Ozzy Osbourne & Lemmy “Hellraiser”
Ozzy Osbourne & Lemmy “Hellraiser” 1991/2021. Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, would have been Lemmy’s 77th birthday (b. December 24th, 1945) so I’m spinning the teenager’s 30th anniversary copy of “Hellraiser” – I gave it to him last year for Christmas (he still hadn’t opened it) so it’s time. Side A has “Hellraiser Mashup” which “uses Osbourne’s version of the song and incorporates Kilmister’s vocals from Motörhead’s version, which appeared in the movie Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and on Motörhead’s March ör Die album in 1992. The two singers trade verses — Osbourne’s hellfire, clear-throated performance followed by Kilmister’s gravelly growls — and their voices blend in the chorus.” (Rolling Stone) Lemmy wrote the lyrics for “Hellraiser” which originally appeared on Ozzy’s 1991 LP No More Tears (Lemmy also wrote the lyrics to “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” “Desire,” and “I Don’t Want to Change the World.”). Ozzy’s version from that record appears on Side B of this 10″. Lemmy: “When I was writing with Ozzy [for Osbourne’s No More Tears album], his manager just sent me a tape and I put it on and it was him going [Ozzy impression] ‘Aaaeeeaaeeeaah,’ like that, and then you have to figure out words that will fit,. “It took 10 minutes, I think. We did ‘Hellraiser’ [live] for a while. The trouble was you slowed it down for me to reach some notes, and then we had it sped up again. So that’s why it sounds slow. I don’t know if Ozzy liked my version of the song. He never said.” (Rolling Stone) Lemmy’s version with Motörhead is also on Side B. The animated video for the mashup version is crazy good.
Daily (maybe) pulls from the vault: 33-1/3, 45, 78, old, older, classic, new, good, bad. Subjective. Autobiographical. Occasionally putting a record up for sale.