URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box has criticized Sharon Osbourne for removing the original drum and bass tracks from Ozzy Osbourne‘s first two albums.
The 2002 re-releases of Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman featured FAITH NO MORE drummer Mike Bordin and METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo — both then members of Ozzy‘s solo band — in place of Lee Kerslake and Bob Daisley.
In a new interview with Radio Forrest, Box was asked if Lee, with whom he played for three and half decades, ever mentioned anything to him about not getting credited for the Ozzy albums.
“Of course he did,” Box responded. “It was a big bone of contention with him. Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman, I think Sharon took off Bob and Lee from both those albums and put on Tommy Aldridge and whoever. It’s just as low as you can get, really, isn’t it?
“The versions of the albums with Bob and Lee on, and Randy [Rhoads] and Ozzy, were just immense. They’re rock history. Anything else that Sharon did to replace that is just bad news bears, mate, in my book.
“And in Lee‘s, it really hurt him,” he added. “He got the platinum [plaques from Ozzy before he died], but he didn’t get the financial reward that should have gone with it. And that’s very sad. But sometimes that’s how it goes in our business. If I got paid for everything I did correctly, I would be in a different position. [Laughs]”
Lee Kerslake passed away on September 19 after a long battle with cancer.
Listen to full interview below.
