“People had warned me how Ritchie chewed up and spat out musicians. Rainbow had already auditioned 40 bass players!” From Ritchie Blackmore to Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Daisley has worked with rock’s heaviest heroes

Keyboard player David Stone, bassist Bob Daisley and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from rock band Rainbow play at World Stage rehearsal studio in Los Angeles in June 1977. .

Bassist Bob Daisley has a shameful secret: he actually started out as a guitarist. “I had guitar lessons for about a year,” he told Bass Player in 2014. “But when I saw my first-ever bass guitar in a band, I instantly went ‘that's what I want to play; that's for me.’ I just loved the warmth, sound and strength of it.”

Daisley's first break came in 1972 with Stan Webb's Chicken Shack. He later joined Mungo Jerry, and then went on to form Widowmaker. As fate would have it, on the eve of Widowmaker breaking up, Daisley came to the attention of Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore who asked him to join his group Rainbow.