Randy Rhoads Remembered’: memorial show for legendary Ozzy guitarist celebrates European premiere at Musikmesse 2020

He is reckoned to be one of the most influential guitarists of all time. In 1980, Randy Rhoads played his way into the history books of rock music as the congenial partner of Ozzy Osbourne on the legendary ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ album. 40 years later, at Musikmesse (1 to 4 April 2020), the ‘Randy Rhoads Remembered’ project is set to provide a musical memorial to the American guitarist who died far too young. An all-star group assembled around drummer Brian Tichy breathes new life into the memory – with a unique European show in honour of the joint creative achievements of Rhoads and Osbourne. Performing with them are inimitable greats such as Phil Soussan, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and Christian Brady.

Randy Rhoads Remembered’: memorial show for legendary Ozzy guitarist celebrates European premiere at Musikmesse 2020

He is reckoned to be one of the most influential guitarists of all time. In 1980, Randy Rhoads played his way into the history books of rock music as the congenial partner of Ozzy Osbourne on the legendary ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ album. 40 years later, at Musikmesse (1 to 4 April 2020), the ‘Randy Rhoads Remembered’ project is set to provide a musical memorial to the American guitarist who died far too young. An all-star group assembled around drummer Brian Tichy breathes new life into the memory – with a unique European show in honour of the joint creative achievements of Rhoads and Osbourne. Performing with them are inimitable greats such as Phil Soussan, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and Christian Brady. 

‘Randy Rhoads Remembered’ is more than a concert. It is a tribute to a seminal period in the development of rock and honours a lifetime achievement. Initiator Brian Tichy and a group of prominent musicians with a number of guest guitarists will be performing songs from the albums ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ and ‘Diary of a Madman’ on Thursday 2 April 2020 at Musikmesse. Not only will the legendary titles plunge fans back into musical history, so will the stories of Rhoads’ life and work, told by musicians and others who were with him at the time.

“The milestone that was ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ is 40 years old in 2020 – the same year that Musikmesse itself will be celebrating its 40th birthday. We have seized the opportunity of this joint anniversary to honour Randy Rhoads and his enduring impact with this with major memorial event,” says Michael Biwer, Group Show Director of the Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries Division at Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.

“Musikmesse is a great, grand music gathering! I am looking forward to working with the Musikmesse team to deliver an exceptional and powerful evening of amazing music and musicians, all joining together for one common reason; the timeless influence of Randy Rhoads’ and amazing talent and songwriting on countless musicians,” says band leader Brian Tichy.

‘Randy Rhoads Remembered’ can be seen and heard for the first time outside the USA at Musikmesse 2020. Numerous prominent artists of the international music scene are already confirmed as having signed up:

Brian Tichy came up with the original idea and has brought the project to fruition on a range of different stages across the USA as from 2014. As a live drummer with Ozzy Osbourne, Tichy had already played several songs that had been unmistakeably influenced by Randy Rhoads with the ‘Prince of Darkness’ himself. He is known on the circuit, above all, as a member of Whitesnake and Foreigner, as well as both a live and studio drummer for greats such as Billy Idol and Slash’s Snakepit.

Bass guitarist Phil Soussan, too, was already part of the group surrounding Ozzy Osbourne – and can be heard on the album ‘The Ultimate Sin’. Moreover, the Brit also made a name for himself amongst the cognoscenti as a founding member of Beggars & Thieves, as well as through his collaboration with Billy Idol, Steve Lukather, Vince Neil and Johnny Hallyday.

Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal has been active as a guitarist, song writer and producer for more than a quarter of a century. He became known to a wider public as a member of Guns N’ Roses during the ‘Chinese Democracy’ era (2006 – 2015). He is currently part of the fixed line-up of the British supergroup Asia.

Also on board is American metal guitarist Christian Brady. Since 2014, Brady has been part of the supergroup Hellyeah, that made a huge impact with their latest release “Welcome Home” in September. Prior to this, he has been a member of the Alternative Rock band Magna-Fi.

As well as being part of the ‘Randy Rhoads Remembered’ show, the artists mentioned here can also be seen and heard at workshops and clinics held as part of Musikmesse. In addition, they will be giving a spectacular all-star concert together with more artists in the on Friday evening (3 April), at the Frankfurt Exhibition Centre. The names of others taking part in the European premiere of ‘Randy Rhoads Remembered’ will be announced shortly. And there will be a contest, in which talented guitarists will have the opportunity to compete for a wildcard to perform with the project’s stars.

‘Randy Rhoads Remembered’ is part of the Musikmesse Festival, which will bring some very special concert experiences to the whole of Frankfurt on the evenings of Musikmesse (1 to 4 April 2020), starting on the Tuesday, 31 March.

Further information is available at: www.musikmesse.com and www.musikmesse-festival.com.