Original line-up of Black Sabbath have reformed

[TJMKID]

You would think after the cancer she might have realised she can't take it with her.

There are only so many yappy fucking dogs and plastic surgery you can spend your money on.

They are now worth over $150 million which is more than the Led Zepplin people and approaching Bowie money.

http://www.therichest.org/entertainm...-millionaires/

At this point ---- it seems to make sense for Sabbath fans to pool some money to hire a hitman to take this greedy cunt out ---- permanently.

Sharon has done enough damage on this Earth for one lifetime ---- time for her to go.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

No surprise to anyone... but Sharon fucked up the reunion...

From Bill Ward's Facebook...
"Hello my fans. I am humbled by the outpouring of support you've shown me. On this third round of negotiations my lawyers have sent to Ozzy's attorneys, here is how the reunion stands. Keep in mind I have nothing but respect for my former bandmates, so I wish to not speak in derogatory terms of them.
However, the contract is still unsignable and I am breaking my silence to divulge the reasons why. It's unsignable because Sharon Osbourne only wanted to give Geezer and I five percent each, along with 10 percent for Tony. Mind you, I am not on the dole and I don't need a few quid that badly. I have my honor and as an original member of Black Sabbath I deserve to be shown respect.
Might I add that Sharon also included some mighty rich stipulations to that contract as well. She never forgave me for leaving Ozzfest in 1997 and departing the next year due to health reasons. Bloody nonsense! She made sure that on any of the tour riders I would not get a vegan platter, plus she wanted me to walk Ozzy's twelve dogs before each show.
To top it off, Sharon wanted us to do a version of "Changes" on the setlist that featured Kelly Osbourne dueting with Ozzy. I'm sorry mate, but that's where I draw the line. It was also in the contract that I would have to feature all these new commercial bands that Sharon manages on my monthly radio show on WPMD. What a load of horse bollocks. I can't handle that woman since she threw eggs at our mates in Iron Maiden years back, which upset me enough to leave that tour.
The most unacceptable thing, in my opinion, was how Sharon's management team insisted that the new album we would put out should contain commercial sounding metal that would make it easier for us to get airplay. The boys and I were thinking of calling the new album "Doomination," but she thought the title was too limiting. So, at this point, the contract is still unsignable. Mind you, I am ready at any moment to board a plane from California to Birmingham if a proper contract with no degrading stipulations exists, one in which I'd also get a proper twenty-five percent."

Trunk confirmed this is a fake....

But of course, MelodiCrock ran with it....

[Terry]

Even though it was a hoax, outside of Ward walking Sharon's dogs I wouldn't have put any of the other "stipulations" past Sharon.

[twonabomber]

Trunk confirmed this is a fake....

But of course, MelodiCrock ran with it....

i wonder if the record company will send Andrew an advance copy of the disc when (if?) it ever comes out...and, if they don't, will Andrew cry about it like he did when Interscope didn't send him ADKOT.

[Mr Walker]

Sabbath confirmed as playing the Lolapolooza show in Chicago this summer, although the band's line up has not been confirmed.

[ELVIS]

I won't be there without Ward...

[Mr Walker]

I won't be there without Ward...

You'd travel all the way to Chicago to see Sabbath?

[kissfan1976]

Statement on Upcoming Black Sabbath Shows
Posted on May.15, 2012
Dear Sabbath Fans and Fellow Musicians,

I sincerely regret to inform you that after a final effort to participate in the upcoming Sabbath shows a failure to agree has continued. At this time I have to inform you that I won’t be playing with Black Sabbath at the Birmingham gig dated May 19th, 2012, nor will I be playing at Download on June 10th, 2012. Further, I will not be playing at Lollapalooza on August 3, 2012.

