Did any of you see Randy play live?

[Fozzy41]

Yeah, I saw Blizzard of Ozz play Hull City Hall on Saturday 18th October 1980. This was part of an extra set of dates added to the tour because it was such a huge success. I didn't get to any of the original dates because the nearest town they were playing was Sheffield which is about 60 miles away and as I was only 15 at the time my Mam and Dad wouldn't let me go. Anyway, when the Hull date was announced I just could not believe it, I thought it was a wind-up. I'd been into Ozzy for about two years at the time and this was my first chance to see him live. Me and a few mates turned up early and there was already a large number of fans waiting for the doors to open, I vaguely remember the atmosphere been fantastic and we had'nt even got inside the building. Budgie were on first and they where really good but to be honest we was only there for one reason, Ozzy and his new band. Finally after whet seemed like a lifetime of waiting the house lights eventually went down and the intro tape began, well, I was nearly crying with excitement. Then, all of a sudden, as if from nowhere, there he was, Ozzy, arms outstretched, giving his famous peacesigns in his tassled top ,and to his left Randy Rhodes kicking out the opening riff to I Don't Know. Fuckin' Hell, life doesn't get better than this. The crowd were going wild. The songs flew by, You Looking at Me, Crazy Train, every thing off the album. Randy was amazing. For someone who was unheard of a few monthe earlier, he made a lot of new fans that night. While Randy shone like the star he was, Ozzy actually seemed a little subdued really, looking tired in places, and not really moving much away from the mic. stand. But we didn't care, the atmosphere was electric and the full audience was having a blast. The stage set was sparse, but with the full stage been lit up most of the time.(check out the photo's) You could see Ozzy was giving it his all, smiling quite a lot, but when I look back on the concert it probably wasn't a great night for Ozzy, you could tell he was'nt on form fully, but hey, at the time we never noticed, we just thought it was brilliant. And Ozzy's new sidekick was the star of the show. After the concert we tried to meet the band. We waited outside the stage door in the hope of meeting them. After about 30 minutes a big minder came outside carrying a plastic bag and we could clearly see Ozzy's stage gear in it. The bouncer was struggling with the keys for the car and he put the bag on the floor. For a split second I nearly picked up the bag and ran like fuck, but that would have blown my chances of meeting the band, nicking Ozzy's stage outfit, so I didn't. I later wished I had. A few minutes later Ozzy came rushing out, jumped straight in the car, and the car sped off. I don't know wether he actually saw us 'cos we was at the other door, but I'm sure he knew we were there. We, been only kids at the time, like idiots, ran after the car, after a few hundred yards we gave up. As we trundled back, out of breath, back to the City Hall, another car drove past, in the front was Bob Daisley, and in the back was Lee Kerslake and Randy Rhodes, I remember Randy looking at us, he smiled and gave us a little wave as the car carried on. Fuckin' Hell, we was gutted, if we hadn't chased Ozzy's car, we'd have met the full band as they left the venue. Shit. I've since met Ozzy several times and he's been great, but unfortunatley I never saw Randy again, which still pains me to this day. To this day I can still picture him waving to us from the back seat of the car. But I fuckin' regret chasing that bastard Ozzy's car. Ahh, memories.

[Fozzy41]

I'm gonna get the photo's that my mate took of the above concert, as well as a local paper review and the ticket stub sent to Skezza, hopefully he can post them here.

[GUITARIDOL5682]

Hi Fozzy,
Your story is very much like mine,when you think back to then its so vivid i can remember it like it was yesterday.It was part of growing up an introduction to rock music at its best and we were very fortunate to see Randy in concert.Is their a bootleg available of the Hull gig?? cheers for your story what a cracking read..

[The Flying Dutchman]

Heej Fozz,
Great story man! Thnx! (how was the band/guitarsound?)
Looking forward for the pics!


*just came to my mind that I got somewhere a pic of that concert you attended to. If I remember correctly I found it at The Day the Music died. Maybe one of the pics taken by your buddy? :

[Fozzy41]

Yeah, thats one of the photos. I sent a few to The Day the Music Died a couple of years ago. There will be more posted here soon. The sound was O'K, but not brilliant. Ozzy's voice got lost in the mix early in the set, but got better as the set went on, Randy stood out musically and sounded amazing, especially on his solo, we was all gobsmacked. but Lee's drumming was unbelievably loud, too loud probably. The concert got a bit of a slagging in the local press saying the concert was far too loud and all the songs sounded the same. Load of bollocks. Amazing night, one I'll remember forever. No boot as far as I know.

