Ozzy Osbourne’s Bass Players Open Up About Life with Ozzy

Ozzy Osburne’s camp reissues their illustrious ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ and ‘Diary of a Madman’ albums today (May 31), and to commemorate the release, Ozzy bass players of the past and present — Rudy Sarzo (1981–1982) and Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (2003-present) — met up to reminisce about some of their experiences with Ozzy.

These pioneering albums, which feature the landmark guitar playing of the late Randy Rhodes, are available individually on vinyl, CD or together in a deluxe collector's box.

Sarzo says he was a big Ozzy fan even before he connected with the group.

"Once I joined a band, that took it to a whole different level," he told Blabbermouth.net. "When I think of Ozzy now, I think of playing with Randy Rhoads. Randy was responsible for me joining the band since he and I played together in Quiet Riot. When Ozzy was looking for a bass player way back in 1981, Randy recommended me. It was my first arena band... It was the spark of everything that I've done ever since."

Joining Ozzy brought Blasko full circle with his earliest influence: Black Sabbath.

"Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne are my demographic. The only reason I even play music is because of Black Sabbath," he said. "Now, here it is, I'm 41 years old and I'm actually playing with the guy who's the reason I play music. It's weird. How often does that happen? You're actually playing with the guy who made you want to play music in the first place."

Sarzo's favorite Ozzy songs are "the usual suspects — both albums that were out at the time, ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ and ‘Diary of a Madman.’"

Blasko's picks are a tad vague: "The opportunity to play any of the songs is fine with me. What's better: getting on stage and playing in front of 10,000 people or tarring a hot roof in the San Fernando Valley for a living? [Laughs] It doesn't matter what song we play. It's better than doing anything else."

'Flying High Again' Live from Ozzy's 'Diary of a Madman' Legacy Edition