Quotes from Bill Ward

I had a lot of teachers. When I think about my upbringing I feel like the most fortunate person. It was a marvellous era for drummers.

In September 2012, I got the blues pretty bad, so I stopped playing for a little while. I started to renew my playing by the time February of 2013 came around. I would go up and rehearse to different songs, play stuff like Count Basie records, jazz or rap.

I have an open mind, and I try to be critical of none of the bands, even if something's not to my personal taste. After all, somebody worked really hard on that music.

If you want to strive toward something, just listen to John Bonham.

One of the biggest struggles I've had is being me.

I don't play beats. I hate playing beats. I'm an orchestration drummer. I'm a musical drummer.

I'm so-so on the blastbeat. A couple of my mates play that style. I'm not a huge fan, no - and the only reason for that is because it distracts me from other elements of the dynamics. It's a little overpowering!

Even our early audiences were very polite. It felt like playing in our living room. I remember the audiences changing in front of me. I remember that distinctly. The way they wore their clothes became different. We got a lot of leather jackets with studs. People's hair changed. The whole look was just a sublime move.

I play like Bill, I can't play like anybody else!

When I write, there's always an image, sometimes a color attached to what's being created.

I admired punk because I came from a violent band as well. Especially in the first four or five years, we were very aggressive when we played live.

I'm a visionary drummer and I have been for a long, long, long time.

Sweet Leaf' is a very aggressive song when we do it live.

I don't have a problem with letting go of an album once I know I've pretty much done the best that I can.