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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the time you read this, Lee Kerslake may actually be \u2018resting in peace\u2019 – as in \u2018dead\u2019. \u00a0If not and he is still hanging in there, be assured that he was at peace long before he was told that he wasn\u2019t long for this world. \u00a0I knew that since 2007 he had been battling a variety of illnesses serious enough to retire him from his drumming duties with Uriah Heep. \u00a0In 2014, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and given four years to live, yet in the early part of 2019, he was still here, contemplating his newest health crisis (now being told he has four or five months left). \u00a0Hearing Kerslake describe his health to <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine\u2019s<\/span><\/i> Dave Ling (Issue 261, May 2019), it sounded more like the recounting of some sporting event: \u00a0\u201cI have bone cancer, a complicated type that\u2019s very nasty,\u201d he confides, seemingly without a flicker of emotion. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s gone right down my spine. . . Now I\u2019ve got diabetes, psoriatic arthritis, and a heart murmur. One more and I\u2019d have hit the jackpot. \u00a0I\u2019ve got no choice but to laugh, and of course, music helps me to keep on fighting.\u201d It is sad news to his fans, but it is good to know that the anger and bitterness he felt about parts of his career have been laid to rest as he contemplates his mortality. \u00a0\u00a0He has a head start on \u2018resting in peace\u2019 and that seems to be a better way to go than wasting time being bitter about the past.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lee Kerslake\u2019s first major band was The Gods, a band that may not be well known in the States but had a who\u2019s who of famous musicians pass through its ranks. \u00a0The short list of those who played with The Gods would include Greg Lake (ELP), Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones), John Glassock (Jethro Tull), and future Uriah Heep members Paul Newton and Ken Hensley. \u00a0Kerslake was toiling with the National Head Band when he was asked to join Uriah Heep in 1971, two years before Heep recorded the album that would be their big break through, <\/span>Demons and Wizards <\/span><\/i>(1973). \u00a0As Heep made their first in-roads in the States (touring with a new American band named KISS opening for them), the critics weren\u2019t kind. \u00a0One <\/span>Rolling Stones<\/span><\/i> reviewer stated, \u201cIf this band makes it, I will have to commit suicide!\u201d (which Uriah Heep eventually did and the writer did not).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At first, Kerslake had reservations about leaving his NHB band mates to join Heep, at least until he found out how much money he would make. \u00a0He joined a solid band with a charismatic vocalist (David Byron) who Kerslake describes thusly: \u201cWhen David was on, nobody could touch him . . . I remember one gig opening for Rod Stewart, who was one of the best showman in rock. \u00a0After we came off, Rod asked, \u2018How the (expletive deleted) am I supposed to follow that?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kerslake was a robust drummer in the same vein as John Bonham, burly enough that the rest of the band called him \u2018The Bear\u2019. \u00a0He is also a gifted songwriter in his own right. At times (and by his own admission), he has been seen as opinionated. This latter quality put him at odds with Heep\u2019s primary songwriter Hensley and the band\u2019s Bronze Records label boss, Gerry Bron (who was also their producer and manager). \u00a0\u201cIt was a conflict of interest,\u201d Kerslake admits now. \u201cGerry and I never really got along. We clashed at almost every step of the way, I admit that.\u201d When Byron\u2019s drinking affected his ability to perform, he was ousted from the band. By 1976, bassist Gary Thain had died of a heroin overdose and the rest of the band was complaining about how hard Bron was pushing the band. \u00a0Some blamed Bron for Thain\u2019s death. Kerslake told guitarist Mick Box, \u201cI can\u2019t fight all of the problems because I haven\u2019t got the strength alone,\u201d but being the loudest voice in the choir, it further strained his relationship with both Hensley and Bron. In October of 1979, he left the band: \u201c[Bron} actually called me \u2018irrelevant\u2019. . . this was the man who took fifty percent of our earnings and stopped paying us for a year to finance his airline project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One door closes and another opens; \u00a0Kerslake had no sooner exited Uriah Heep when he was asked to join Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s new Blizzard of Ozz band that included bassist Bob Daisley and an unknown guitar player from California named Randy Rhoads. \u00a0Although he joined well into the writing of their first album, he brought in ideas for lyrics and did all the drums. The album was so good that Don Arden, the head of their label Jet Records (and the father of Mrs Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon) told them to, \u201cGet straight back into the studio and make another one, because you\u2019re going to be away for at least a year and a half on tour in America.\u201d \u00a0Kerslake and Daisley were a big part of Osbourne\u2019s new found success, but they became expendable after disagreeing with Sharon about playing two shows a day in some cities. Even Ozzy and Randy Rhodes hated the idea of multiple shows, but it was Kerslake who ended up with a target on his back for being the messenger. Sharon wanted new members in the band and Sharon usually got what she wanted.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The whole affair with Ozzy and Sharon became a nightmare for Kerslake: \u00a0\u201cEven before Bob and I were sacked, Randy had told a friend of Bob\u2019s that he was leaving the band. \u00a0He wanted to teach classical guitar. But of course he never got the chance. What happened – going up in a plane, with a pilot on cocaine, which dive-bombed the bus and the wing catching the bus – was completely stupid. \u00a0But Randy was going to leave, no question about that.