Blizzard of Ozz Tour

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

Blizzard of Ozz Tour
Promotional tour by Ozzy Osbourne
Osbourne performing in Cardiff during the Blizzard of Ozz Tour, 1980
LocationEurope
North America
Associated albumBlizzard of Ozz
Start dateSeptember 12, 1980 (1980-09-12)
End dateSeptember 13, 1981 (1981-09-13)
Legs4
No. of shows131
Ozzy Osbourne concert chronology

Overview

Background

Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath on April 27, 1979.[1][2][3] Randy Rhoads from Quiet Riot was hired in late November 1979. Former Rainbow bassist Bob Daisley was hired on November 14, 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 March 22 to April 19, 1980.

Europe leg

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 September 3 and at West Runton Pavilion on September 5. The band kicked off its opening night of the tour in front of a sold-out crowd at the Glasgow Apollo on September 12.[7][8]

The 70s Welsh heavy metal band Budgie would open for Ozzy throughout the 1980 European leg. On September 20, 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 October 2, 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 March 19, 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

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 March 27, 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 April 22, 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 Joe Perry, The Outlaws and Mountain. On April 28, 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 May 11, 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 July 4, 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 July 28, 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 September 13, 1981.

Personnel

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

References
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