DS

DS Well Bob! Let me open by saying it’s an honor to have this opportunity to get to know you better and share with your many fans some of your amazing career.

DS You’ve played with pretty much the “who’s who” of rock music and especially… rock guitar. Randy Rhodes & Zakk (Ozzy), Iommi (Sabbath), Blackmore (Deep Purple/Rainbow), Yngwie Malmsteen, Mick Box (Uriah Heep), Gary Moore. All these guys are favorites of mine…. Short of Hendrix coming back from the dead…I don’t think it can get any better than that… can it?

BD As much as I enjoyed every musical situation I’ve been in, I suppose my ultimate guitar hero would be Jeff Beck but then again probably most of the above would hold this opinion also. Beck’s been a long-time favourite of mine along with the ones you’ve mentioned too and let’s not forget Jake E. Lee and Jeff Watson.

DS What kind of relationship do you have with the guys & bands you’ve played with? Are you still in touch with any of them?

Dio? The last time I spoke to Ronnie was at the end of 1998 when I toured Scandinavia with him and his band. The band was good, Ronnie sang like a bird as usual and the tour was a success but I wasn’t in a great frame of mind at the time as my dad had just passed away only weeks before.

Blackmore? The last time I saw Ritchie was in L.A on the Sunset Strip. Lee Kerslake and I were staying at the Hyatt House hotel and met Ritchie for breakfast at Ben Frank’s. I always liked Ritchie as a player and as a bloke.

Sabbath? Tony Iommi and I used to speak on the phone from time to time and exchanged the odd Christmas card since the recording of the album I did with Sabbath in 1986 – The Eternal Idol – but I haven’t had any contact with him of late. By the way, although credited, Dave Spitz didn’t play on any of that album.

Uriah Heep? Obviously I’m in close contact with Lee Kerslake and have seen him often during our lawsuit meetings, one of which was in New York’s Manhattan on September 11^th. Lee was due to do his deposition that day. I’ve spoken to Mickey Box several times over the years and have always had a close affinity to him. I saw him a few times here in Sydney when he was living here but he has since returned to England. John Sinclair and I have spoken to each other often and I have obviously seen him since the Heep days during Ozzy recording sessions. The Heep was a fun time in my career.

Gary Moore? I’m still in contact with Gary from time to time and there’s always the possibility that we could work together again in the future sometime. Gary is a maestro.

Ozzy? Ozzy and I are in contact only through lawyers at present – as is probably commonly known Kerslake and I are seeking royalty payments for our performances on Blizzard and Diary albums. Other than that the next time I see Ozzy, maybe in court.

DS As a non-guitar player, who loves guitar, I’d “guess” that Randy, Zakk, or Yngwie were the most “technically proficient” guitarist you have played with? Care to comment on this?

BD Probably Gary Moore but I loved writing with Randy and I noticed you haven’t included Ritchie Blackmore in this list – he was a very original player and one of the greats. There is another person I’d like to mention that I’ve worked with in recent years – Jeff Watson, certainly a great player.

DS Your numerous contributions to some of the best rock records ever made are obvious from the credits & lyrics on the many albums you have worked on (with maybe an exception or 2 we won’t get into right now ;-). Can you give us a tidbit of what you’ve gleamed or taken away from your relationship with each of these legends?

BD Tony Iommi- I worked very well with Tony and enjoyed the recording of the album “Eternal Idol”. Tony has always been a great riff merchant. I did write a lot of the lyrics on that album but did the project as a session and had a great time doing it. Tony asked me to join the band but I was with Gary Moore at the time and stayed loyal.

Randy Rhoads – The first time Randy and I jammed together, after the last notes we looked at each other and simultaneously said, “I like the way you play.” From then on the creative relationship grew. The majority of the first Ozzy album was written between us before Lee got involved and was put together between and even sometimes during drummer auditions. The chemistry between the four of us resulted in the classic albums that put Ozzy back on the map. Randy was a one-off player and the poor guy must be turning in his grave at what Mr. And Mrs. Osbourne have done to our product.

