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Blizzard of Ozz Tour

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Blizzard of Ozz Tour
Promotional tour by Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne performing in Cardiff during the Blizzard of Ozz Tour in October 1980
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
Associated albumBlizzard of Ozz
Start date12 September 1980 (1980-09-12)
End date13 September 1981 (1981-09-13)
Legs4
No. of shows131
Ozzy Osbourne concert chronology

The Blizzard of Ozz Tour was the debut concert tour as a solo artist by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, who had been fired from the English group Black Sabbath a year prior. The tour started on 12 September 1980 and concluded on 13 September 1981.

Overview

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Background

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Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath on 27 April 1979.[1][2][3] Guitarist Randy Rhoads from Quiet Riot was hired in late November 1979. Former Rainbow bassist Bob Daisley was hired on 14 November 1979. The first song that Ozzy, Rhoads, and Daisley wrote together was "Goodbye to Romance." Former-Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake was hired in March 1980. The band then went to Ridge Farm Studios in Rusper to record the debut album, Blizzard of Ozz, from 22 March to 19 April 1980.

Europe leg

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In August 1980, the band began rehearsing at Shepperton Studios in Shepperton, England for the "Blizzard of Ozz Tour." Don Airey, who had been hired to perform keyboards and synthesizers on "Mr. Crowley", "Goodbye to Romance" and "Revelation Mother Earth", could not tour with Ozzy since he had already signed a contract to tour with Rainbow, so the band hired Lindsay Bridgwater.[4][5][6] The band performed two secret warm-up gigs billed as "The Law" in September at Norbreck Castle Nightclub in Blackpool on 3 September and at West Runton Pavilion on 5 September. The band kicked off its opening night of the tour in front of a sold-out crowd at the Glasgow Apollo on 12 September.[7][8]

The 70s Welsh heavy metal band Budgie would open for Ozzy throughout the 1980 European leg. On 20 September, Blizzard of Ozz was released in the United Kingdom and was a success.[8] "Crazy Train" and "Mr Crowley" were released as singles. "Goodbye to Romance", "I Don't Know" and "Suicide Solution" also received radio airplay. On 2 October, the band played at The Gamount Theatre in Southampton where the recordings of "Goodbye to Romance" and "No Bone Movies" would appear on the live Tribute album, released on 19 March 1987. The live recordings of "Mr. Crowley" and "Suicide Solution" would be released on the Mr. Crowley Live EP.

The band regrouped back at Ridge Farm to record Diary of a Madman between February and March 1981. Tensions between Ozzy/Sharon and Daisley/Kerslake over contract issues regarding their names, money, credit, and royalties got worse, which led to Sharon firing Daisley and Kerslake in March 1981.[9][10] Ozzy, Sharon and Rhoads went back to the United States to look for a new drummer and bassist.

North America leg

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In March 1981, former-Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers and Gary Moore drummer, Tommy Aldridge, and former-Quiet Riot bassist, Rudy Sarzo, were hired. Blizzard of Ozz was released in the United States and Canada on 27 March 1981 and it became a success. "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" were released as singles and "Goodbye to Romance", "I Don't Know" and "Suicide Solution" received radio airplay. The album eventually went platinum.[11]

In April, the band began rehearsals for the North America leg at Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California. On 22 April, the band kicked off the North America leg of the tour at Towson Arena in Towson, Maryland in front of a sold-out crowd. Throughout the first half of the North American leg of the tour, the band was supported by English heavy metal band Motörhead. Other bands would be added, such as The Joe Perry Project, The Outlaws and Mountain. On 28 April, the band went to Channel 31(WUHF) TV Studios in Rochester, New York to film a live performance of "I Don't Know", "Suicide Solution", "Mr. Crowley" and "Crazy Train", which were broadcast on the After Hours TV show as live promo-videos.

On 11 May, the live recording of the Cleveland Music Hall performance was broadcast live over the local rock radio station and became as the first 13 tracks on the live Tribute album. On 4 July, the band performed as the special guests in front of their biggest crowd at Bill Graham's Day on the Green Festival where they were supported by "415" (the opener) and Loverboy while Pat Travers, Blue Öyster Cult and Heart performed afterwards.

