{"id":8271,"date":"2026-07-09T08:44:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/black-sabbaths-bill-ward-reveals-hes-confined-to-a-wheelchair-one-year-after-ozzy-osbournes-death\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:44:19","slug":"black-sabbaths-bill-ward-reveals-hes-confined-to-a-wheelchair-one-year-after-ozzy-osbournes-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/black-sabbaths-bill-ward-reveals-hes-confined-to-a-wheelchair-one-year-after-ozzy-osbournes-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Sabbath&#8217;s Bill Ward reveals he&#8217;s confined to a wheelchair one year after Ozzy Osbourne&#8217;s death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F07%2F133834867.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward says he is now mostly confined to a wheelchair, nearly one year after the <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/07\/22\/celebrity-news\/black-sabbath-singer-ozzy-osbourne-dead-at-76\/\">death of his longtime bandmate Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 78-year-old rock legend shared the health update with fans Wednesday as he declared that he\u2019s \u201cmaking myself public and transparent,\u201d while making clear he has no plans to stop performing<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m announcing today somewhat sadly but nonetheless truthfully, that I\u2019ve reached a place where publicly more and more I need to use a wheelchair, mostly in airports, or public events,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/billwarddrums\/status\/2075071657954234465?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted on X<\/a>. \u201cI can still walk, let there be no doubt, but I can\u2019t walk very far without needing to rest, meaning I need to sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, 78, revealed he is now mostly using a wheelchair in public. <span class=\"credit\">@billwarddrummer\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ward shared a photo of himself in a wheelchair, smiling as he posed in an all-black outfit while seated in the mobility device.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe started using the wheelchair about 18 months ago, mostly in airports. I became 78 years old on May 5th 2026,\u201d Ward said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI was a long distance walker, I\u2019ve walked in many different parts of the world, and I\u2019m still a drummer. I can still play pretty good for 78 years old,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Ward said the wheelchair plays a crucial role in helping him get around and encouraged fans not to be shy about saying hello if they spot him in public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy 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,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Bill Ward performing at Black Sabbath\u2019s final performance in July 2025, just weeks before Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s death. <span class=\"credit\">@ Darkshortsovrl\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just saying if you see me in a wheelchair, I\u2019m just catching a ride, I\u2019m not in retirement or ill or giving up, or any of those thoughts that ignite when we see people in wheelchairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m making myself public and transparent about my new transport, and letting you know I\u2019m OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you see me in the airports or visiting friends in the music arenas or theatres say hi, I don\u2019t bite, I\u2019ll just look different, as pictured here,\u201d Ward added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Black Sabbath\u2019s Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi at Whisky a Go Go, West Hollywood in November 2011. <span class=\"credit\">WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cMuch love to you all and I\u2019ll keep rocking until I\u2019m dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ward\u2019s update comes nearly a year after Osbourne died at age 76 on July 22, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The iconic frontman, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/07\/22\/celebrity-news\/ozzy-osbourne-suffered-from-parkinsons-disease-spinal-injury-in-years-before-death\/\">diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease in 2019<\/a>, died from an acute myocardial infarction and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to his death certificate.<\/p>\n<p>After Osbourne\u2019s death, Ward <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/07\/23\/entertainment\/ozzy-osbournes-black-sabbath-bandmates-pay-tribute-to-late-rocker\/\">shared an emotional tribute<\/a> in which he said the \u201cCrazy Train\u201d singer is \u201cforever in my heart.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler at Alexandra Palace, London in August 1973 <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhere will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you\u2019re forever in my heart,\u201d Ward wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeepest condolences to Sharon and all family members. RIP. Sincere regrets to all the fans. Never goodbye. Thank you forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just weeks before his death, Osbourne reunited with Ward, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler for <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/07\/22\/entertainment\/see-last-photos-of-ozzy-osbourne-2-weeks-before-his-death\/\">Black Sabbath\u2019s farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, England<\/a> on July 5, 2025.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Bill Ward said he can still walk, play drums and is \u201cnot in retirement or ill or giving up.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ward co-founded Black Sabbath with Osbourne, Iommi and Butler in 1969.<\/p>\n<p>The pioneering heavy metal band found international success with its 1970 self-titled debut album.<\/p>\n<p>While Osbourne left the group in 1979 and Ward exited in 1983, the pair reunited with their bandmates several times over the decades, including for the band\u2019s final performance in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/07\/09\/celebrity-news\/black-sabbaths-bill-ward-reveals-hes-confined-to-a-wheelchair-one-year-after-ozzy-osbournes-death\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward says he is now mostly confined to a wheelchair, nearly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/133834867.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}