Yngwie – I only worked with Yngwie for a short period of time during the recording of his “Odyssey” album in 1987. He asked me to join his band but again I was loyal to Gary Moore. I haven’t had much contact with him since then.

Ritchie Blackmore – Rainbow was the first big-name headline act I worked with. I was very impressed with Ritchie’s tenacity and dedication. I got on very well with Ritchie and felt honoured to be in Rainbow. I learned a lot in general from touring the world and recording during this time.

Gary Moore – I was always an admirer of Gary’s playing and his serious attitude towards his music although we did have more than many a good laugh. I look back on the musical and fun times with Gary in fond memory.

Mick Box – My time in Uriah Heep with Mick was a very enjoyable time. The Heep felt like a family and it was a sad time for me to leave. I left to re-join Ozzy and Jake E. Lee who in my opinion filled the Randy shoes admirably. Mick was so easy to work with and work was always fun – it was hard to discern where work ended and play began.

Ozzy/Zakk- The relationship between Ozzy and myself was always a special one – I don’t think it was an accident that we met and created classic works together. Although nowadays the proverbial shit has hit the fan, I look back at the creation of Blizzard and Diary with more than fond memory. Ozzy has been very fortunate with hooking up with classic guitar players and in general, musicians. From Iommi, Rhoads, E. Lee, Zakk etc. etc. he seems to land on his feet. I had much fun working with Zakk and rate him highly.

DS Take us back to the beginning, you were born on Feb. 13^th 1950. What city were you born in? Where did you grow up? Have brothers or sisters?

BD My mother’s family emigrated from Sunderland, England to Sydney, Australia where I was born. My father’s side of the family originated from Ireland. Apparently the name was originally Paisley in Ireland. I grew up in the suburbs of Sydney and have one sister, Norma. I left Sydney in 1971 for London and lived in England in London then in Brighton until 1997 when I returned to Sydney.

DS What was your childhood/youth like? What schooling have you had?

BD I think I was a born rebel albeit an academic one, making it through to tenth grade at the age of 15 (everyone else was 16) in 1965. I was expelled for refusing to wear uniform or get my rolling-stone locks cut. My first taste of fame was my photo and interview in the national press as a pioneer of the hair movement.

DS I’ve never heard any stories of you personally watering down the Alamo or snacking on live animals (like some former band mates). Were you able to avoid most of the pitfalls of rock stardom (excessive drugs, sex, destruction of property) or were you just smart enough to not get caught?

BD The latter!

DS I know Dio & Ozzy hate this next line of questioning….but I have to ask it anyways because it is a theme that ran through a lot of the bands, or at least albums, you have worked on! Do you, or have you ever, dabbled in the Occult or had a fascination with the Occult?

BD I haven’t dabbled in the occult myself but have leant more towards philosophy and the spiritual side of things, i.e. Nichiren Buddhism (nam myo ho renge kyo). I believe that one doesn’t necessarily have to be religious to be spiritual and that to be religious isn’t necessarily being spiritual.

If you want to know what’s really going on in the world, read books by David Icke and visit his website (www.davidicke.com). Books such as “The Biggest Secret” and “The Children of the Matrix”.

DS Are you settled down now? Married? Children? Anyone to carry on the musical legacy?

BD I don’t think I’ll ever be “settled down” – all my life I’ve been told to “settle down” so that’s the last thing I’ll do. I have been married to my wonderful wife, Vicki, for 26 years and have two daughters, Rebecca and Rosanna. Maybe grandchildren may carry on the legacy but let’s not go there!

DS You are obviously an amazing talent! At what age did you pick up the bass guitar and what inspired you to do so? Do you play other instruments or guitars?

