Duo lose fight for Ozzy royalties

Ozzy Osbourne has been recovering after a quad bike accident

The US Supreme Court has thrown out an appeal by two musicians who claim they are owed royalties for their work with rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

Bassist Robert Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake have fought a long-running battle with the Osbourne family.

They had already failed in a lawsuit that alleged they were entitled to money and credit on the albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.

But a California judge dismissed their argument for an appeal on the ruling.

The musicians' lawyer had argued that Mr Daisley and Mr Kerslake were denied credit for writing songs which have been extensively used in TV commercials and during National Football League games.

But Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager, had previously said that the pair had "harassed" her family and had had their contributions removed from the albums because of their "abusive and unjust behaviour".

The long-running legal saga began in 1997 when Mr Daisley, a former Black Sabbath musician, began his legal fight for damages and royalty payments.