An audio cassette of Ozzy Osbourne rehearsing in 1980 has been unearthed, and it contains an early recording of what would become the metal icon’s first solo band.
The cassette captures a jam session involving Ozzy, guitarist Randy Rhoads, and bassist Bob Daisley, before they enlisted drummer Lee Kerslake to round out the band that would record the now legendary Blizzard of Ozz full length release.
The 12-minute recording is labeled “Ozzie Last Day,” and was discovered in the attic of David Jolly, who befriended Ozzy after the singer had been fired by Black Sabbath and had started to put together his solo band.
Jolly invited Sky News to his home, and played the cassette for the news outlet (watch and listen below), revealing a bluesy jam in which Ozzy’s undeniable vocals can be heard.
Sky News contacted Daisley, who confirmed the recording’s authenticity, saying, “As soon as I heard it, I thought, yes, that’s us, that’s Ozzy‘s voice. … I don’t know if we were auditioning a drummer and just loosening up a bit, or we’re just clowning about… but it wasn’t a song we were working on because we had definite songs by then, we had several songs.”
Ozzy, who passed away in July of last year, was just honored with an all-star tribute performance led by Post Malone and Slash at the Grammy Awards this past Sunday.
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