BD At age 13 I had Spanish guitar lessons and at one of the lessons (it was a class of approx. 20 pupils) a live band performed instrumentals to demonstrate the various instrumental roles in the band. I immediately chose to play bass at feeling and hearing the warmth and backbone of the band – the electric bass. My mother was always very supportive of my musical career and in 1964 bought me my first bass guitar – a Futurama. My eldest sister had helped to give me a good rock ‘n roll and music environment by playing records by the various big names of the fifties. Just recently I began learning to play blues harmonica – something I had always wanted to do.

DS Were you professionally trained… or is this all the results of “God Given” talent & long hours of practice?

BD Certainly long hours of practise and dedication and a certain amount of sacrifice. The first 12 to 15 months of my guitar lessons I learnt the basic rudiments of music etc. All the bass stuff was pretty much self-taught and and influenced from playing along with records.

DS Was bass guitar your 1^st choice? It’s obviously served you well! What made you decide to make the bass guitar ”Your instrument”?

BD After leaving the guitar lesson classes I was told by friends that the teacher had commented that I would have made a good guitar player but for some reason the bass guitar had gotten into my blood and stayed there. It gets bulky at times…

DS Who were the guys that influenced you? Who has had the biggest impact on who you are as a performer & songwriter?

BD Initially Jet Harris (bass player with the U.K instrumental group The Shadows) and various other instrumental and surfing music bands of the time. Then came The Beatles and the British beat boom. I listened intently to McCartney’s melodic bass lines and Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts (the rhythm section of the Rolling Stones), from there it went to James Jamerson of Tamla Motown fame and people like Willie Weeks. Other influences include Jack Bruce (Cream), Ronnie Wood’s bass playing on Jeff Beck’s albums “Truth” and “Beckola” and I admired John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. As far as song-writing goes, in my book, Lennon-McCartney take the cake.

DS At what point in time did you realize that getting up on stage and going out in front of audiences to perform your music was what you wanted to do?

BD Probably age 14 when I began doing high school concerts with other high school musicians.

DS What would you consider to be your 1^st big musical break…and how did it come about?

BD In 1972 in London I joined U.K blues band “Chicken Shack” with Stan Webb. Stan was a very well respected blues guitarist and great all-round entertainer. I learned a lot about blues music and obscure artists from Stan. I was introduced to Stan by Clive Coulson who was a friend of mine and did outfront sound mixing for Led Zeppelin. Clive had been a singer in a band with me in Sydney in 1969/70. Being in Chicken Shack put me on the scene in England with credibility.

DS At what point did you say to yourself… “Hey I’m doing pretty good at this”…I guess I’m not gonna be flipping burgers the rest of my life!

BD By age 15 and having played bass for a while in garage bands I began getting compliments from older musicians. This encouraged me to pursue my career with vigour and tenacity. At that stage of the life of rock ‘n roll there weren’t really any older rock musicians and people would often ask me, “But what are you going to do when you’re 30 or 40?” to which I replied, “Interviews.”

DS A lot of casual listeners & observers may not realize you did a lion’s share of the writing in Ozzy & many of the other bands & projects you have been involved in. Which of your songs or records are you particularly proud of (either from a technical or commercial point of view)?

BD When I was in Rainbow I developed an ambition to either write or co-write a hit album and/or single. The writing situation in Rainbow was pretty sewn up between Ritchie and Ronnie so that would have to wait. The next main event was meeting Ozzy and Randy and forming the band Blizzard of Oz and co-writing an historic event. During the first writing stages both Ozzy and Randy attempted to write lyrics but failed. I took over as lyricist for all the Ozzy stuff – Blizzard, Diary, Bark, No Rest and Ultimate Sin. It’s a great feeling for me to know that many people appreciate the musical and lyrical input I gave. I have enjoyed the writing I have done for all my projects: Ozzy, Uriah Heep, Widowmaker, Mother’s Army, Black Sabbath (Rainbow and Gary Moore were self-sufficient in this department). I feel proud of having been involved in some of the milestones in rock history, from a musical and commercial point of view.

DS What CD’s / music have you been listening to lately?