It is with a very sad heart that I bring you this news. I am sincerely passionate in my desire to play with the band, and I’m very, very sorry that it’s fallen to this. This statement is even more painstaking to write, as I was particularly excited to play alongside Tony Iommi after the recent treatments he underwent. I wanted that to become a reality.
To express my thoughts about you, the Sabbath fans, I’m going to speak to you all through an experience my brother James had recently. My brother Jimmy lives in the U.K. When speaking with him a couple of days ago, he told me that an acquaintance had stopped him on the street and confronted him, “is your brother playing Birmingham? What’s going on? I waited in line with my son and paid x amount for the concert tickets.”

The man’s son is a young drummer. He’s going to see Sabbath, and he wants to see Bill Ward play drums. Upon hearing this news, I felt horrible. I couldn’t help feeling some resentment towards the failure to reach an agreement, the failure to remember where we came from, the failure to be as brothers, as we once were. To be clear, I’m not blaming the other guys or finding any faults with them. I would think it can’t be easy for them either, but this situation is just really sad. It’s sad that it’s come to this. “This” will surely leave a mark and be unwelcome to the memory. Hopefully “this” will heal and pass in time.

My heart sank when Jimmy told me about this young boy. I know this boy is going to be disappointed, and I don’t know how to amend it, other than to put my arms around the boy and tell him I love him. Sabbath fans have a voice and a face, to me you’re human, you have families and despair. You have ferocity and emotions and graciousness, and at this moment as far as I’m concerned you are also that young boy in England. I don’t know how to amend my part in these failings other than to put my arms around you and say I love you and let you know I’m very, very sorry.

Throughout this process, which began over a year ago, I have had to stand up for myself time and time again. I have had to stand up for myself and in doing so realize my actions indirectly, although unintentionally, are upsetting and hurting a lot of you. I know in my heart I couldn’t have done these concerts by agreeing the terms suggested. I made a solemn vow after the last European and Ozzfest concerts that I would never again enter into what was, in my opinion, a totally unsatisfactory contract. I have to stand for something, and as painful as it is, I’m doing it.

Earlier in April 2012, I’d been asked to participate “minimally” in the Download festival. I believe I’d been offered no more than three songs to play while another drummer presumably played the rest of the show with Black Sabbath. I was not willing to participate in that offer. I was not prepared to watch another drummer play a Sabbath set, while I was to play only three songs.

I found out about the Birmingham gig on Monday, April 30 through the Internet ad. I was taken aback somewhat by the date, and the fact it was Birmingham. Knowing the “signable” contract negotiations were at best in shreds, I was upset by the idea that the band was going to play Birmingham and play it assumedly without me. I had no prior knowledge of the date and location, and I felt totally excluded. We contacted the representative for Black Sabbath to see if something could be worked out. In the meantime my drum crew and I, along with our US endorsers, finished all the necessary planning for a swift departure to the UK. There wasn’t a whole lot to complete; we’d all been on standby more or less since mid-January 2012. The remaining work in the UK was confirmed done by our European and UK endorsers and we were good to go by Friday, May 4 2012. There were two stress points: firstly, getting an agreement in place, and secondly, getting to England in a timely manner. Jetlag time was taken into account as well as drum practice, a drum practice room in the heart of Birmingham, accommodation, and travel arrangements were all in place to meet with any band rehearsals that may have transpired before the Birmingham show. So far everything that had been arranged was on my dime, but we didn’t move ahead without a realistic confirmation.

Communications between the representative and my lawyer continued through the weekend of May 5 finalizing on Wednesday, May 9. The offer we received on May 9 was, “come to the UK, play for free and see how the first show goes.” I was tempted. Playing for free would not have been a problem for me, but “seeing how the first show goes” left an element of risk which could have affected Download. My ideal thought was to play in full the Birmingham show, in full Download, and in full Lollapalooza.

I had notified the representative that May 10 was my cutoff day in order to have good lead-in time for England. On the night of May 9 I asked for a brief letter to be sent to the representative asking to find out if we were at an end. On the morning of Thursday, May 10, I received a reply in the affirmative. After consulting with my advisors and crew a decision was made to let go and stop.

