NIGHT RANGER’s BRAD GILLIS Pays Tribute To OZZY OSBOURNE: ‘He Gave Me My Start’
Written by megarock on July 27, 2025
NIGHT RANGER paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne on Saturday, July 26 on the outdoor stage at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Prior to launching into a cover of Ozzy‘s classic track “Crazy Train”, NIGHT RANGER guitarist Brad Gillis — who the pressure-packed job back in 1982 of replacing Randy Rhoads after Osbourne‘s virtuoso guitarist died in a plane crash — told the crowd: ”[Losing Ozzy last week] was a kick in the gut for me. I don’t know how many people know, but I played with Ozzy back in ’82 after the tragic death of Randy Rhoads. And I finished that tour and did the ‘Speak Of The Devil’ record. And NIGHT RANGER came out and had our record going, so I left Ozzy, and here I am with NIGHT RANGER 43 years later. But Ozzy Osbourne, man, he gave me my start. So, thank you very much.”
NIGHT RANGER vocalist/bassist Jack Blades added: “Tommy Shaw [STYX] and I wrote some songs with [Ozzy] on the ‘Ozzmosis’ record, and he was a good friend of ours and he was a good friend of the NIGHT RANGER family. And [Ozzy‘s death] really hit hard — it really hit hard at home. So, we thought we’d play an Ozzy song tonight. What do you guys say?”