BD I listen to a very wide range of music and artists…from classical (I was the one who came up with Ozzy’s intro stage music, Carmina Burana), Tamla Motown, Blues, Indian music (sitar, tabla, esraj etc.), new-age, to my old favourites like The Beatles, and sixties classics. Lately I’ve been listening to more Blues whilst learning harmonica. You never know, you may hear a bit of my “harp” on a future blues album.

DS You’re currently working on a new Blues Project. Can you give us more of the details? Any plans to record? Tour? When might all of this happen, etc.etc?

BD The blues album I was working on is now completed and I’m working on getting it released in the near future. More on this soon.

DS How much of the creative process on this new project are you able to be involved in? Are you again doing the bulk of the song writing?

BD Many of the songs are standard blues favourites with our trademark put to them. I produced the album and wrote one song and co-wrote another. It was recorded in a home studio 16-track but we are pleased with the final product – so is everyone that’s heard it. Hopefully there’ll be another one and I’ll be doing much more writing on that one.

DS Will the new stuff be Rainbow / Sabbath heavy… or more along the lines of a traditional blues album?

BD More authentic style blues that has its heavy moments.

DS Unfortunately! I’m one of the only ones left of the guys I grew up with in the 70’s & 80’s still listening to the albums & concerts we grew up with.

Do you still enjoy playing the hard & heavy stuff that you’ve been such a pioneer of?

BD Some of the Mother’s Army stuff I would still regard hard ‘n heavy and I enjoyed every moment of that. The hard ‘n heavy stuff is what I really cut my musical teeth on so that will always be part of me.

DS Right now, new hard rock & heavy metal get very little air play & consideration on the airwaves here in the USA while music with little technical merit and cookie cutter lyrics get all the money. What do you make of this?

BD When I was a teenager pop music was The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Small Faces and cool stuff like that – people who could write and perform, even the more commercial stuff like The Monkees had more musical merit than the stuff of today. There is so much rap-flavoured “music” around these days that seems to have very negative lyrics put to an artificial beat. Obviously the “C” in Rap is silent…

I think during the sixties and seventies especially, young people were spoilt for choice by a never-ending flow of great writers and performers, which dominated the airwaves. I feel sorry for today’s kids for having not been there! Not that all music of today is under par – there are still great bands around and many good young musicians who deserve to be seen and heard more than they are. But then again things often come in cycles and we may see more “greats” in the future. As for now, greed and one-hit wonders prevail – unfortunately.

DS I know you primarily play vintage Fender guitars. Do you have any particular favorites, and if so, what makes them a favorite? How many guitars do you have?

BD Here is the current list of my instruments at the moment:

FENDERS:

· ’61 P Bass natural wood finish – used on many records including “Diary”, “Mungo Jerry singles, Chicken Shack album “Unlucky Boy”, Uriah Heep albums “Abominog” and “Headfirst” and Rainbow “Long Live Rock ‘n Roll”, Black Sabbath’s “Eternal Idol” and both Widowmaker albums.

· ’62 P Bass fiesta red – used on Gary Moore recordings and a few tracks on Ozzy’s “No More Tears”.

· ’63 P Bass lake placid blue

· ’64 P Bass candy apple red

· ’57 P Bass (gold anodized scratchguard) – was previously John Entwhistle’s

· ’53 P Bass butterscotch finish, slab body

· ’54 P Bass – used on most of the tracks on “No More Tears” including title track (by the way, Michael Inez didn’t play on any of this album)

· ’59 P Bass sunburst with slab fretboard

· ’64 P Bass sunburst virtually mint condition

· ’63 P Bass olympic white – used on Mother’s Army recordings

· ’64 P Bass refinished in heather lilac used on Mother’s Army recordings and Hendrix Tribute album “In From The Storm” produced by Eddie Kramer on track “Bold As Love” with Steve Vai, Paul Rogers and Tony Williams.

