Drummer TOMMY ALDRIDGE Says OZZY Made Fun Of RONNIE JAMES DIO

January 22, 2005

In an interview with the Dio Message Board, legendary drummer Tommy Aldridge (WHITESNAKE, THIN LIZZY) addressed the confusion as to why his picture appeared on the OZZY OSBOURNE "Diary of a Madman" album sleeve when he was not the drummer on the recording (Lee Kerslake was).

"I think it's pretty obvious that it's not my drumming on that album," he said. "I have never taken credit for that recording and have always given Lee Kerslake, whenever asked or interviewed, the credit he rightly deserves. With the greatest respect, I would never claim that (or any other's) performance. As for the photo...it was as big to me as well. I first saw it when everyone else did...when the record was released. It was not my choice/decision for that image to imply that I was on the album. This is a question that Sharon [Osbourne] would be more qualified to answer."

As to whether it is true Ozzy named a road crew midget "Ronnie" to poke fun at his rival, the vertically challenged Ronnie James Dio, who replaced Ozzy in BLACK SABBATH, Aldridge offered, "Out of our insecurities, we sometimes say and do things that are not on. Ozzy has always had an unusual sense of humor. Without being specific... he took full advantage of any opportunity to poke fun at Ronnie."

Read the entire interview by signing up at the Dio Message Board and clicking on the "Don't Talk To Strangers" section.

(Thanks: Electric Basement)

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).