Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep has sold in excess of 30 million records and have had five US Top 40 albums. The band has played concerts in over 48 countries and is a technically brilliant heavy rock band, deserving much credit for continuing despite over 20 personnel changes and two deaths along the way.

David Byron (vocals) formed the group with Mick Box (lead guitar, vocals). The pair had teamed up in the Stalkers during the mid-60s, and after the group broke up they assembled Spice with Paul Newton (bass) and Alex Napier (drums), recording a one-off single, ‘What About The Music’/’In Love’. Spice evolved into Uriah Heep (the name was taken from a character in Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield) when they were joined by Ken Hensley (guitar, keyboards, vocals).

Before Uriah Heep were bonded under the experienced management of Gerry Bron, Hensley had played alongside Mick Taylor (later to become a member of the Rolling Stones) in The Gods. Finding a permanent drummer was to remain one of the band’s problems throughout their early years. Their debut, ‘Very ‘eavy … Very ‘umble’, in 1970, was a simplistic, bass-driven passage from electric folk to a direct, harder sound.

They auditioned numerous drummers before offering the job to Keith Baker (ex-Bakerloo), who recorded ‘Salisbury’ but was then replaced by Ian Clarke (ex Cressida). ‘Salisbury’ was a drastic development from the debut, with many lengthy, solos and a 16-minute title track embellished by a 26-piece orchestra. The band was near the forefront of a richly embossed, fastidious style of music later to become dubbed “progressive rock”. During 1971 the line-up was altered again when Lee Kerslake, another former member of the Gods and Toe Fat, replaced Clarke following the recording of ‘Look At Yourself’.

‘Look At Yourself ‘ became the band’s first entry in the UK charts where it reached number 39. An ex-member of the Downbeats and Colosseum, Mark Clarke, superseded Paul Newton on bass guitar but lasted just three months before his friend Gary Thain (ex-Keef Hartley Band) took over. The stability of the new line-up enabled the band to enter their most successful period during the early 70s when the fantastical, eccentric nature of their lyrics was supported by a grandiose musical approach. The quintet recorded five albums, beginning with ‘Demons and Wizards’, their first to enter the US charts. The musical and lyrical themes continued on ‘The Magician’s Birthday’, the double set ‘Uriah Heep Live’, ‘Sweet Freedom’ and ‘Wonderworld’ (their last US Top 40 entry), as the band revealed a rare thirst for tough recording and performance schedules. Thain was asked to leave in February 1975 after becoming too unreliable, due to a drug habit. He died of a heroin overdose in December.

John Wetton, formerly of King Crimson and Family was expected to provide the impetus needed when he took over the bass guitar in March 1975.  The union, celebrated on ‘Return To Fantasy’, failed on a creative level although it marked their first and last appearance in the UK Top 10. Wetton left after just over a year to back Bryan Ferry, although he featured on ‘High And Mighty’. Early in 1976, Uriah Heep were set to fold when internal arguments broke out and they found the previously winning formula had become archaic and undeniably staid. In Ken Hensley’s own words, they were “a bunch of machines plummeting to a death”. Hensley briefly walked out during a tour of the USA in the summer of 1976 and then Byron left, soon afterwards forming Rough Diamond, followed by a series of solo albums before his death in 1985. Hensley had already embarked upon a short, parallel solo career, releasing two albums in 1973 and 1975. John Lawton, previously the singer with Lucifer’s Friend, debuted on ‘Firefly’. The new bass player was David Bowie’s former Spiders from Mars member, Trevor Bolder.

The singer’s position underwent further changes during the late 70s and early 80s as the band found themselves playing to a cult following that was ever-decreasing. Ex-Lone Star singer John Sloman performed on ‘Conquest’, which also featured new drummer Chris Slade (ex Manfred Mann and later with AC/DC). Hensley subsequently left the band, leaving original member Mick Box to pick up the pieces. A brief hiatus resulted and a new Uriah Heep that included Box, Kerslake, John Sinclair (keyboards; Heavy Metal Kids, Lion), Bob Daisley (bass, ex-Widowmaker, Ozzy Osbourne) and Peter Goalby (vocals, ex-Trapeze) was formed.

Daisley quit in 1983 following the release of ‘Head First’, and was replaced by the returning Bolder who spent a short hiatus with Wishbone Ash. Their earlier extensive touring allowed them to continue appearing at reasonably sized venues, especially across America, and in 1987 they had the distinction of becoming the first western heavy metal act to perform in Moscow playing to over 180,000 people. Inevitably, there were more personnel changes with the new additions of Bernie Shaw (b. Canada; vocals,) and Phil Lanzon (keyboards), both formerly of Grand Prix, for the studio albums ‘Raging Silence’ and ‘Different World’. Despite seeming out of time with all other developments in hard rock, the quintet’s 1995 recording ‘Sea Of Light’ offered another evocative slice of Uriah Heep’s trademark melodic rock, maintaining their high standards in fashioning superior AOR. Three years later they released ‘Sonic Origami’, which contained some of the band’s best work since the classic Byron days.

In June 2008,  Uriah Heep released their first studio album in almost 10 years, ‘Wake The Sleeper’ heralded an exciting new phase for the band, taking their classic sound right into the future. Uriah Heep was back to its very best and ‘Wake the Sleeper’ is set to become a future classic: pleasing their dedicated worldwide fan base and fans of Progressive Rock in general.

Recorded in 2007 the album was produced by Mike Paxman (Status Quo, Judie Tzuke). This is the band’s first album without their long-standing and original drummer, Lee Kerslake who sadly had to leave the band due to ill health in January 2007. Filling the drum stool for the very first time is the hugely well-respected Russell Gilbrook.

Uriah Heep is entering its 40th Anniversary and is releasing a new CD called ‘Celebration’. This consists of 12 re-records of some of their classic songs as well as 2 brand new songs written by Mick and Phil. There will also be a companion DVD of their performance as headliners of the prestigious Sweden Rock Festival. There is a world tour being put in place as there is indeed a lot to celebrate, including this performance at High Voltage Festival.

www.uriah-heep.com