· ’62 Fender Jazz Bass fiesta red

· ’64 Jazz Bass candy apple red with matching headstock

· ’68 Telecaster Bass paisley finish

· ’82 Jazz Bass gold on gold finish (rare)

· ’58 Stratacaster sunburst

· Gibson EB3 Bass 1960 cherry finish

· Gibson EBO Bass 1960 brown

· Gibson EB1 Bass 1958 violin shape, brown

· Epiphone Rivoli Bass blonde finish

· Danelectro Longhorn Bass 1959

· ’63 Hofner Violin Bass – used on “Flying High Again”

· Hofner “Cavern” Bass, re-issue of 1000 in early 90s as used by his lordship, Mr McCartney in the Cavern days of Liverpool. Used on new Blues album.

· Early 60s Harmony Semi-Acoustic Bass popularised by the Spencer Davis Group and Ronnie Lane of The Small Faces

· Custom-made Zemaitis Bass made by Tony Zemaitis in ’92

· 1964 Rickenbacker 4001S Bass dotneck, fireglow as used by Lord McCartney and one of less than 200 made

· Semi-Acoustic Framus Star Bass, large body as used by Bill Wyman in early Stones days

· Small-body single pick-up Framus Bass

· Ibanez fretless Bass

· Ibanez 5-string Bass

The above instruments are kept in a vault in a castle surrounded by a moat with crocodiles, electrified barbed wire fences and landmines in a far-off distant land where they live happily ever after.

For the last 30 years I have consistently used Picato strings.

DS I know I already ask you this question previously, but to satisfy the musicians who are already quizzing me, what equipment do you take into the studio with you? How about on stage? What are the settings, effects, tunings and all that other good stuff that you use… in case someone out there wants to start a Bob Daisley tribute band ;-)?

BD For the Blizzard album I used one of Randy’s 100-watt Marshall amps through a 4x12 cab – Gibson EB3 bass. The Diary album I used an Ampeg SVT vintage head (which I still have) through an 8x10 cab with my ’61 P bass (natural finish). With Rainbow for the recording of the “Long Live Rock ‘n Roll” album I used that same ’61 P through one of Ritchie’s doctored 200W Marshall heads through 4x12 cabs. Studio and live equipment has usually been similar to the above throughout the years, sometimes with the addition of acoustic bass amps i.e. a 370 or 360 with reflex cabinets. I’ve never been big on lots of effects other than the odd bit of flange or chorus. Recently I purchased a bass pod and have been toying with it but I am yet to use it in the studio. As collector’s pieces I have a Vox AC30 1960 guitar amp, a Vox T60 bass stack 1964 and a Fender Bassman 1962 stack which is also good for recording. I also have a 1970 Marshall 100 Watt "Bass Head" & a 1969 50 Watt Marshall "guitar head". As for the tribute band you mentioned – I think Ozzy’s already done that, haha!

With tunings, sometimes if a song is in the key of D, I’ll drop the E string down to a low D. I’ll use this same principle even if the whole bass is down a semi-tone making the low string a C sharp. Otherwise tuning is usually normal.

DS How about taking us through the process you use for writing songs. Do you have one style or method you use? What comes 1^st…the music or the words? Do you write/create on the guitar? Piano?

BD Sometimes I jot down lyrics randomly for future reference, other times I come up with a riff or chord sequence whilst messing about on my bass. Most of the writing I’ve ever done has been on the bass, quite often in the company of a guitarist as in the case of Randy, Jake, Zakk, Jeff Watson, Mick Box, etc. There’s never any set sequence to what comes first but usually if I’m writing with other musicians or a band, the riffs, music and melodies often come first.

DS Ozzy recently did something very stupid (in the opinion of many fans who have e-mailed me) and re-recorded the parts Lee Kerslake & yourself performed on the classics “Blizzard of Oz” & “Diary of a Madman”. Any idea what possessed Ozzy to make these drastic decisions?

