RUDY SARZO Says SHARON OSBOURNE Tried To Block Release Of Book

Brian Rademacher of Rock Eyez recently conducted an interview with veteran hard rock bassist Rudy Sarzo (DIO, QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Rock Eyez: When you first met Randy Rhoads what was your impression?

Rudy: "I saw him play before I met him. I have a book called 'Off The Rails' and the publisher at the time, Cherry Lane, suggested a subtitle 'Off The Rails - My Adventures In The Land Of Ozz'. One of the reasons why I chose Cherry Lane was not only because my relationship with John Sticks, the publisher, but also his relationship with Randy. He was the editor of Guitar World and he knew Randy pretty well. I knew the book was going to be a labor of love. But it also happened that Cherry Lane also has the sheet music for the Ozzy/Randy catalog. So when Sharon Osbourne found out the book was going to be hitting the street on September 14th, they put a 'cease and desist' order and applied pressure. After many communications between Cherry Lane's lawyers and the Osbourne lawyers, it finally came down to Sharon writing me a very nasty letter and putting an ultimatum on Cherry Lane that if the book was published, she (Sharon Osbourne) was going to pull the catalog. So the contract was released… right now I have another deal in the works and it's still going to come out — thank God! Also, the Editor in Chief at Guitar World contacted me because they are putting together a tribute to Randy. It's the whole issue and they will be using some excerpts from the book." [NOTE: The issue is available now]

Rock Eyez: Moving from band to band... is it more challenging for you?

Rudy: "Moving from band to band is not a decision of choice. To be honest with you, I wished personality-wise everything worked out with QUIET RIOT; because once you reach a certain level of success, the chances of making it happen again are very slim. So when you go from a big situation to the unknown, it's pretty risky. The reason why I left Ozzy: emotionally I didn't want to be in the same band without Randy. It was very hard to carry on without him when the crash happened. With QUIET RIOT, I had to leave the band because of the conflict of personalities we had in the band. With WHITESNAKE, David [Coverdale] broke up the band. He told us that was the last tour the second day we got off tour in 1990. We were pretty much forewarned of the future of WHITESNAKE. Then I went back with QUIET RIOT in 1997 and with Kevin DuBrow not showing up to the gigs after the seventh time, and being sued by promoters and so on, we couldn't afford to keep the band. It was decided by everybody in the band to say, 'Hey it's over and carry on.' Now with YNGWIE, I was asked to do the tour, so I did. In the meantime, I got a call fromRonnie James Dio to come and play on the record. Then again I was on a tour withYNGWIE and I was not about to get off the bus and go in the studio withDIO. I have to fulfill my commitments toYNGWIE. I have been withDIO now for a year and half and we are getting ready to work on the new record."

Read the entire interview at www.rockeyez.com.