Black Sabbath Drummer Bill Ward Reveals He’s Using a Wheelchair

Black Sabbath Drummer Bill Ward has announced he’s mostly confined to a wheelchair at this point in his life — but he tells fans he’s still one hell of a drummer!

The 87-year-old musician shared the life update on X Wednesday, telling fans they will be seeing him in a wheelchair in public more because although he can walk, he “can’t walk very far without needing to rest.”

He explained, “We started using the wheelchair about 18 months ago, mostly in airports. I became 78 years old on May 5th 2026. I was a long distance walker, I’ve walked in many different parts of the world, and I’m still a drummer.  I can still play pretty good for 78 years old.”

Bill assured fans he’s mentally all there — he just needs some extra help getting around. He noted, “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. 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.”

Bill said just because he may look different now, he’s letting his fans know he’s okay.

He ended, “… the secrets we hide, can be dangerous to our health, I’m letting transparency prevail, with love and progression,” he goes on to say.

He even signed off saying he will “keep rocking until I’m dead.”

Bill’s lifestyle update comes nearly one year after his Black Sabbath frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, died from a heart attack at age 76.

Bill paid tribute to his longtime pal at the time, saying in an emotionally charged post … “Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart.”