Ozzy Osbourne Responds to Bassist Bob Daisley's Lawsuit Over Unpaid Royalties.
Is
being sued by his former songwriting partner and bassist Bob Daisley
over unpaid royalties related to the Prince of Darkness' hit "Crazy
Train."
Daisley
has filed a suit against Osbourne and his company Blizzard Music
Limited seeking $2 million he claims is due to him. But Osbourne's camp
denies any wrongdoing and says the Australian musician's legal action is
"tantamount to harassment," citing
previous lawsuits he has all lost to Osbourne.
As
NME reports,
Daisley's suit claims 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."
In
a statement, Osbourne reps responded, saying, "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 UK and the US 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."
Daisley
co-wrote on a majority of the songs on Osbourne's debut 1980 solo
album, Blizzard of Ozz (including "Crazy Train"), as well as Osbourne's
following studio albums through the 1980s: Diary of a Madman, Bark at the Moon, The Ultimate Sin and No Rest for the Wicked. He also played bass on a number of the albums.