Ozzy Osbourne has shown his holiday spirit over the weekend, offering a huge $25,000 reward for the return of stolen instruments belonging to his late friend and band member, Randy Rhoads, who died in a plane crash in 1982, aged 25.
The Black Sabbath frontman made an emotional plea after items belonging Rhoads were stolen from the Musonia School of Music in North Hollywood on Thanksgiving (Nov 28).
Osbourne shared images of the stolen item on social media and wrote: “As many of you have heard, the Musonia School of Music in N. Hollywood, CA (the school where Randy Rhoads famously taught guitar) was viciously robbed on Thanksgiving night. Musonia was run by Randy’s late mother, Delores, and after his death 37 years ago, the school became something of a pilgrimage to his fans from all over the world.”
He continued: “It is a place where the Rhoads Family happily opened their hearts to share the life of Randy. As you can imagine, the items that were stolen, including Randy’s first electric guitar, are irreplaceable to the Rhoads Family."
Rhoads served as Osbourne’s lead guitarist on the singer’s classic LPs, including 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz and 1981’s Diary of a Madman before his tragic death on March 19th, 1982 in an aeroplane accident.
The stolen instruments include Rhoads’ first electric guitar, a 1963 Harmony Rocket, as well as a rare Marshall prototype made specifically for Rhoads and a Great Depression-era trumpet owned by Rhoads’ mother Delores.
“I am heartbroken that these treasured physical memories of Randy and Delores have been taken from the family so I’ve decided to personally offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction and/or return of all stolen items.”
Ozzy went on to put down contact info that people can reach out to if they have any leads. If there’s anything worse than getting busted by the fuzz, being hunted down by Ozzy Osbourne would have to sit pretty high on the list! Let’s hope the sentimental items are returned pronto.
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