BD I don’t know whose decision it was ultimately to do this but Ozzy would have had to give it his consent. It shows a total lack of respect for Kerslake and me (we expect that) but also a lack of respect for Randy – he had no say in the matter. Regardless of how much resentment Ozzy had for us, I think it’s a classic case of cutting your nose off to spite your face. Obviously the fact that Lee and I are suing Ozzy and company for unpaid artist royalties from these two albums must be a contributing factor.

DS I never heard of any major riffs or personality difficulties between Ozzy, Lee, & yourself. Was there an event or series of events that led to a strained relationship with Ozzy? What led to your departure from the band?

BD When Ozzy, Randy and I were putting the band together in 1979 we auditioned many, many drummers. Ozzy wanted Tommy Aldridge in the band but at that time he wasn’t available. The last drummer we had to audition before recording Blizzard was Lee Kerslake. As soon as Lee began playing Randy and I looked at each other with a “thank fuck for that” expression, knowing that this was the guy we’d been looking for. After recording Blizzard and during the first U.K tour Tommy Aldridge became available around the same time that Sharon Arden got involved with the band. Ozzy and Sharon tried to talk me into getting rid of Lee to get Tommy in but I didn’t agree. This was suggested to me more than once but as I said at the time, “If it aint broke, don’t fix it.” Lee was perfect for the band and in later years during the recording of No More Tears, Ozzy said to me, “You were right about Kerslake you know.” After the recording of Diary and Lee yet again proving himself, they got rid of both of us and gave our credits to Sarzo and Aldridge who would be touring with the band. The original line-up of the band had the real magic chemistry, which in my opinion has never been recreated. I have never had any personal vendetta against Ozzy and neither has Lee. Obviously I have been called back many times for writing and performance work. There was never any personality clashes or major differences between the four original members that led to the subsequent breakup of the original band.

DS Do you have any plans to put together a band and tour in the near future? What can we expect in the coming years?

BD My main focus at the moment is getting the legal side of things sorted out. The blues project is something I’ve enjoyed doing and hope to get a release of the product and I’ll keep you posted on that one.

DS You’ve traveled the world playing! Any favorite places you’ve been or played? What were your 3 or 4 most memorable shows? Why?

BD I like touring America – there are some good rock ‘n roll audiences there. There are probably too many good things to mention about all the countries and places I’ve toured around the world to list and it would take volumes to tell the stories of many years and hundreds of thousands of miles.

DS All those years on the road. There’s gotta be some pretty great stories to tell. Got any of the better ones you’d be willing to share?

BD One day I hope to write a book and you’ll get to share most of them.

DS Well, let me close by saying “thank you” for your time and allowing me to keep you away from your family & all the fun things in life for a few hours. I’d personally like to thank you for the thousands of hours of enjoyment & escape your music has brought me over the last 25+ years. I’ll leave you with the opportunity to say what’s on your mind. Good luck & I look forward to catching up with you out on the road some day & many more years of great music from you in the near future!

BD Firstly thank you Darrell for putting together a BD web site albeit still in the process of being built. I’d like to personally thank sincerely, all the people who appreciate what I’ve done over the years and especially the ones who have voiced their opinion and shown their support for Lee and me regarding the massacre of two classic pieces in our history. I have no ill feelings towards Tommy Aldridge (Tommy and I were very close) or Rudy Sarzo, who in my opinion were probably innocent parties nor do I have ill feelings towards Ozzy’s current sidemen that replaced what Lee and I did. I think the biggest insult is to the record-buying public and the fans. You deserve better than this. It’s pleasing to know from people’s comments that is it widely known that Lee and I did perform on Diary although not credited and that Ozzy probably wouldn’t be where he is today without the establishment of his solo career through these first two albums.

All in all, I feel gratitude for so far having lived a creative life with many gratifying opportunities having come my way. I have enjoyed good times, good people, good music and good fortune in having that music appreciated by all you music lovers.

With sincere appreciation, Bob Daisley.