No Bill Ward? No Black Sabbath.

Following his departure from Black Sabbath in April 1979, Ozzy put together a new band consisting of Randy Rhodes, Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake.  Not wanting to be the Ozzy Osbourne Band, they insisted on a band name, choosing the Ozzy-centric Blizzard Of Ozz.

Just so you know who I'm talking about.

They recorded the first LP, only to discover upon its release that their agreement to release the album as The Blizzard Of Ozz had been cast aside in favor of releasing it as an Ozzy Osbourne album called Blizzard Of Ozz.  This was a taste of thing to come.

See?

To make a long story short, though Daisley (and Kerslake to a lesser extent) co-wrote or wrote in their entirety every song on Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman (except “Dee,” obviously), they were forced to take Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne to court in order to receive royalties for their work.  Once an initial royalties payment was made, subsequent payments were not, instead being directed into the Osbourne’s bank accounts.  More litigation ensued, resulting in an order for the Osbournes to pay Daisley and Kerslake their proper dues.

This is the second LP.  It's as killer as the first.

What did the Osbournes do?  THEY HIRED ROBERT TRUJILLO AND MIKE BORDIN TO RE-RECORD DAISLEY AND KERSLAKE’S DRUM AND BASS PARTS SO THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY THEM FUTURE ROYALTIES ON THOSE LP’S.

Wardrobe, hair and makeup courtesy of Dailsey/Kerslake.

I’ve heard these alternate versions.  I can’t say they’re worse, though that is my opinion, but I can say they sound different.  I mean, of course they do.  I won’t go into the heresy of changing the original, classic recordings, either, because those recordings are readily available and, again, calling heresy is my opinion.  I do, however, advise you go for the unadulterated versions.

Is there another way to interpret the Osbourne’s action as anything other than greed?  I can’t think of one.  Daisley and Kerslake were there from day one.  They poured their heart and soul into the songs/recordings that would make up Ozzy’s first post-Sabbath LP’s.  How do they not deserve compensation?

According to entertainment lawyer and entrepreneur, Steven Machat:

“Blizzard of Ozz came out in 1980 in the UK and 1981 in The US, where it would eventually sell more than four million copies. Although it would be billed as Ozzy's first solo album, the real creative power behind the throne lay with a trio of musicians: guitarist Randy Rhoads, Rainbow bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake, who was with rock group Uriah Heep. I made sure CBS signed Ozzy on a solo deal because I didn't want to waste my time negotiating with the lawyers representing other members of Blizzard. The irony was that CBS made this easy for me because they didn't realize where the creative drive lay.

Sharon wasn't happy that Kerslake, Rhoads and Daisley had such a large creative input into Ozzy's music. More accurately, she wasn't happy for them to share the credit. I found this kind of funny, because the truth was that Ozzy was barely capable of making the studio recording sessions, he was in such a bad state. At the time it was too much drugs and booze for Ozzy. He depended on his bandmates for much of the creative input.”

"I'm Steven Machat, dammit!"

Never mind that Ozzy wrote almost none of the music or lyrics for the songs on those albums.  This isn’t an insult to Ozzy.  It’s fact.  He didn’t write but a line or two (or three) for Sabbath, either.  Of course, it doesn’t denigrate Ozzy’s contributions to either of those bands, because what he brought to those songs and recordings in inimitable.  His voice is instantly identifiable and his style, vocal inflections, phrasing, choices of melodies and, indeed, his very personality all combine to take what would have been good songs and make them not just great but stand the test of time classics.  As it turns out, he’s written very little of the music or lyrics of any of the songs on any of his solo records.  Would it hurt the guy to pay back those who wrote the songs he sings?

"La, la, la, I can't hear you!  SHAAAAARRRON!!!"

All of the above is well documented.  What is to follow is not.  Speculation may occur.

Fast forward many, many years to, oh, say, right now.  Black Sabbath is on tour.  Sort of.  Osbourne, Butler and Iommi are there.  Iconic original drummer, Bill Ward, is nowhere to be seen.

Lack Sabbath

Now, granted, Black Sabbath has toured often with few original members, often just ol’ Tony Iommi (who’s guitar playing is one of the key reasons I took up guitar myself) and a bunch of other people.  A BUNCH of other people.  A cast of thousands.  Well, tens, actually.  A cast of several tens.  One can easily argue this latest incarnation is no different.

