“Regardless of injuries, we would get onstage, and as soon as we were up there it was like, bam! You were hit with an incredible force. The band came alive on stage like someone had switched us on.”

English drummer, born 1948

Bill Ward, born William Thomas Ward, is an English drummer best known as the original drummer of Black Sabbath. He co-founded the band in 1969 with Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, helping establish one of the defining groups of heavy metal. Beyond Black Sabbath, Ward has released three solo albums. His most recent, Accountable Beasts, appeared in 2015. He is associated with the hard-edged drumming and early sound that helped shape the band’s identity.