Photo Credit: Alex Brown

As they prepare for their return to the UK, we sat down with Rich Ward of American metal band Fozzy. Rich goes into detail on his love for the UK, the bands’ latest single and their plans going forward.

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Fozzy will return to the UK in February. How excited are you to get back on the road?

Rich: Yes we’re really excited. We used to come over twice a year but since the pandemic happened, we’ve been backed down to just once a year now. I am hoping we can come back more often but it does make it more special when we have time away. As they say, “how can we miss you if you won’t go away?”. I am super excited about it. We have the longest set list we’ve ever done, about 18 songs. It covers all of the albums and we have great openers too, Tailgunner and Marisa and the Moths.

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What keeps bringing you back to the UK so often?

Rich: I don’t really know how to describe it. Our reception in the UK has always been different and better. We started off touring in America, it’s easier to tour in America when you are an American band. We found ourselves coming over to the UK more often than we were touring in America because the relationship with the audience was tremendous. There was something magic. It’s like dating. You’ve been single for a while and there is one girl where the chemistry is just there and you don’t know why. It’s the love affair we’ve had with the UK from day one really. We’ve been lucky enough  to play some of the big festivals there such as Download, Sonisphere and Bloodstock, so that’s a great introduction to new audiences. Our singer Chris Jericho is a famous professional wrestler, so he;s been on TV for years and my old band Stuck Mojo were extremely successful in the UK, so we had a built in audience but still have to be a great band and make people think that being on a night out with Fozzy is a great night.

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Aside from the shows and crowds, what else do you enjoy about touring in the UK?

Rich: My Father is English, he was born and raised in Kent, so I started coming to England at a young age to visit my Grandparents who still lived there. I got introduced to British culture very early on. When we would have our independence day in America, my Dad would fly the Union Jack in defiance, he was always a very proud royal. Everytime I come over, it’s special because it is part of my heritage. Whether that is good curries or a Sunday roast, or on our days off I’ll try to go watch some football. I’ve been to Old Trafford a few times, I’ve seen Birmingham City a few times. I love the sport. Even if it’s a lower league game like Oxford. There is something very unique about British culture. It’s like when Chris would wrestle in Japan, he loves that because it’s unique and different. As a kid when my favourite bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Deep Purple, never would I have thought I would be playing in the places they were playing when they were coming up. Whenever we play Sheffield, that is where Def Leppard is from, it’s amazing. I’ve played every room in Nottingham Rock City and next door in Rescue Rooms. I’m the only person that I know of who has played Rock City in four separate bands, the first being with Stuck Mojo in 1996. My longtime friend, Fozzy and Stuck Mojo producer Andy Sneap live just outside of Derby, so we go out to Nottingham all the time. You can get a great curry there. Standing out there on a Thursday night watching people is always fun.

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How does having Chris Jericho’s wrestling background come into play when in Fozzy?

Rich: When I was growing up, my favourite bands were Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was obsessed with crazy bands where their stage antics were off of the charts. As a kid I loved Van Halen and they were the same way. I loved AC/DC because Angus was a mad man. So I was always attracted to that energy and as a performer, that was in my DNA. Chris and I have always been the one-two punch in that way. We’ve always had that brotherhood in which we bring the heat, we bring the fire and the energy. I think that is why it works. Having that dynamic where we are very different as performers and artists but a similar energy. The flavour profile is different, but the heat is the same.

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Your latest single ‘Fall In Line’ had been out now for some time, what has the reception been like now you’ve had time to take it all in?

Rich: It has been great. We’re focusing more on releasing one song at a time. The reason is, Jericho said that seven or eight of those songs, people will never hear. We’re in the streaming and singles age and he was really discouraged. He felt like they were his children and it felt like they all deserved a chance. Instead of writing fourteen songs and putting them on an album, we’re now focused on putting all our energy on one song at a time and it has been a real good success for us. ‘Spotlight’ was the first song we did like that, and then ‘Fall In Line’. It has energised us and a new focus on how we’re going to go into the future. It was an adventurous song, it’s very different and unique and I think that is what has given us an opportunity to sit back and try new things. 

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Did covering ‘Crazy Train’ feel different in any way taking into account Ozzy Osbourne’s passing?

Rich: It’s a strange one. We had that song recorded six years ago. Me and Chris are huge Ozzy fans, like massive. The first few Ozzy records are some of the greatest ever recorded and are still listened to by the band all the time. We were signed at the time with Sony, and they didn’t want to release it. We kept pushing it onto the next album and it never happened. Luckily for us, we are an independent band now. It was a perfect opportunity for us to release it. When Ozzy died, it hit us all really hard. Why did it take the death of Ozzy for us to force this out and finally get clearance, work on all of the rights. We have remixed the song, it isn’t the original recording from six years ago, but we’re really proud of it. The truth is, we weren’t capitalising on the moment, the song was already done. We had an Iron Maiden cover and a Quiet Riot cover which were originally planned to be bonus tracks. It was more of a call to action for us. This song has been sitting on a hard drive for years and now is the time for us to release it. 

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Are there plans for an EP or even an album for 2026, or is your main focus on more singles for this year?

Rich: An album is not on the cards at the moment. There is always a possibility of an EP where we go back to the roots, like a really heavy record. Chris and I, we’re music fans. We love 80s pop music, they are the type of songs you’d hear when you were 12-17 years old. Artists like Prince, Madonna, Queen, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, we just loved it. We were also the biggest thrash fans too like Anthrax, Megadeth and ‘Master of Puppets’ is such an important record to me, I listen to it all of the time. If we were to do an EP, it would have to be special. Tipping the hat to those influences and memories.

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For your UK fans whether they have been with Fozzy from the start or jumped on board more recently, what message do you have for them?

Rich: Just, thank you for giving me a privileged life. I woke up this morning, I didn’t have a job to go to. My career is talking to people, playing guitar, and writing new music. My job is my hobby and purpose in life. I went from being a little shitty punk kid to being in Stuck Mojo, touring in a 1977 Dodge van, playing in backyard parties and every dumpy dive bar that would have us. In 1999, I met Chris Jericho and we started Fozzy, it took off. During Covid, I started an 80’s cover band called The Guardians of the Jukebox, so when I’m not on tour with Fozzy, I am touring with those guys. I’ve been so privileged and the reason is because of Stuck Mojo and Fozzy fans that have allowed me to stay in the business. I have so many friends who are talented, they are in bands and they write, but they have a job. All of my time is available. I don’t have kids, I don’t do family vacations. I miss Easter, I miss Thanksgiving, that is the devils bargain. Every day is all chips in. I don’t take it for granted, I pinch myself everyday.