It’s been more than two years that the great Lee Kerslake left our world. An inimitable drummer and incomparable character, he would always be associated with URIAH HEEP whose rhythm machine Lee used to drive between 1972 and 1979 and from 1981 to 2007, yet there’s much more to his story, as Kerslake was behind the kit of two first albums by Ozzy Osbourne and, thus, influenced the entire flow of hard rock. His life just had to become a subject of a documentary one day – and, eventually, the film is out now.
Directed by Tayla Goodman, titled “Not On The Heep: The Heavy Metal Saga Of Lee Kerslake” and running for 1 hour and 34 minutes, it’s a warts-and-all movie which features not only the veteran’s former bandmates Mick Box and Ken Hensley but also a few unexpected colleagues of his.
“I’ve interviewed Joe Elliott and Ian Paice for the documentary, and I’ve got an interview with KISS – with their make-up off and their make-up on. How about that?” enthused Lee during our last-ever conversation. “KISS got into a studio in London as my special guests, and we had a wonderful time. It was an honor when they called me a legend in drumming, which is fabulous. It’s going to be a very, very good, honest documentary.”
He knew that he was living on borrowed time and that he might not see the release of this documentary, but Kerslake was immensely proud to have worked on it and setting the record straight. The movie is available for purchase on DVD and as on-demand stream.
