After Ozzy Osbourne recently shared his ambitions to perform with Black Sabbath for one final time, guitarist Tony Iommi has given his seal of approval to the plans.

While both Osbourne and Iommi are interested in getting the band back together, the person who holds the cards is drummer Bill Ward. As he was absent from their last farewell following a contractual dispute, which led to him being replaced on the tour and subsequently their final show in Birmingham, Osbourne wants to do it again with Ward in tow.

In 2017, Black Sabbath took to the stage at the Birmingham Arena, which was billed to be their last goodbye, and a fitting way to bring their story to a close. However, the only facet that stopped the concert from being perfect was the absence of Ward.

During his podcast, The Madhouse Chronicles with Billy Morrison, the pair reflected on the concert with Osbourne sharing his regret that Ward wasn’t able to join them for their swan song, explaining, “Yeah, but I was sad that Bill wasn’t there. I mean Tommy Clufetos, my drummer, did a great job. But he ain’t Bill Ward.”

This remark prompted Morrison to query whether Osbourne was happy with the “arc of the legend of Black Sabbath,” to which the frontman responded, “No, because it wasn’t Black Sabbath that finished it. It’s unfinished. If they wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I would jump at the chance.”

Last year, Ward rebuffed claims made by Geezer Butler that he was invited to perform in Birmingham with the rest of the band. He alleges that his “management reached out to the Black Sabbath management to inquire as to whether or not they would like to discuss my participation in the tour” and was “told there was no interest”.

The drummer also said he “wouldn’t want to play only one gig when I am completely capable of touring” as this would “validate their untrue statements about my health by playing one only gig”.

Although Ward’s comments in 2023 suggest he’s still unhappy about how things played out, stranger things have happened in rock ‘n’ roll, and Iommi would certainly be happy to go along for the ride.

Speaking on the SiriusXM radio programme, Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Iommi claimed “everybody” would suggest the band were purely doing it for the money which he says “wouldn’t be” the case. He added, “That’d be a nice thing to actually do, but whether it happens will be another thing. But we’ll see. I mean, who knows?”

However, similarly to Osbourne who has stepped back from touring due to health issues, Iommi is unwilling to commit to a fully-fledged global expedition, noting, “I have to look at it realistically at my age. I can’t go out and do a two-year tour like we were doing before. And to put something together like the original Sabbath or this or that or the other, you’ve gotta do it a long time because of the cost of everything.”

On a positive note, he did conclude his message by saying, “But it would be nice, yes, to do a one-off, if that ever happens, yeah.”

Although there are no current plans for a one-off appearance by Black Sabbath, it now only needs Ward and Butler to give their seal of approval.