[GUITARIDOL5682]

This is the review from the Hull City Hall 18 October 1980

Hull City Hall: "Blizzard of Ozz." Heavy Rock fell on Hull on Saturday night and crushed a few ear drums. For the band put together by former Black Sabbath singer Ozzie Osbourne played it loud. Very loud. For much of the rather short set - barely an hour - about 1,400 rock fans were bombarded by a wall of sound. But if all the flailing heads wanted was atmosphere, then they got an extra dose courtesy of Blizzard. The action and the music was frenetic, particularly when the trio of Sabbath numbers, capped inevitably by "Paranoid," were blasted out like there was no tomorrow. Not for anyone - and I suppose there must have been some - needing to hear the music of an untried new band galloping ahead on the strength of past glories with other outfits, it was disappointing. More often that not, the bass of Bob Daisley (ex-Rainbow), guitar of new-boy Randy Rhoades from California, and Osbourne's familiar strangled vocals combined on a nearly indiscernible level. Even that driving cacophony was second fiddle to the crashing beat of gentleman drummer Lee Kerslake, for many years Uriah Heap's backbone. ROCK CLASSICS - The band have released one album and that was the basis of the set. One or two of the tracks stand out as possible rock classics, such as "Crazy Train" and "Suicide Solution," but on this night they were barely distinguishable from the rest. There was some justification for not delivering the goods, I spoke to Osbourne after the concert. He looked, and said he felt terrible. Nervously chewing on an orange, to sooth his strained vocal chords, he admitted: "I wasn't good tonight. After all these weeks on the road - and more to come - I am completely exhausted." His tiredness certainly showed on stage. Well-known as a rock wildman, he looked and behaved by his standards more like a teddy bear in need of a good night's sleep. Osbourne has been having treatment for a bad throat. Given a good rest and a better meshing of the band's undoubted abilities, next time round may be worth seeing - and hearing! The success - for it was a success because of the electric atmosphere - was due in no small measure to support band Budgie. They have been around for years, always hovering on the brink of stardom. On Saturday night they showed their class with a tight set of rock, drawing on all their experience. They got the fans on their feet by hitting hard with simple cliched rock - a style of music the band actually helped become a cliché!

[Fozzy41]

Thanks for posting the review from The Hull Daily Mail of the Hull concert. Its a shame that the review was dissapointing, it doesn't do the concert justice. The sound might not have been fantastic but it was still a great concert.

[frank]

it is my regret that i didn't see randy play w/ ozzy. i was one of his students and i followed quiet riot from '78 to '80. saw him perform dozens of times during that period, but i wasn't an ozzy fan. i figured i'd have plenty of time to see him later. shows what you know. everything you say about his being a great person is right-on. i don't suppose i'll ever meet anyone like him as long as i live.

[Ell]

it is my regret that i didn't see randy play w/ ozzy. i was one of his students and i followed quiet riot from '78 to '80. saw him perform dozens of times during that period, but i wasn't an ozzy fan. i figured i'd have plenty of time to see him later. shows what you know. everything you say about his being a great person is right-on. i don't suppose i'll ever meet anyone like him as long as i live.

Wow, what was he like in lessons? What kind of stuff did he make you learn song wise?

[frank]

he was quite gracious. randy would ask what you wanted to learn. of course i wanted to play like him so he showed me his favorite licks. i'm sorry to say i wasn't a good student but he was very patient. i learned basic theory from him and he would entertain me by shredding. i have some of it on tapes. he could play anything you wanted. on a dime. he was incredible.

[skezza]

These are some photos supploed by Fozzy41. Thanks very much!

[Fozzy41]

Skezza and Shaun, thanks a lot for getting my photo's from Hull posted above, its really appreciated, cheers.

[The Flying Dutchman]

Skezza and Shaun, thanks a lot for getting my photo's from Hull posted above, its really appreciated, cheers.

Great pics Fozz! Thnx!

Interesting to see he used two white and two black speaker cabs here. Never seen this in other pics.

[Trigger]

That was a great story and the pictures are amazing, I only just saw these and your Hull show story. Thankyou for sharing it with us, like GI said did you get a recording of the show?

T

[frank]

heartbreaking story about your stagedoor experience!