Bassist Bob Daisley Continues Push for Credit on Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman

Bob Daisley has voiced his frustration about what he played and wrote on Ozzy Osbourne's 1981 record, Diary of a Madman. He seeks recognition, stating that seeing Rudy Sarzo's name listed instead of his felt like "a punch in the solar plexus."

"Just ask me what I thought of Rudy Sarzo being credited on Diary of a Madman!" Daisley told Bass Player. "That was a travesty, a true crime against [drummer] Lee Kerslake and me."

Daisley performed on the first two solo records from the ex-Black Sabbath frontman, The Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. He returned to work with Osbourne several times during the 1980s, his last session being 1991's No More Tears.

"I'd worked hard on that album — as I do with every album that I've been involved with — both with the playing/writing aspects and the production," he said. "And then, to see all my hard work get credited to someone who'd had nothing to do with any of it was heartbreaking, and the same goes for Lee."

Both the bassist and drummer, Lee Kerslake, got fired before the second record hit stores. Daisley recalls discovering the wrong names listed. "I remember the day that Lee and I saw that album and those erroneous credits for the first time; it was like a punch in the solar plexus," he said.

Legal fights have erupted between Daisley and Osbourne over the years. Back in 2016, Daisley sued Osbourne and Blizzard Music Limited. He claimed they kept over $2 million in unpaid royalties from the song "Crazy Train" alone.

The Prince of Darkness and his team denied everything. A spokesperson stated that Daisley had received biannual royalty statements and checks from Blizzard Music, "totalling in millions of dollars, which have been routinely cashed," The Guardian reported at the time. Courts threw out the case.