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Ozzy Osbourne and his colleagues: so visionary Ozzy It was also the right fellow musicians to reach his dark flights. Whether with songwriting, as a soloist or as an indispensable bandmate – Ozzy beamed especially when he had congenial colleagues at his side. Sure, when you first think of Tony Iommi, the Randy Rhoads, who died much too early, or later to Zakk Wylde, of course also of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.
But in the course of his career there were also a whole series of musicians who may not be at the forefront in the official Ozzy history books, but still take an important place in the history of the “Prince of Darkness”. We want to illuminate some of these underestimated colleagues from Ozzy Osbourne here.
Ozzy Osbourne: Consistency who deserved more recognition
When it comes to underestimated colleagues from Ozzy Osbourne, you absolutely have to name the name Bob Daisley. Daisley joined Ozzy in 1979, shortly after he got out of Black Sabbath, and became a central figure in the recordings of “Blizzard of Ozz”. However, Daisley was much more than just a bass player: he wrote large parts of the texts, developed song structures, took over arrangements – and contributed so crucially to get Ozzy’s solo career in motion at all.
Then why is it more in the Ozzy history books under “also ran”? Well, this probably has to do with years of legal disputes between Daisley and the Osbournes. Again and again it was about not paid royalties and songwriting credits. In 2002, the tensions culminated in the controversial decision to replace his bass traces (and the drums of Lee Kerslake) on the new editions of the first two albums with new recordings – officially for sound reasons, unofficially as a reaction to the complaint.
At the time, Sharon Osbourne explained: “Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake and our family molested for several years. Because of their misuse and unjust behavior, Ozzy wanted to remove them from these recordings. We made something positive out of a negative situation by giving the original albums a fresh sound.” The relationship apparently did not relax until the end-because Daisley was not invited to the big Black Sabbath party in 2017 in Birmingham.
Well, now that Sharon has already mentioned the name Lee Kerslake – we now come to the most tragic case under Ozzy underestimated colleagues. Kerslake was not only the drummer on “Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary of a Madman”, but also made a decisive contribution to the character of these two milestones with his powerful, at the same time grooving game.
Like Daisley, he was largely integrated into the arrangements and helped to give Ozzy’s vision form. But Kerslake also came with the Osbournes in the same strudel from legal disputes and dumps. For decades, the recognition failed to see a conciliatory moment shortly before his death in 2020: Ozzy sent him a personal video message and finally handed him the well-deserved platinum sound plates for the first two solo albums-a gesture that Kerslake “healed my heart” according to his own words, even if it came very late. Lee Kerslake died on September 19, 2020 in Bournemouth.
We come to Jake E. Lee – the guitarist who came into almost superhuman footsteps after the tragic death of Randy Rhoads in 1982. Lee brought in his own style: less neoclassical than Rhoads, but bluesy, angular, with a sense of catchy riffs and hooklines. He shaped hits like “Bark at the Moon” and kept Ozzy’s career, you can say that in a critical phase.
There were also disagreements between Lee and the Osbournes about credits and songwriting shares, but in contrast to the escalations at Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake, at least less evil blood remained here. A symbol of this relaxation: Lee was even invited to the “Back to the Beginning” party concert in Birmingham in 2025 and was on stage there-a later but conciliatory greeting to a long-time companion.
Also more in the category “also ran” moves in the Ozzy history Phil Soussan-wrongly. The English bass player came to Ozzy in 1986, played on The Ultimate Sin and was a co-author of the hits “Shot in the Dark”.
Soussan toured the entire Ultimate Sin tour before leaving the band in 1988. He then worked with Billy Idol, Vince Neil, Steve Lukather and Toto, wrote and produced songs for various rock greats. Nevertheless, his contribution to one of the biggest ozzy hits in the official stories is often only mentioned in passing.
Bernie Tormé wrote an even shorter, but all the more heroic chapter in the ozzy history. The Irish guitarist jumped in in March 1982, just a few days after Randy Rhoad’s tragic death. Without much preparation, he helped to continue the current US tour-a feat that is hardly to be overestimated emotionally.
Tormé only stayed for a handful of shows before Brad Gillis took over. His name is rarely mentioned in the official retrospectives, but without his short -term use Ozzy’s career might have stumbled at that moment.
Tommy Aldridge is one of the draftsmen who have long since had a legend status in the Rockwelt-but his contribution is often underestimated in the Ozzy cosmos. He joined the band in the early 80s, played on the Bark at the Moon tour, among others, and returned again and again in later years.
With his aggressive double bass style and his unshakable live presence, he gave Ozzy shows an enormous force. Nevertheless, Aldridge is usually only mentioned as a “tour drummer” in the official stories, although his game significantly shaped live energy.