Former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan has revealed the real reason he had to leave the band. He spoke about it in an interview. Soussan said he could not reach an agreement over his deal for the next record.
Soussan first described what happened after the success of “Shot in the Dark.” He said the band had shown interest in him contributing to the next album.
“After the success of ‘Shot in the Dark,’ they had obviously expressed to me an interest that I be a participant in contributing to the next record. I said, ‘Yeah, of course. I’d love to do that. That would be fantastic.’ And so after we got done, I built a studio over in Sharon’s office in London,” Soussan said. “They encouraged me to put a studio together, so I got a bunch of equipment and put it into the spare room over there, and I got into starting to write songs.”
He then explained how the work progressed and where the problem began.
“All that was going very well,” he continued. “I was really writing the framework for some songs that we would be able to get together and all work on collectively. But then, when it came time to figuring out what my deal was for the next record, I wasn’t able to cut a deal that I was going to be happy with.”
Soussan said no one was to blame for the situation.
“Nobody’s fault. I mean, you have to negotiate a deal, and it has to be something you agree with. And I just wasn’t able to negotiate it,” he said. “I tried to work that for a while, and after a period of time, two, three months, it became evident that I was gonna be like, ‘Either I accept this, or I make a change.’ And I decided to leave the band.”
He also addressed the stories about how his exit happened.
“There’s all kinds of stories. Some people say, ‘Oh, I was fired.’ I wasn’t fired – I actually quit. I left the band,” Soussan said. “Not quit. It’s not an insult. I just moved on. And I went straight away to Billy Idol. In doing so, the songs that I had, obviously, I took them with me.”
Soussan’s comments give his account of his departure from Osbourne’s band. They also give his account of his move to Billy Idol’s band. They point back to the song that shaped his time with Osbourne.
Soussan joined Osbourne’s lineup as the replacement for longtime bassist Bob Daisley. He played on the 1986 album “The Ultimate Sin.” That record produced “Shot in the Dark,” the song at the center of his story.
Soussan co-wrote “Shot in the Dark” with Osbourne. The song was the only track on the album without a writing credit from guitarist Jake E. Lee or Daisley. Soussan had written the original version in 1983 for his former band Wildlife.
The song became a commercial breakthrough for Osbourne. It was his first single to reach the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 68. It also climbed to No. 10 on the Mainstream Rock chart. This happened even though Osbourne was openly unhappy with the album’s production.
Soussan has often described “Shot in the Dark” as the moment that changed Osbourne’s career. He has said the song helped turn Osbourne into a household name. It also showed what a young bass player could do as a songwriter. That background helps explain why Soussan expected a real role in writing the next record. It also explains why the failed contract talks mattered so much to him.