On 28 July the Montreal performance was recorded live and broadcast on the "King Biscuit Flower Hour" radio show. The guitar solo from the song "Suicide Solution" from this performance was dubbed into the Cleveland recording of "Suicide Solution" for the Tribute album. "Flying High Again" and "I Don't Know" from the Montreal performance were included on the bonus album Ozzy Live for the 2011 Diary Of A Madman Deluxe 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition album release. The band went back to England to perform at Vale Park in Burslem, Stoke for the "Heavy Metal Holocaust Festival." The band went back to finish the Blizzard of Ozz Tour in the United States with English hard rock band Def Leppard. The band ended the tour at Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, Florida on 13 September 1981.

Personnel

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Setlists

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Europe [12]

"O Fortuna" (Carl Orff song) [Audio introduction]

  1. "I Don't Know"
  2. "You Lookin' at Me Lookin' at You"
  3. "Crazy Train"
  4. "Goodbye to Romance"
  5. "No Bone Movies"
  6. "Mr Crowley"
  7. "Revelation Mother Earth"
  8. "Suicide Solution"
  9. Randy Rhoads guitar solo
  10. Lee Kerslake drum solo
  11. "Iron Man" (Black Sabbath cover)
  12. "Children of the Grave" (Black Sabbath cover)
  13. "Steal Away the Night"
  14. "Paranoid" (Black Sabbath cover) [encore]
North America [13]

"O Fortuna" ("Carl Orff" Song) [Audio Intro]

  1. "I Don't Know"
  2. "Crazy Train"
  3. "Believer"
  4. "Mr Crowley"
  5. "Flying High Again"
  6. "Revelation Mother Earth"
  7. "Steal Away the Night"
  8. Tommy Aldridge drum solo
  9. "No Bone Movies"
  10. "Suicide Solution" [and "Randy Rhoads guitar solo]
  11. "Iron Man" (Black Sabbath cover)
  12. "Children of the Grave" (Black Sabbath covers)
  13. "Paranoid" (Black Sabbath cover) [encore]

