Life is just not letting up for the Ozzman as former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Bob Daisley is suing the singer over unpaid royalties from their song "Crazy Train."
According to NME, Daisley has filed a $2 million lawsuit in a Nevada court against Ozzy and his company Blizzard Music Limited for the unpaid royalties.
Daisley's suit alleges that "although royalties have been paid to Daisley over the years, an audit conducted in 2014 showed that Osbourne and his company had been improperly deducting undisclosed fees before distributing royalties to Daisley and improperly withholding Daisley’s rightful share of royalties owed under the publishing agreements for the commercial exploitations of the songs.
"While Mr. Osbourne was benefiting from the songs co-authored by our client, the audit shows that he was systematically short-changing Mr. Daisley,” Daisley's lawyer Alan Howard told NME. “Mr. Daisley had no choice but to bring this action to secure his fair share of the proceeds those songs have generated.”
Ozzy's representatives responded to the lawsuit, calling the suit "tantamount to harassment," according to Blabbermouth.
"For the past 36 years Mr. Daisley has been receiving bi-annual royalty statements and checks from Blizzard Music, totaling in the millions of dollars, which have been routinely cashed. Mr. Daisley has audited Blizzard Music accounts over the years using several different auditing firms who found no discrepancies. He has previously filed lawsuits in the U.K. and the U.S. and has lost on each occasion.
"We understand that Mr. Daisley is now in retirement and that these funds are his main source of income, so it is his right to be diligent with his money, but after 36 years, this is tantamount to harassment. We would have hoped that after 36 years that Mr. Daisley would have lost his unhealthy personal obsession and resentment towards Mr. Osbourne's success. Blizzard Music and Mr. Osbourne plan to vigorously defend these proceedings."
In 1979, Ozzy formed a band called The Blizzard of Ozz with Rhoads, Daisley, drummer Lee Kerslake and keyboardist Don Airey. Ozzy's solo career began after the release of their 1980 debut album Blizzard of Ozz, which Daisley and Kerslake were not originally credited for.
Both Daisley and Kerslake were fired after recording 1981's Diary of a Madman, which ironically was Rhoades' last album with the band as well. In reissues of those first two albums, Daisley and Kerslake had both their parts rerecorded by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin.
In a 2002 court ruling, Daisley told Australian Guitar Magazine that he and Kerslake were left "devastated" and "flabbergasted" by the Los Angeles Federal Court after it dismissed a lawsuit over unpaid performance royalties brought forth by the two former band members against Ozzy and his wife Sharon.
I, personally, can see both sides. It seems that the only issue is that Daisley wants performance royalties for the tracks he performed on, and that doesn't really seem out of line. Whose side are you on?