I can’t prioritize the Sabbath fans making one show more important than the other. I can’t do that. All of you are important. It’s all the gigs or none at all. I can’t come to Birmingham and “see what happens” knowing there is a risk of not being able to play Download or Lollapalooza. Again, for me, it’s all or nothing. I had to say “no” to Birmingham on the principle of wanting to play all the shows. Saying no to Birmingham is very difficult for me. My family grew up in Birmingham. Black Sabbath grew up in Birmingham. It’s still my hometown and I resent having to arrive at such a difficult choice.

Although the statement was made that, “the door is always open” for me, as explained above, walking through that door is not always as easy as it sounds. There are many complicated issues and unseen and unspoken agendas on hand. I can assure you, my criteria for a “signable” contract is based in mindful principles, respectability, and acknowledgement of my history within the band.

I hold no malice or resentment towards the other band members. I love them; I’m tolerant of them; I’m frustrated with them, as they may be with me. My fight has never been with them. I’ll love them forever. In my opinion, nobody wins this time; the band doesn’t win; the fans for an original lineup don’t win. Nobody wins, nobody. Even the ones who thought they did.

I didn’t want to make this decision, but I have to be honest and transparent. This is the statement I didn’t want to write; it’s the last thing I wanted to do. But, I have written it, and now it can go into the universe.

Since Spring of 2011, I’ve waited patiently and hopefully for a signable contract, you know the rest. I stand for the boy in the U.K., for the coming drum student, for all the drummers, who write their parts out and get stiffed on the publishing, I stand with the Sabbath fans chanting “Bill Ward” and asking “why?” and I stand with Tony and Geezer and Ozzy.

On a final note, even though I’m at an end with the upcoming announced concerts, I will remain with an open mind and a position of willingness to negotiate “signable” terms with Sabbath’s representatives in the future.

Stay strong.
Stay safe.

With all my heart and strength, I love you,
Bill Ward

[Rikk]

I won't be there without Ward...

I live fifteen minutes from Grant Park, and we won't go to see Sabbath. I wish that bitch would be hit by a truck. She's ruined everything about Ozzy. The man is as embarrassing as Steven Tyler. Ozzy might as well become a judge on The Voice at this point. That's how much this bitch has destroyed his integrity.

[Diamondjimi]

Well said Rikk.

$haron the cunt can't make anything fair. Tony might die from cancer, Bill is healthy enough to do this, but this cunt clearly doesn't
give a fuck about credibility or what the fans deserve...
I don't wish her death. If she died, it would only be a matter of time before Ozzy went off the deep end again with
substances and blows his head off. I wish her a debilitating stroke that render's her a vegetable. This way Oz would get new mgmt....

[sadaist]

Devil horns yes. But shouldn't her eye pupils be dollar $ign$?

[Hardrock69]

WHOEVER is reponsible for this fucking shit, Sharon or lawyers or whoever else, they can go DIE IN A FUCKING FIRE!

I hope the drummer who replaces bill gets booed. Not so much because people dislike him personally, but a) for taking the gig and disprespecting Bill, and b) to show the rest of the band that the fans are pissed off about it.

I expect the Brummie fans will be quite irate about this......too bad for Tony that he is going to have to deal with this crap for his last few shows....

[binnie]

Well, this will put a bit of a taint on Donnington this year.

Given that Vinni Appice has said he's not playing drums, I wonder who will?

The more worrying thing is the album, however - it won't be write if Bill's not there to form the songs from the beginning.

[binnie]

'Write'? 'Right'.

D'oh.

[kissfan1976]

BOO! BOO!

We have decided not to make any detailed comment on Bill's latest statement. There are two sides to every story. We have been working hard at rehearsals making excellent progress after Tony's treatments and we have engaged a substitute drummer for the forthcoming shows. See you at Download.

–Black Sabbath, 5/17/12