BASSIST BOB DAISLEY SHARES HIS CURRENT CORRESPONDENCE WITH CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
As previously reported, iconic bassist Bob Daisely (Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Gary Moore, Uriah Heep) had written an open letter, via his Facebook page, to Classic Rock stating that an award presented to Ozzy Osbourne for his record Blizzard of Ozz disrespected former band members Randy Rhoads, Lee Kerslake and Daisley, himself, by not properly acknowledging their contributions to the album.
Daisley shares his current correspondence with Classic Rock below.
“To Classic Rock’s ‘editor’, Mrs. Llewellyn: In response to your recent article, why didn’t you have the courtesy and honesty to include my reply to Classic Rock? Here it is again:
Classic Rock: Thanks for your response, I had no desire to ‘cross swords’ with anyone, I just needed to vent my frustration and disapproval of how things were handled. I understand that not all members of bands receive an award each for an album, and thanks for giving specific examples. I also understand that budgets don’t allow for people to be flown around the globe to attend award ceremonies. Yes, I saw that Ozzy mentioned Randy, which he often does, but if an award was made for Randy as well, why wasn’t it presented publicly and ceremoniously to the Rhoads family members? The award, which was in fact in bubble wrap, was given to Kelle and Kathy on their way out, it was Kelle who put it in a paper bag. Kelle told me that the way that they were slipped the award was, in his own words, ‘like a drug deal’. As you must be aware, Lee Kerslake and I have been repeatedly omitted from acknowledgement and recognition for our considerable part in the ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ album, so when Ozzy is filmed being honoured and acknowledged, Randy’s award is given ‘on the sly’, and Kerslake and I are ‘left out’ yet again, perhaps you can understand the frustration and added insult to injury that it causes. Maybe it would’ve been a nice gesture to mention the four band members this time, instead of just two, and stretch to giving all four band members an award, instead of just two. Thanks, Bob Daisley.
No, I’m not ‘irate’, as CR put it, I was, however, astounded at the lack of respect shown in regard to 3/4 of the band The Blizzard of Ozz. Yes, it was a month after the CR awards that I made my first statement, no one at CR had the courtesy to inform me that the album that I co-wrote, played on and co-produced had even been given an award; I found out from Kelle Rhoads, Randy’s brother, who wasn’t too impressed with the way that they were ‘presented’ with Randy’s award, which is obvious in your photo of them – empty tables and people clearing up while a woman looks on with her hand on her hip; every picture tells a story, don’t it?
So it was Ozzy who invited the Rhoads family to the ceremony? If CR had an award made for Randy, why wasn’t it CR that invited them? No, ‘Bob didn’t have a go at the Osbournes’, as CR stated, with your ‘what Bob does best’ remark, I was ‘having a go’ at the way that the ceremony was handled by Classic Rock, I even added, ‘I don’t begrudge Ozzy receiving his award’. What is it that CR ‘does best’?…
You selectively chose statements from my fans that were anti-Sharon, instead of any of the hundreds of supportive comments that didn’t even mention her, and then you posted my ‘thank you’ to fans instead of my response to CR. How manipulative and deceitful, that sort of sensationalist ‘journalism’ is devoid of anything to do with the album that was being awarded. You chose to attack me rather than acknowledge my response to CR and deal with the issue, and many of the fans didn’t like that. Blizzard of Ozz fans are passionate about the music and musicians on both albums, consequently Sharon is not a popular figure amongst them, she made her own reputation, and it has nothing to do with her gender, but everything to do with her actions. I didn’t even mention her.
So Sharon complimented one of your journalists on their T-shirt, well golly gosh, yes, that puts her up there with Gandhi and Mother Theresa, that must’ve been life changing for them.
There was a time when Classic Rock employed good journalists, those who used their knowledge of the history of Rock to write in-depth articles about music and musicians. It now seems that Classic Rock, a once great magazine, is in danger of turning into what would more appropriately be named ‘Classic Crock’. Now go and powder your nose CR, the brown is showing through.
Bob Daisley.”
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