In a new chat with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights host Matt Wardlaw, Phil Collen reflected on how he was involved in a fight with Ozzy Osbourne and Rudy Sarzo.
When the host asked the guitarist of his former band, Girl’s shows with Osbourne, and his memories from that period, he replied:
“We had this dinner, which ended up being an end-of-tour party. It was in this really swanky restaurant in London. It turned into a food fight. It was Ozzy and Randy Rhoads, all of the guys from Girl, everyone from Ozzy’s band.”
Collen recalled Sarzo’s words during the fight:
“It was so much fun. It totally got out of hand. I remember Rudy Sarzo going, ‘Oh my God, this is so rock and roll!’ [Laughs] But no one got hurt. There was no violence or weird things, but it did end up in a massive food fight that was pretty hilarious. Probably very expensive.”
Why Did Collen Leave Girl?
Girl was active on the rock scene between 1979 and 1982. Other band members included names like Phil Lewis, Gerry Laffy, and Jonathon Trevisick. The band split up after releasing two albums. Collen previously talked about why he left Girl:
“It kind of wound down. It all kind of started coming to an end and everyone was losing interest, the label dropped us, all of this. It was just coming to a natural conclusion, really, and it was a shame. I knew the guys in Def Leppard. They’d come down to see us and they just asked me if I’d play some stuff on their new record and it ended up being ‘Pyromania.’”
He added:
“I ended up playing all these solos and singing and doing all the fun stuff [laughs] that you do on an album if you’re a guitarist without all the real kind of hard work, you know, like writing songs and rhythm guitar and I just came in and played lead guitar, which was great.”
After the band broke up, Lewis joined The London Cowboys, then Airrace, and in 1987 L.A. Guns. He also sang with New Torpedos, Tormé, Filthy Lucre, and The Liberators. Gerry Laffy, Simon Laffy, and Pete Barnacle formed Sheer Greed, with guest appearances from Lewis and Collen.