've had anyway musically, since I was a kid. If there is an old school of rock and roll, then I'm from the apprenticeship era of the 1960's. That's where I learned my trade as a drummer. I'm used to being in very unpredictable situations and that's all a part of the excitement of Black Sabbath. That's a part of the excitement that is a rock and roll show as far as I'm concerned. It's great!
End.