Book Review: “For Facts Sake” by Bob Daisley

What a terrific autobiography! Bob Daisley is an Australian bass player who has enjoyed a decades-long career playing with a staggering amount of rock bands and artists:

Bands: Uriah Heep, Mungo Jerry, The Blizzard of Ozz, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and many others.

Artists: Ozzy, Randy Rhoads, Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen and many others.

“For Facts Sake” is a pretty long read, but the fascination factor kicks in early and remains pretty much the whole time, partly due to Bob’s entertaining writing style and partly due to the almost unbelievable cast of rock luminaries and colorful characters in his always-on-the-go, globe-trotting life.

As most rock fans will guess, the towering narrative in Bob’s tale is his tortuous and torturous relationship with Ozzy Osbourne. Everything starts out great, first with Black Sabbath and then with the “Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary of a Madman” albums, but as the decades pass and Ozzy–through his marriage to Sharon Arden–becomes part of Don Arden’s family, things get weird, twisted, profoundly awkward, and ultimately toxic.

You might know the big-picture story of how things went wrong between Bob (along with Blizzard drummer Lee Kerslake) and Ozzy, but believe me: the details–the betrayals, the brinkmanship, the shifting alliances–will have you screaming at the book, and I’m not kidding. This soap opera would cause Shakespeare himself to shake his head and say, “Damn!”

Two other things make “For Facts Sake” phenomenal: its huge number of photos (there are some CLASSICS), and the fact that Daisley kept a meticulous daily diary throughout his adult life, resulting in an autobiography rich in details most others would forget.

If you grew up with rock and metal in the 70s and 80s, “For Facts Sake” is right in your wheelhouse. It is hilarious, heartfelt, eye-opening, gut-wrenching and jaw-dropping. I cannot recommend it highly enough.