In an upcoming BraveWords feature, former Ozzy and Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake talks about his cancer battle, current projects and his relationship with Ozzy Osbourne, who he built such classics as Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman with after leaving Uriah Heep. Watch for the full story in the coming days, but for now, drum roll please…

BraveWords: What do the two Ozzy albums that you played on mean to you today?

Lee Kerslake: “I had left Uriah Heep because I was fed up with the management. Management drove me mad and I hated them. So, I left. I went down to Shepperton - a friend of mine’s studio... do you remember Go West? Pete Cox was another good mate of mine, who was also with Manfred Mann, and he had a studio. So, we got together, and I had Pete Cox singing songs that I was writing. And lo and behold I get a phone call from Ossie Hoppe from Germany, and he says, ‘Ozzy Osbourne is asking to get in touch with you. He wants to know if you can join his band?’ I said, ‘No. I’m not joining any band. I’ll be part of a band... but I’m not joining to be a member of a band.’ He said, ‘No - all four of you will be straight down the middle. What’s going to happen is we’re going to get a studio in Shepperton, and you’re going to come down there, set up your kit, play a couple of tracks, and take it from there.’ I said ‘OK.’ I knew Bob Daisley was going to be in the band. They’d started recording, and they were using any drummers they could get their hands on - and they were bloody awful. Believe me, they were awful. So, I phoned Bob, and said, ‘What songs are you using?’ And over the phone he told me the idea and he played me the idea of ‘Crazy Train’ and ‘I Don’t Know.’ And I went, ‘OK. I got it.’ So, the day came that I went into the studio rehearsal, and I went, ‘One, two, three, four…’ (sings beginning of ‘Crazy Train’). We did all of that, I started playing heavy, and Randy Rhoads jumped up in the air, and said, ‘WE’VE GOT OURSELVES A FUCKING DRUMMER!’ And that was it - I was in. And I co-wrote the second album. But I did a lot of work with the drums to get it right with the style of the first one, Blizzard Of Ozz. And then we did Diary Of A Madman, which I thought was an amazing album. And so did a lot of people - those two albums together sold millions, and they’re still selling.”

Watch for more soon!

(Lee Kerslake photo - Richard Galbraith, Randy Rhoads photo - UDR Music)