\u201d Ozzy changed his band members and the Osbournes, while claiming the two were \u2018just hired guns\u2019, denied Kerslake and Daisley royalty payments on their contributions to The Blizzard of Ozz albums. \u00a0The Osbournes bought the rights for the two albums and rebranded them as Ozzy solo releases. It became a bitter feud with mounting legal fees that caused Kerslake to declare bankruptcy, lose his home, and in the end, the court case (not by the merit of the case, but because they waited too long to file). \u00a0The Osbournes even went so far as to re-record the drums and bass parts with newer band members before the albums were re-released. It was a low blow and it took ten years for the original recordings to be reinstated. It is hard to imagine that Kerslake would ever forgive them for denying his part in albums that resurrected Ozzy\u2019s career.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eventually, Kerslake reached out to Ozzy and Sharon with a simple request: \u00a0Could he have copies of the platinum records that <\/span>The Blizzard of Ozz<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>The Diary of a Mad Man<\/span><\/i> had earned?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLife is too short, \u201c Kerslake has said, \u201cI\u2019d like to think that Sharon, Ozzy, and I are friends.\u201d \u00a0Sharon made contact, passed along Ozzy\u2019s best wishes, and granted his request. Seven years earlier, he raged that Sharon Osbourne was \u201cevil,\u201d \u00a0but with his prognosis, Kerslake has mellowed; he wants to leave with \u201ca clear conscience\u201d. \u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d says a smiling Kerslake. \u201ceverything is done and dusted.\u201d \u00a0He even took to Facebook to tell some of his less forgiving fans, \u201cPeople, please lay off of Sharon. Ozzy is very ill and she has enough to contend with.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being bounced from Ozzy\u2019s band put him in line to re-join Heep in time for their 1982 album <\/span>Abominog. \u00a0<\/span><\/i>While they were still recording for Bronze Records, Gerry Bron didn\u2019t like the songs they were writing so he didn\u2019t produce the first two albums recorded after Kerslake returned. \u00a0According to Kerslake, \u201cMicky Box wanted to put the band back together again, Oh, how I loved that period and <\/span>Abominog.<\/span><\/i>\u201d \u00a0Uriah Heep was re-energized throughout the 1980s, had some struggles during the 1990s and was riding the early 2000s wave of resurgence along with many other classic rock bands. \u00a0When his health problems drove him from the band, \u201cWalking away from Uriah Heep was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I knew I was ill.\u201d He has made a couple of cameo appearances since leaving the band, including a couple that included his other old nemesis, Ken Hensley.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kerslake always felt that both Gerry Bron and Hensley conspired to oust him from the band. \u00a0\u201cKen wanted control of the band, and he couldn\u2019t, not with myself and Micky around,\u201d he says now. \u00a0It caused me to leave the band. And I\u2019m glad that I did so.\u201d In October 1979, Kerslake had had enough and told Bron where to stick his label: \u00a0\u201c[But when] Gerry ordered me from his studio, I replied, \u2018When I\u2019m ready: I bought one-fifth of this place.\u2019\u201d Hensley\u2019s part in his exit caused Kerslake to thunder about never forgiving him for his \u201cskulduggery\u201d. \u00a0The cold war thawed in 2001 when Hensley made a guest appearance with the band for an event to celebrate <\/span>The Magician\u2019s Birthday Party<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0Recalls Kerslake, \u201cKen walked into rehearsals and gave me a huge hug. \u00a0I was so glad [the bitterness] was over. We had both suffered for the negativity. \u00a0It was time to let it go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Russell Gilbrook took over the drum chair and has now been with Heep for twelve years and four albums, including their latest, <\/span>Living the Dream<\/span><\/i> (2018). \u00a0As anyone who has ever hung around long enough to watch their replacement would find, Kerslake has admitted that it took him some time to get used to the new drummer\u2019s \u2018busier\u2019 style: \u00a0\u201cAt first Russ thrashed around like a lunatic on <\/span>The Muppet Show<\/span><\/i> (presumably he is talking about Animal, the drummer in the Muppet band), but he\u2019s learned to pull things back. \u00a0Now he\u2019s tremendous.\u201d The new album has been hard to find in stock, which is great news for a band that has been around as long as Uriah Heep. \u00a0As soon as we find a copy, we will be airing it. In the meantime, we have a good collection of other classic Heep albums that we will be airing when this article goes to print.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kerslake keeps himself busy with a solo recording project and a crowdfunding campaign for an autobiographical documentary called <\/span>Not On The Heep. \u00a0<\/span><\/i>The album is called <\/span>Eleventeen<\/span><\/i> which he describes as, \u201cA varied mix of styles, from a ballad about my mum to a singalong pub song called <\/span>A Port And A Brandy,\u201d <\/span><\/i>while the film\u2019s focus is, \u201cThe camaraderie between musicians who remain mates even when they don\u2019t speak to one another for twenty or thirty years.\u201d \u00a0He hopes the film and album can be released at the same time, but in any event, \u201cThey are what they are and I\u2019m proud of them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kerslake plans to hang his Blizzard of Ozz platinum albums on his bedroom wall so he can see them often, saying, \u201cI worked hard for them, so why not?\u201d \u00a0Let us all hope we can find a similar peace in our lives as Lee Kerslake has, without waiting until the end is near. \u2018Rest In Peace\u2019 does not come with a stipulation to start at one\u2019s passing from this mortal coil. \u00a0This being his swan song, we will let Kerslake have the final word about finding peace, even toward Gerry Bron (who passed away in 2012): \u201cI could go on forever about how badly Gerry ripped off the band and me, but he\u2019s dead now. \u00a0Let him rest in peace, and I\u2019ll keep on going for as long as I can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Lee Kerslake joins Uriah Heep on stage at Shepards Bush Empire in 2018.<\/p>\n