Other than the dodgy cover art, which nonetheless serves the purpose of informing us about the many classic bands Bob has been part of, everything about this book is a magical ride you don’t want to end. Through Bob’s almost military memory—and aided ably by his fortunate habit of meticulous journal-keeping—we’re soon experiencing the inner workings of RAINBOW, URIAH HEEP, BLACK SABBATH, and most thoroughly, the OZZY OSBOURNE band, an act for which Bob wrote most of the lyrics through the first five albums, played bass on most of those, wrote a bunch of the music, plus played on the sixth, No More Tears. Where all of this would be enough to warrant a mountain of a book, Bob also takes us into the fascinating world of the second tier, Daisley as journeyman, consummate bassist (music-writer and lyricist), trying to make a buck in his early bands (the legendary KAHVAS JUTE, plus MUNGO JERRY and CHICKEN SHACK), along with instructive, illustrative strides through the YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and GARY MOORE organizations. But all told, this must have been very satisfying to Bob, getting to tell his tale, with much of the book related to his hopelessly tangled relationships with both Don Arden and Sharon (Arden) Osbourne. Fascinating reading, and all of it on heavy-gauge 80lb. semi-gloss. Why? Well, because the whole, heavy, heavy, 7 1/2” x 11” tome is full colour throughout, leading to the most gosh-darn over-the-top reason every fan of classic hard rock has to own this thing: the fly-on-the-wall photography, recording Blizzard and Diary, on tour, in restaurants, backstage with Rainbow... it just goes on and on. Not normally a huge photo guy myself, these are so illuminating, I found myself wishing they were rendered bigger. But alas, this has allowed there to be so much substantial text AND... man, there’s gotta by over 500 photos in here. Bottom line, For Facts Sake is a pull-no-punches deep-insider account of a number of historically huge creases and corners of classic metal. What’s more, it’s impressively detailed, funny, quick-paced, shocking at times, and above all, packed with reflection and insight as to Bob himself as well as the mythic personalities he’s quietly helped look good.

For Facts Sake is available exclusively at Bobdaisley.com.