VIDEO'S OF THE WEEK - BOB DAISLY

[Niels (Mod)]

VOTW - BOB DAISLY SPECIAL

The next couple of weeks ( well, next week will be something completly different, so the week after that) will feature two of the most important musicians from the 70's and '80s. They both played in the same (3) bands at some point, twice at the same time, and once not at the same time (can you guess the other musician?)

This is not from wikipedia, but from my memory (and I've just read Daisly's book "For Facts Sake"). Bob Daisly is an australian musician, that played in a few australian bands, until he went to London in the 70's. After playing in bands like Mungo Jerry ("In The Summertime") and Widowmaker among others, he became the bass-player in Rainbow.

RAINBOW (BOB DAISLY) - LONG LIVE ROCK'N'ROLL 

'

Bob Daisly played bass on only a couple of songs on the album "Long Live Rock'N'Roll" from 1977 (Blackmoore played bass on other tracks). Daisly was a full member until Blackmoore fired most of the band in 1978. But Daisly remained on good terms with both Blackmoore and R.J.Dio. In fact, he was contacted by Dio, to be a part of dio's band in 1982, but declined, and he should had been in a reformed Rainbow in the 90's, but because of the drummer Cozy Powell's death, it was not to be.

GARY MOORE (BOB DAISLY) - OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY

Daisly was a friend of Gary Moore until Moore's death a few years ago, and he appears on most of Moore's solo-albums. In between working for Ozzy, Daisly was also a full member on Moore's live-band (I saw Daisly playing bass when Gary Moore opened for Queen in Stockholm 1986). Daisly claims, that it was he, that told Moore to record a blues-album (and when you read his book, you believe every word, that he writes).

URIAH HEEP (BOB DAISLY) - THAT'S THE WAY THAT IT IS

Daisly became good friends with Lee Kerslake, the original drummer in "Ozzy's band", and when both were fired by Mrs. Osbourne, they turned to Kerslake's former band Uriah Heep, and recorded the absolutle amazingly good album "Abominog". Daisly also played bass (and co-wrote some songs) on the following Heep-album "Head First", but when it was time for a tour, Daisly was back again with Ozzy.

OZZY OSBOURNE (BOB DAISLY) - OVER THE MOUNTAIN (Intro: Diary Of A Madman)

When Daisly was fired from Rainbow in 1978, he was eventually contacted by Ozzy in '79, and together they formed the band "Blizzard Of Ozz", and recruited the young american guitarist from the band Quite Riot, Randy Rhoads. Daisly and Rhoads wrote the music together, and Daisly wrote all the lyrics, except for a few song-titles thrown in by Ozzy. Then Kerslaked was recruited, and the first album was recorded. The same band then wrote and recorded "Diary Of A Madman", this time Kerslake wrote the music together with Daisly and Rhoads, and again the lyrics were written by Daisly. If Ozzy had made a few suggestions to the music and a few song-titles on the first album, it was just about nothing he contributed to DOAM, not even the title (also Daisly's). Daisly and Kerslake was fired by Sharon shortly after the recording of the album, and their names were removed form the album. Maybe you know the story, so I'll stop here, just saying that if you are in a doubt, if Sharon is a bitch/witch or not, then read Daisly's book!! Daisly worked for the Osbourne's occaisonally in the coming years, meaning he co-wrote the music to "Bark At The Moon" (and all the lyrics" and played the bass, co-wrote the songs on "The Ultimate sin", played on, co-wrote music and all the lyrics to "No Rest For The Wicked" and "No More Tears", and most of the time, he wasn't even credited on the albums!! Daisly played live again in Ozzy's band from 1983-85, as he had done in the original line-up with Rhoads in '80-'81.

Daisly also appear on bass on the Black Sabbath-album "The Eternal Idol" and on Yngwie Malmsteen's "Odyssey" (where Rainbow's Joe Lynn Turner sing lead-vocals).

I've known for many years, most of the facts, written by Daisly in his book, but not all, so when I had read the book, I felt like writing on Daisly's Facebook-site :"Hi Bob. Exellent book. I read it in a week. Good to read the absolute truth. You are a very important part of at least 3 of the best albums ever: Blizzard, Diary and Abominog. Keep up the good work." and Daisly wrote back: "Thanks Niels, I'm glad that you enjoyed the book and that you could see 'the big picture'. All the best mate, BD."

[Niels (Mod)]

Besides all the facts, "For Facts Sake" is a funny book. I laughed out loud, when I read, that once in the 90's, Ozzy was recording an album with Steve Vai, and off course Bob Daisly (the album was never finished or released), and that Vai showed the other ones in the studio a video, he had received from a female fan. The female fan had the gift, that she could blow out candles with a fart from an intimate part of her body (not the most usual "fart-part"), and had 5 candles lit, and every time she blew out the flame, she said "This one is for you, Steve". She also informed her telephone-number on the video, but it wasn't Vai calling her, but Ozzy, but she wouldn't believe it was Ozzy calling her. From that day on, every time a member of the recording band or staff let one go, just before, they'd say "This one is for you, Steve" 

[Scott]

Is it Appice?  I would have guessed Cozy Powell but I'm not sure they played together outside of Rainbow. 

