Lee Kerslake, a former hard rock drummer who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Uriah Heep, has died at 73 after a long battle with prostate cancer.
The news was announced by long-running English prog rock band Heep on their Facebook page, where singer Bernie Shaw wrote, "Well, where are the words to describe the feelings one has when you loose a friend, colleague , fellow band mate ( for 20 some odd years!) brother in arms, let alone when it’s someone larger than life like Lee Kerslake? As well as one of the most revered yet under rated drummers in the world, Lee was also one of the main voices in Uriah Heep. Never dropped a note in all the years I worked with him."
Shaw, who joined the group in the mid-1980s, paid tribute to the drummer who served two stints in the group from 1971-1979 and then again from 1981-2007, drumming and singing backing vocals on the albums Demons and Wizards (1972), The Magician's Birthday (1972), Sweet Freedom (1973), Wonderworld (1974), Return to Fantasy (1975), High and Mighty (1976), Firefly (1977), Innocent Victim (1977) and Fallen Angel (1978).