Lee Kerslake
April 16, 1947 – September 19, 2020
Former Uriah Heep and Ozzy Osbourne drummer Lee Kerslake has died at the age of 77 following a longrunning battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014 and the disease spread through his body. Five years later doctors advised him to arrange his affairs over the following eight months. Lee never gave up the fight, recording a final album, Eleventeen to be released posthumously and setting up the ongoing filming of an autobiographical documentary, Not On The Heep, that examines the unique bonds of friendship between musicians. Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Ian Paice of Deep Purple and Kiss’s Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are among those to appear in his film.
Kerslake was born in Winton, near Bournemouth. His first band of significance was The Gods, followed by Toe Fat and the National Head Band. He joined Uriah Heep in late 1971, and their first album with him was Demons And Wizards. As well as a forceful pounder of the kit, he was also a writer and an integral part of the group’s five-part vocal harmonies. However, during the 70s their internal politics were unforgiving and, at the behest of keyboard player Ken Hensley, manager and record label boss Gerry Bron fired him following 1978’s Fallen Angel album. He returned to Heep in ’81
In 1980 Kerslake joined up with Ozzy Osbourne in a new band, Blizzard Of Ozz, which featured guitar hotshot Randy Rhoads. Along with bassist Bob Daisley, Kerslake was fired following a second album, Diary Of A Madman, for which Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo were falsely credited. Later on, their parts were re-recorded by drummer Mike Bordin and bassist Robert Trujillo. Although his and Daisley’s performances were eventually restored, their sacking and lack of acknowledgement and financial restitution left a bitter taste.
In 2007 declining health forced Kerslake to leave his beloved Heep for a final time. Having made peace with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne as the extent of his illness dawned, Kerslake finally received his multi-platinum awards for Ozzy’s first two albums. In 2019 Kerslake told Classic Rock: “Since I’ve known that I’m dying I no longer want to hold a grudge. I want to go with a clear conscience. They [the Osbournes] know I haven’t got much longer left. They [the discs] are all I wanted. That’s it. Everything is done and dusted.”
Kerslake also wiped the slate clean with his former Heep bandmate Ken Hensley who had instigated his sacking. Indeed it was Hensley who broke the news of Kerslake’s passing, and said he was “my friend of 55 years and the best drummer I ever played with”.
Heep guitarist Mick Box, who was filled with grief at the news, posted a photograph of the two of them in a bear hug following Kerslake’s final cameo with Heep at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in 2018, and described him as “one of the kindest men on earth, a brother and an incredible drummer, singer and songwriter”. “Rock in peace, my friend,” Box wrote in conclusion, “and say hi to [former Heep members] David [Byron], Gary [Thain], John [Wetton] and Trevor [Bolder] for me.”
Ozzy Osbourne commented: “It’s been 39 years since I saw Lee but he lives for ever on the records he played on for me, Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman. Lee Kerslake RIP.”
Eighteen months ago, with Kerslake aware that his time was running out, Classic Rock asked him how he would like to be remembered.
“As one of the great drummers in rock music and as a songwriter,” was his solemn reply. “I’m underappreciated as a writer. People just don’t know that me, Randy and Bob wrote Diary Of A Madman.
“I hope people think of me as a decent human being,” he added. “I don’t think I’m an asshole, I like myself.”