I love those old Rainbow albums, almost all of them - regardless of vocalist - are very very good to great! The Gary Moore track is familiar but I'm far less familiar with his solo work, so for me the track is cool, but not great.

I think we've established a certain love for all thing Uriah Heep on this site, especially the underrated and full of covers Abnominog!  Still a great listen! And the early Ozzy stuff, while great, is too overplayed and overhyped for me.  I rarely listen to it and never pull it off the shelf to play.  Still I love this Daisley post and the facts you shared what an important part of Classic Rock history he is!!

I gotta read that book!!

[Niels (Mod)]

It is Cozy Powell. They played together in Gary Moore's band. Powell didn't record with Moore, though.

[Scott]

I love Cozy Powell!  Seen him playing with Whitesnake when Slide It In very first came out, they were opening for Quiet Riot on their Condition Critical tour.  Whitesnake easily blew QR off the stage but Powell was fascinating to watch!  I dont think it was too long after that concert that Whitesnake started to really take off and Coverdale changed the line up....

[Niels (Mod)]

Yeah, I saw him too, but that was on the "Saint & Sinners"-tour in January 1983 (The below picture is from that evening). In fact Ozzy opened, but at that point, Bob Daisly was still with Uriah Heep, so Dave "The Beast" Spitz was on bass (Tommy Aldridge on drums and Jake E. Lee was very new in the band). And it's a small world, because you saw Cozy Powell opening for the band, where Daisly's replacement in Ozzy's band, Rudy Sarzo, was playing at that time (again). Sarzo never played on a Ozzy-album, even though he gladly took the credit for playing on "Diary Of A Madman", even when Daisly was near by.

"Whitesnake started to take off.." Weird for me to hear that. Whitesnake for me kind of ended, when they released "Whitesnake 1987" or whatever it was called, when they became a hairband and sold millions of albums in US. They never topped Slide It In, and I mean the album with Micky Moody and Mel Galley on guitar, and not Sykes. Whitesnake without the two guitarists, I just mentioned and Jon Lord, and also Ian Paice on drums was WHITESNAKE, and not just another Dokken or White Lion. But hey, this post is about Bob Daisly and not Cozy Powell. That won't be until the week after next week, where Powell is the star of VOTW :-)

[Scott]

Funny stuff...  Here in America, we didn't really hear of Whitesnake until Slide It In - or they didn't hit the big-time until then. So their shelf life over here was only from 84-89.  I didn't discover their back catalog until several years later, that doesn't mean it wasn't available, it just never hit my radar, but I'm glad it did!  The pre-Slide It In stuff is fantastic!

PS:  Your picture didnt post....

[Niels (Mod)]

Too bad. It's a nice backstage-picture of the band (Coverdale, Lord, Moody, Powell,Galley and Colin Hodgekinson) taken by Jorgen Angel, the same danish photographer, that took some famous pictures of Led Zeppelin back in 1968 right in my neighbourhood.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Rainbow - Totally dig this song.  The performance is top notch.  Dio just rocks it.  The whole band does.  Thumbs up to both song and video.

Moore - The concept video here is so cheesy.  Moore is playing way too hard, kind of like Springsteen tends to do.  But the song is fabulous.  I think somebody has featured this on CRB before.  The backing vocalist in the video needs to learn the words.  This sounds like what Black Star Riders are doing now, this style of song.  They would probably do a terrific cover of this song (I know that you don't like BSR Niels).  Final rating for me is thumbs up for the song, thumbs sideways for the video (despite the cheesiness, the gloomy setting is cool).

Heep - I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say Heep was not the greatest looking bunch of dudes.  And I did not realize that Ron Jeremy played drums and guitar for Heep.  Hey, the video is cheesy as Hell, but the song is awesome. That's what I think.

Ozzy - Ozzy definitely is not a good singer.  The performance video is pretty cool, just because it's Ozzy, but no other reason really.  Who is on guitar?  That's good.  I have more solo Ozzy than I probably need.  My favorite is definitely No More Tears, which I know for a fact is not Niels' favorite.  I'm not really a fan of this song either, so thumbs down for the song and thumbs somewhat up for the video.

I'm guessing the other musician is Lee Kerslake.

[Niels (Mod)]

Well, the guitarist is Jake E. Lee, and you're right on both accounts: don't care for either BSR or No More Tears.
Nope, not Kerslake. You should had read, what Scott and I "talked" about.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I did.  Powell was actually my first guess.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Then again, maybe it is Lord.

[Niels (Mod)]

No, it IS Powell, but maybe I should change it.

Hmmm, I think that Lord and Daisly only played in one band together, and it was a blues-band not long before Lord's passing.

I understand, that you guys aren't that impressed by Ozzy's solo-albums, and I kind of agree, because "Blizzard" and DOAM are not solo-albums, but by the band "Blizzard Of Ozz", and what an awesome band, that was, and exellent albums. Daisly claims, that Rhoads was sick of Ozzy and especially Sharon shortly before his death, and he is sure, he would have left them before the recording of the next album. Even though Daisly was screwed by the Osbourne's, he always loved Ozzy and his humor, and kept working for them for moneys sake, and because Daisly wouldn't burn his bridges. But enough was enough around the start of the 90's, and the man (kind of) most responsible for putting Ozzy's career back on track, has now been without contact to Ozzy for almost 25 years.