BILL WARD On Possibility Of Full-Blown BLACK SABBATH Reunion: 'The Door Is Wide Open'

Original BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward will be interviewed by Ian Camfield of U.K.s Xfm Radio on Saturday, April 4 between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.

If you are in U.K., you can listen to the show by tuning in to 104.9 FM on digital radio, or you can stream the program via the Internet at www.xfm.co.uk.

39 years after its 1970 release, BLACK SABBATH's "Paranoid" album is being re-released as a three-CD deluxe edition, featuring the original album, a quadraphonic mix and a disc full of instrumental and alternate versions.

Ward tells Shropshire Star: "There was some spare tape left, so we said, 'Let's see if we can get another song and we all went down the pub which is the best place to work — well, it was then — and when we got back Tony [Iommi, guitar] had got a really, really good riff. Tony and Geezer [Butler, bass] and myself just sat in and just started playing and it didn't take long at all to have the song with all its parts pretty much done. I think within the afternoon it was taken care of. Ozzy [Osbourne, vocals] had his jamming lyrics, almost rough stuff, as we jammed down the first things. It probably [was] pretty much in the ballpark, his melody's there. We did that with quite a lot of our songs and we would change that around until we reached the final album version."

Ward insists the door is not shut on the idea of a full-blown reunion of BLACK SABBATH's original lineup.

"I have an open mind when it comes to SABBATH," he tells Shropshire Star. "We just haven't done anything for the last three years. But the door's wide open as far as BLACK SABBATH is concerned.

"Playing, doing anything with the original band, that's where I would like to be."

He adds: "Ozzy and I have maintained our relationship, and I've maintained my relationship with the other fellas pretty much all the way through. Nobody's far from each other.

"I saw Oz on his birthday. We went to Vegas and that's the last time I saw him. But I actually spoke to him about three or four days ago. He's doing fantastic, he's doing really well."