NIGHT RANGER’s BRAD GILLIS Looks Back On OZZY OSBOURNE’s Speak Of The Devil – “We Kind Of Took It To The Next Level…”

Jimmy Kay from Canada's The Metal Voice sat down and spoke with Night Ranger's guitarist Brad Gillis at this year's M3 Rock Festival on May 5, 2024.

Brad spoke about the legacy of the band's album Dawn Patrol and smash hit ballad Sister Christian as well as his time with Ozzy performing and recording the live album Speak Of The Devil.

When asked why Ozzy's live album Speak of the Devil (1982)  has stood the test of time despite being put together so quickly: 

"We kind of took it to the next level and maybe overplayed. The timing was right. The sound was good. I ended up having this stereo set up with slight delay on my guitar. I cranked my amp to freaking 10 man, the speakers were singing.  I still sign these records all the time and love that people still enjoy that record, it was a time in my life that I'll never forget. We had to get it together (rehearse) because it was live. You realize when you do a live show with a band you're rehearsing  before you record that live show for release. So these songs were new for us to play live and we got it together. Ozzy never even showed up (rehearsal); he was never even there. So we got it together. We just kind of overplayed it cuz there were no rules back then."
 
When asked if he mapped out his solos on Speak Of The Devil:

"No. I'm off the cuff with that stuff. Tony Iommi was a great player and the stuff he came out with was so Innovative back then. He started heavy metal pretty much. But I would definitely stick to some of the classic things he did but like I said then I go nuts and Rudy (Sarzo) would go nuts. And we kind of turned into a kind of a live jam band at a few points on the Speak Of The Devil record. Max Norman did pick the best out of the sound checks and the two live shows for the record but the mix was huge and my guitar tone was huge. It was the time in our life that everything was you just do want and just do it well."