Randy Rhoads had been killed in a tour bus plane crash just three weeks earlier, on March 19, 1982. After a two-week pause, Sharon Osbourne restarted the Diary of a Madman tour on April 1 with ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme filling in on an emergency basis. The Buffalo show was just Torme’s sixth gig with the band — he would play only seven total before Brad Gillis of Night Ranger took over. Every note of that Buffalo set carried the weight of a band still in shock, barely three weeks removed from losing one of the greatest guitar players in metal history.
Your Guide to Live Music in Upstate New York