They call him Black Sabbath...

But this was promised, initially, as a reunion of the original, hallowed and in my humble opinion, best Black Sabbath lineup.  And I was stoked.  I’m not big on big concerts but this was one I would go to!  But when rumors on the wind whispered rumors of war between Ward and Sabbath, I started to lose that sense of elation.

This is where the hearsay comes in.  Apparently, an agreement could not be made between Bill Ward and Black Sabbath regarding the financial compensation for Ward’s involvement in the reunion, recording and tours.  Apparently, Ward asked for an even split and was more or less laughed out of the band he helped start and make legendary.  Apparently, the Osbourne’s don’t have enough money.  Apparently, Butler and Iommi have no consciences or balls.

Since the falling out, the statements I’ve seen from Ward are very level headed and (if what we know about the negotiations are true) honest.  Ozzy, on the other hand, has delivered insults and back handed compliments:

“Here’s the bottom line: being a drummer is the most physical part of any band and when Bill turned up, he looked like an old guy.  I don’t think he had the stamina to play for an hour or so on stage.  If I’d had a heart attack like Bill had, I’d go, ‘F*ck, I’m going to lose some weight.’  I train; I work my arse off.  So you can’t expect someone who’s been sitting on their f*cking arse, eating sh*t, to come along and go, ‘Equal split.’  It’s insane.  I honestly don’t know what went down with that deal, but I suppose it’s something along those lines.  There wasn’t any other reason.  We didn’t gang up on him.  And it wasn’t like, ‘Bill’s just the drummer.’  I didn’t go, ‘Oh, if Bill’s not here, I get more money.’  I don’t f*cking need any more money, man.  I’d be a f*cking liar if I said I’m glad Bill never made the [new Sabbath] album.  It’s kind of a Sabbath album to a point, but it would have been great if Bill could have worked on it.  But if we’d had Bill, I honestly don’t think we’d have been this far up the road.  It was time to sh*t or get off the pot.”

"WE'RE not old, BILL'S old!"

 The thing that Ozzy has said that bothers me the most, personally, is that Ward doesn’t deserve an equal split.  Ward was definitely responsible for at least one quarter of what made Black Sabbath great.  If they’d had a different drummer, they’d have been a different band.  This is true for each of the other members, as well.  They were all well above average at what they did and they each brought something vital and uniquely their own to the table.

Just so you know who I'm talking about.

To say Ward doesn’t deserve an even split because of his perceived physical condition is lame, but coming from Ozzy…  I mean, c’mon, Oz.  What the f*ck?  You may be the prince of darkness or whatever but you managed to gain a lot of weight, gobble piles of drugs and still do okay.  I’ve seen the footage.  Hell, you were high as a kite and carrying a few extra pounds but you still managed to run and jump and tell everyone you loved them.  Comes off as pretty hypocritical to me.

"I'M not f*cked up, BILL'S f*cked up!"

Also, Ward has been playing drums and recording for the last several years.  It’s possible he would have been physically unable to participate in the reunion but who knows?

Alright, FINE!  Bill may be looking a little old.

Then there’s the part about how Ozzy doesn’t know what went on with the negotiations.  That stopped me in my tracks.  Are you kidding me?  It’s.  Your.  Band.  I don’t buy for a second that, at any time, any of the other three couldn’t have said, “No, to hell with that, Bill’s in” and not made it happen.  I’m speculating, but I see Sharon’s hands all over this deal.  It’s speculation so I won’t even bother supporting that, but that’s how it seems to these eyes.

I love Ozzy.  I do.  And I can’t help but like Sharon based on her television career and I respect her for taking care of her crazy husband.  What we hear about Sharon from former associates and employees, however, does not paint a pretty picture.  Given the Daisley/Kerslake debacle (and various and sundry other legal skirmishes involving the Osbournes and those who helped make them money), this whole thing stinks of boardroom bullsh*t, something for which Sharon has proven to possess quite a talent.  Remember, I'm specualting...

I love Butler and Iommi, too.  I love Black Sabbath.  Well, the first lineup, the Dio lineups and the one record with Ian Gillan.  After that I lost interest.  It's just that I’m disappointed.  Like finding out The Ramones hated each other and Johnny was a jerk, this flies in the face of childhood myths about childhood heroes and our ideas of what it means to be a band.

Disclaimer: I am well aware of my obvious bias in Bill’s favor.