Video summary
Brad Gillis recounts his initial experience joining Ozzy Osbourne's band, describing the intense isolation he felt upon arriving in New York where he spent days alone with cassette tapes of Randy Rhoads' guitar work. Without prior rehearsal, he relied heavily on learning by ear using a boom box and sought guidance from keyboardist Don Airey and bassist Rudy Sarzo to master complex harmonies and transitions. His first performance at Binghamton, New York, was a daunting 8,000-person sold-out show where he struggled with stage fright and even made a significant mistake during the ballad "Revelation Mother Earth" by coming in too early on a fast section, causing Ozzy to look at him with visible concern.
As the tour progressed, Gillis gradually became more comfortable with the material and the band dynamics, eventually performing well enough for a live broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour in Memphis without major errors. However, the atmosphere remained heavy due to the tragic loss of Randy Rhoads and Ozzy's personal struggles at the time, which made the environment difficult for everyone involved. Eventually, bassist Rudy Sarzo left the band to pursue a record deal with Quiet Riot, leaving Gillis to decide his own future path amidst the uncertainty of the touring camp.
Faced with a completed record ready for release and the option to remain as a sideman or return to Night Ranger, Gillis chose to roll the dice by quitting Ozzy's band to rejoin his original group. This decision proved highly successful as Night Ranger began 1983 by opening for Kiss, supported by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons who welcomed them warmly. The band quickly gained momentum with their second album, achieving massive success with the hit single "Rockin' America" before releasing the iconic ballad "Sister Christian," which ultimately propelled them to headline status in the music industry.
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So, when I got the call to to join Ozzy,
they flew me to New York.
And Bernie Tormé was with them.
And I just sat in my room every day with
the two board cassette tapes with Randy
on it.
And they gave me a boom box and a
cassette player and my course my 62 red
strat and I'd sit in my room all day
learning by ear
to his cassettes
stopping it replaying it whatever trying
to figure out any issues I have with
with the keyboard harmonies I'd get a
hold of Don Airey and he'd come and tell
me oh we do this you do this right and
talking to Rudy Sarzo and those guys
just were open arms to help me out of
course they're everybody is trying to
make the tour
happen and and and and finish the tour.
Um So
you know we
on that fifth day
I did my first show. And that was
Binghamton New York sold out about 8,000
people and and like I said one of the
scariest gigs of my life. Um I never
rehearsed with the band I only did seven
out of 18 songs.
>> Wow.
>> And here I got you know thrown on stage
in Binghamton New York for my first
show. I didn't even know what to wear.
And they gave me this white jumpsuit and
I just didn't fit in with heavy metal so
they gave me a black jumpsuit the
Ferrari jumpsuit very cool. And so I
just wore that until I figured out what
to wear and whatever but it it it was
trial and error for me just trying to
get through everything and the segues
and and
I screwed up on the on the middle of the
set Revelation Mother Earth. Um
which is a slow ballad that kicks in
halfway through to a big chunky metal
section. I came in a verse chorus too
early and I just remember Ozzy you know
looking at me like this look of death
like What are you doing? And I stopped
and I'm going
hitting that fast forward and I stopped
and there was still going
I'm like oh god I screwed up right.
And the next night uh
get ready to go on and Sharon comes up,
puts her arm around me, she goes,
"Bradley, you're doing a great job, but
tonight don't [ __ ] up."
No no no pressure there, right?
>> Yeah.
>> But you know, after a while, you know, I
started smoothing into the whole set, it
became more comfortable and everything
and after 2 weeks we did the King
Biscuit Flower Hour in Memphis,
Tennessee, live broadcast throughout the
country. And um I remember playing
pretty well that night. I mean, no big
screw-ups. And that was everywhere and I
remember you know, the Night Ranger boys
listening is like, he'll never come
back. Just, you know, he's he's melting
into this Ozzy thing too well. And
but I tell you there was it was tough in
that whole camp after the tragic, you
know, loss of of Randy and they were
just trying to get through the tour and
Ozzy wasn't doing great.
You know, he had a lot of issues going
on and towards the end of the year Rudy
just
you know, he had a
he had an offer with a record deal with
Quiet Riot, so he ended up quitting the
band.
You know, and and towards the end too
and I went, you know, I got these guys
and Ranger, they were called at the
time,
with a record finished ready to go with
the record company ready to sign us,
right? So instead of being a sideman
with Ozzy, which I probably would have
gone in and done records with them, but
but you know, just things were still
uneasy at that time. I felt more
comfortable staying with my Night Ranger
guys and and and releasing I rolled the
dice, man.
>> Yeah.
>> And rolled the dice and and sure enough
I quit Ozzy and what happened? We start
nice 1983 out with opening for Kiss.
You know, so
that pretty good, too. And you know,
Paul and Gene took us under their wing
and they were nice as guys ever and just
made us feel great.
And Uh, we did a nice tour with them.
Then we went out with everybody, you
know, everybody. Then of course, you
know, uh uh second record Night Ranger
comes out, we do still rocking in
America. First single does great, and
then of course, that little ballad
called Sister Christian, and that
brought us to headline status.