Tour dates

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Date[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] City Country Venue
Europe
14 August 1980 Edinburgh 8Michelle Scotland Edinburgh Nite Club
15 August 1980 Newcastle England Mayfair Ballroom
19 August 1980 Manchester Rotter's Nightclub
24 August 1980 Reading Little John's Farm (Reading Rock Festival)
Secret warm-up gigs (Billed as "The Law")
3 September 1980 Blackpool England Norbreck Castle Nightclub
5 September 1980 West Runton West Runton Pavilion
Europe
12 September 1980 Glasgow Scotland Glasgow Apollo (live premiere)
13 September 1980 Dundee Caird Hall
15 September 1980 Edinburgh Edinburgh Odeon
17 September 1980 Newcastle England Newcastle City Hall
18September 1980 Bradford St George's Hall
20 September 1980 London Hammersmith Odeon
21 September 1980
23 September 1980 Manchester Manchester Apollo
24 September 1980 Coventry Coventry Theatre
26 September 1980 Liverpool Royal Court Theatre
28September 1980 Birmingham Birmingham Odeon
29 September 1980 Leicester De Montfort Hall
1 October 1980 Oxford New Theatre Oxford
2 October 1980 Southampton Southampton Gaumont Theatre ("Mr Crowley Live EP")
("Goodbye to Romance" and "No Bone Movies" – Tribute)
3 October 1980 Stoke King's Hall
5 October 1980 Derby Assembly Rooms
6 October 1980 Blackburn King George's Hall
7 October 1980 Sheffield Sheffield City Hall
9 October 1980 Cardiff Wales Sophia Gardens Pavilion
10 October 1980 Taunton England Taunton Odeon Theatre
11 October 1980 Poole Poole Arts Centre
13 October 1980 Malvern Malvern Winter Gardens
14 October 1980 Brighton Brighton Dome
16 October 1980 Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Civic Hall
17 October 1980 Newcastle Mayfair Ballroom
18 October 1980 Hull Hull City Hall
20 October 1980 Bristol Colston Hall
21 October 1980 Canterbury Canterbury Odeon
22 October 1980 Chelmsford Chelmsford Odeon
23 October 1980 Ipswich Ipswich Gaumont Theatre
24 October 1980 St. Albans St. Albans City Hall
26 October 1980 London Hammersmith Odeon
28 October 1980 Sunderland Mayfair Theatre
29 October 1980 Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Town Hall
31 October 1980 Brighton Brighton Dome
1 November 1980 Canterbury Canterbury Odeon Theatre
(Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake's last show)
8 November 1980 Nottingham The Boat Club
North America
22 April 1981 Towson United States Towson Center (First show billed as "Ozzy Osbourne")
(Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge's first show)
23 April 1981 Harrisburg Harrisburg Forum
24 April 1981 Passaic Capitol Theatre
25 April 1981 Upper Darby Township Tower Theater
26 April 1981 Bethlehem Stabler Arena
28 April 1981 Rochester WUHF-TV
29 April 1981 Rochester Rochester Auditorium
30 April 1981 Syracuse Landmark Theatre
1 May 1981 Boston Orpheum Theatre
2 May 1981 New York City Palladium (Two shows)
3 May 1981 Poughkeepsie Mid-Hudson Civic Center
4 May 1981 Springfield Springfield Civic Center
6 May 1981 Buffalo Shea's Buffalo Theater
8 May 1981 Johnstown Cambria County War Memorial Arena
9 May 1981 Trotwood Hara Arena
10 May 1981 Toledo Toledo Sports Arena
11 May 1981 Cleveland Cleveland Music Hall (First 13 tracks of Tribute)
12 May 1981 Erie Erie County Field House
13 May 1981 Columbus Columbus Veterans Memorial Auditorium
15 May 1981 Louisville Louisville Gardens
16 May 1981 Saginaw Wendler Arena
18 May 1981 Indianapolis Indianapolis Convention Center
19 May 1981 Detroit Detroit Masonic Temple
20 May 1981 Milwaukee Riverside Theater
22 May 1981 St. Louis Checkerdome
23 May 1981 Rockford Rockford Metro Center
24 May 1981 Chicago Aragon Ballroom
25 May 1981 Minneapolis East River Flats Park (River Flats Jam)
28 May 1981 Omaha Omaha Music Hall
30 May 1981 Tulsa Brady Theater
31 May 1981 Austin Austin Municipal Auditorium
2 June 1981 Kansas City Memorial Hall
4 June 1981 San Antonio San Antonio Convention Center
5 June 1981 Fort Worth Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum
6 June 1981 Beaumont Fair Park Coliseum
7 June 1981 Houston Sam Houston Coliseum
North America
18 June 1981 Denver United States Rainbow Music Hall
19 June 1981 Colorado Springs Colorado Springs City Auditorium
21 June 1981 El Paso El Paso County Coliseum
23 June 1981 Tucson Tucson Community Center
24 June 1981 Phoenix Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
25 June 1981 Las Vegas Aladdin Theatre
26 June 1981 San Diego Fox Theater
27 June 1981 Long Beach Long Beach Arena
28 June 1981 Tempe ASU Activity Center
30 June 1981 Fresno Selland Arena
2 July 1981 San Bernardino Swing Auditorium
3 July 1981 Bakersfield Kern County Fairgrounds
4 July 1981 Oakland Oakland Coliseum (Day on the Green)
5 July 1981 Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
6 July 1981 Reno Washoe County Fairgrounds Pavilion
7 July 1981 Redding Redding Civic Auditorium
9 July 1981 Eugene McArthur Court
10 July 1981 Yakima Yakima Speedway
11 July 1981 Portland Paramount Theatre
12 July 1981 Seattle Paramount Theatre
14 July 1981 Victoria Canada Victoria Memorial Arena
15 July 1981 Vancouver Kerrisdale Arena
17 July 1981 Edmonton Kinsmen Field House
18 July 1981 Calgary Max Bell Centre
20 July 1981 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena
23 July 1981 Kitchener Raffi Armenian Theatre
24 July 1981 London London Gardens
25 July 1981 Hamilton Hamilton Place Theatre
26 July 1981 Kingston Jock Hardy Arena
27 July 1981 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens
28 July 1981 Montreal Théâtre Saint-Denis
29 July 1981 Ottawa Ottawa Civic Center
Heavy Metal Holocaust
1 August 1981 Burslem England Vale Park
North America
2 August 1981 New Haven United States New Haven Coliseum
4 August 1981 Glens Falls Glens Falls Civic Center
5 August 1981 Portland Cumberland County Civic Center
6 August 1981 Bangor Bangor Auditorium
7 August 1981 Providence Ocean State Theater
8 August 1981 South Fallsburg Music Mountain Theater
9 August 1981 South Yarmouth Cape Cod Coliseum
11 August 1981 Pittsburgh Stanley Theatre
12 August 1981 Utica Utica Memorial Auditorium
13 August 1981 Binghamton Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena
14 August 1981 Hempstead Nassau Coliseum
15 August 1981 Asbury Park Asbury Park Convention Hall
16 August 1981 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion
18 August 1981 Norfolk Premier Theater
19 August 1981 Roanoke Roanoke Civic Center
21 August 1981 Evansville Mesker Music Theater
22 August 1981 Hoffman Estates Poplar Creek Music Theater
23 August 1981 East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre
24 August 1981 Ashwaubenon Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena
25 August 1981 Davenport Palmer Alumni Auditorium
27 August 1981 Fort Wayne Foellinger Theater
28 August 1981 Indianapolis Hilbert Circle Theatre
29 August 1981 South Bend Morris Civic Auditorium
30 August 1981 Grand Rapids Welsh Auditorium
31 August 1981 Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre
2 September 1981 Springfield Prairie Capital Convention Center
3 September 1981 Memphis Orpheum Theatre
4 September 1981 Atlanta Fox Theatre
5 September 1981 Fayetteville Cumberland County Memorial Arena
6 September 1981 Charlotte Charlotte Park Center
8 September 1981 Columbus Municipal Auditorium
9 September 1981 Tampa Curtis Hixon Hall
10 September 1981 Fort Pierce St. Lucie County Civic Center
11 September 1981 Sunrise Sunrise Musical Theater
12 September 1981
13 September 1981 Daytona Beach Peabody Auditorium

