Jake E. Lee recently addressed the circumstances surrounding his departure from Ozzy Osbourne’s band. He shed light on the tensions that led to his exit in a statement shared on Chris Jericho.
When asked about the reason for leaving Ozzy’s band, Lee explained that Osbourne initially told him it was time to pursue his own career. Sharon Osbourne later indicated there were interpersonal conflicts within the group, according to Lee.
“Ozzy said it was time for me to spread my wings and get my own thing going,” Lee said. “And Sharon told me that there are certain members in the band that I was rubbing the wrong way. I know those members were Phil [Soussan] and the keyboard player John Sinclair.”
Lee attributed much of the friction to differing work styles and priorities. He emphasized his preference for working at night, a practice he maintained during the creation of albums like “Bark at the Moon” and “Ultimate Sin.”
“Rock and roll to me is a nighttime thing. Always has been,” Lee explained. “I like to rehearse at night. I like to write songs at night. That’s how I do it.”
Bassist Phil Soussan pushed for daytime rehearsals, citing social opportunities in Hollywood. Lee rejected the idea, prioritizing the band’s work schedule. Drummer Randy Castillo later confirmed to Lee that Soussan had been instrumental in his departure. Castillo alleged that Soussan sought to become the band’s primary songwriter.
“Randy came up and said, ‘Jake, I’m so sorry. It was Phil. He wanted to be the main songwriter. I was dead against it,'” Lee recounted.
While Lee’s account focuses on personality clashes and work style differences, the full picture of his 1987 departure from Ozzy’s band reveals a more complex web of conflicts. Songwriting credits, financial disputes, and management decisions extended far beyond rehearsal scheduling disagreements.
Lee had contributed significantly to the albums Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin, according to Guitar World. However, he faced major issues with denied songwriting credits and publishing royalties. Lee was particularly frustrated after being pressured into signing a contract on Bark at the Moon that credited Ozzy as the sole songwriter, despite his substantial contributions to the album’s material.
The conflict with Soussan ran deeper than just scheduling preferences. Available interviews reveal that Soussan was actively positioning himself as a songwriter and co-wrote “Shot in the Dark,” which became a major success on The Ultimate Sin album. Lee believed Soussan was undermining him behind the scenes to secure a more prominent role in the band’s creative direction. Blabbermouth reports that Soussan has denied responsibility for Lee’s firing. He rejected Lee’s version of events as a rewriting of history.
The final decision to remove Lee from the band ultimately rested with Sharon Osbourne, who was managing Ozzy’s career at the time. Guitar Player documented that Sharon reportedly took Lee to dinner and fired him without warning. This move came after she had pressured him into signing away credits earlier in his tenure, adding significant tension to an already strained working relationship.
Lee’s departure from Ozzy’s band resulted from a combination of factors. Conflicts over songwriting credits and royalties, personality clashes with band members, internal politics involving Soussan’s ambitions, and Sharon Osbourne’s decisive management role all played a part. While Lee attributes his firing to Phil Soussan’s influence, the reality involved deeper issues of creative control, financial compensation, and the power dynamics within Ozzy’s organization during the mid-1980s.
