Bill Ward's shirtless moment during Black Sabbath's final performance was recognized by fans at Villa Park and via livestream. Guitarist Tony Iommi humorously compared Ward to Gollum, sharing stories of Ward's carefree nature. Iommi reflected on how Ward has always taken his shirt off, even during rehearsals, much to the amusement of bandmate Geezer Butler. Originally, the band planned to perform six songs but ended up with only four due to scheduling conflicts with Ozzy Osbourne's solo performance and venue curfews, cutting songs like "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Black Sabbath."
When we had a break on one of the rehearsals, we went in to eat at the studio, and Bill got his shirt off, and Geezer was just about to have a sandwich. He went, 'Oh, Bill put your shirt on. You're putting me off the sandwich.' But it's typical Bill. He is always taking his shirt off every time.
I said to Bill, 'Blimey, Bill, you look like Gollum.' And I don't think he knew who Gollum was. He's always been the same, Bill. He just doesn't care.
We planned to play six or seven songs, but due to the curfew and Ozzy performing just minutes earlier, we settled on four. 'Fairies Wear Boots' and 'Black Sabbath' were cut.
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