References

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  1. ^ Weber, Barry; Prato, Greg. "Ozzy Osbourne > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  2. ^ "III – Mid 1979 to August 17, 1980". Band Lineup History. Black Sabbath Online. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Tour Dates 1978". Black Sabbath Online. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  4. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne 09/23/80 – Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England". Shows by Ozzy Osbourne – 1980. etree. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne 10/10/80 – Odeon, Tauton, England". Shows by Ozzy Osbourne – 1980. etree. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  6. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne 10/23/80 – Gaumont Hall, Ipswich, England". Shows by Ozzy Osbourne – 1980. etree. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  7. ^ "tour dates". The Day The Music Died. Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  8. ^ a b Nelson, Tim (19 April 2007). "Review of Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard Of Ozz". BBC. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  9. ^ "BACK TO BASS-ICS: A Biography of "BOB DAISLEY"". The Official Bob Daisley Website. Archived from the original on July 28, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  10. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne Is A Rock Music Survivor". The Blade (archived by Google). 10 May 1981. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Blizzard of Ozz". The Official Ozzy Osbourne Site. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  12. ^ "Shows by Ozzy Osbourne – 1980". etree. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  13. ^ "Shows by Ozzy Osbourne – 1981". etree. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  14. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne Randy Rhoads Tour Dates. - Diary of an Axeman - A Randy Rhoads Website". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  15. ^ "Tour Dates - Diary of an Axeman - A Randy Rhoads Website". Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Bootleg Encyclopedia - Diary of an Axeman - A Randy Rhoads Website". Archived from the original on 24 June 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Randy Rhoads on tour 1973 - 1982 - Ultimate Rhoads".
  18. ^ "1980 - Ozzy Central". Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  19. ^ "1981 - Ozzy Central". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  20. ^ "The Official Ozzy Osbourne Site | the official Ozzy Osbourne site". Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  21. ^ "47 Ozzy Osbourne Wallpapers & Backgrounds for FREE".
  22. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne Concert Ticket Stubs".
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