Uriah Heep - Logical Revelations 320k

Uriah Heep

The Classic Lineup of Uriah Heep at their commercial and critical peak in 1973

Origin London, England
Genres Hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal
Years active 1969–present
Labels Vertigo, Bronze, Island, Warner Bros., Mercury, Chrysalis, Sanctuary, Castle, Frontiers Records
Associated acts Spice, The Gods, Living Loud, Toe Fat, Ozzy Osbourne Band, Status Quo
Website www.uriah-heep.com
Members Mick Box
Phil Lanzon
Bernie Shaw
Russell Gilbrook
Davey Rimmer
Past members See "Former members"

Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and are regarded as one of the seminal hard rock acts of the early 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always included a massive keyboard sound, strong vocal harmonies and (in the early years) David Byron's quasi-operatic vocals. Twelve of the band's albums have made it to the UK Albums Chart (Return to Fantasy reached No. 7 in 1975) while of the fifteen Billboard 200 Uriah Heep albums Demons and Wizards was the most successful (#23, 1972). In the late 1970s the band had massive success in Germany, where the "Lady in Black" single was a big hit. Along with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep had become one of the top bands in the early 1970s - one of "The Big 4" of hard rock

Uriah Heep's audience declined by the 1980s, to the point where they became essentially a cult band in the United Kingdom and United States. The band maintains a significant following and performs at arena-sized venues in the Balkans, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia and Scandinavia. They have sold over 40 million albums worldwide with over 4 million sales in the U.S.

Contents

1 History
1.1 1967–1971
1.2 1972–1976
1.3 1977–1981
1.4 1982–1986
1.5 1987-present
2 Personnel
2.1 Members
2.2 Lineups
3 Discography
4 References
5 External links

History
1967–1971

The band's origins go back to 1967 when 19-year-old guitarist Mick Box formed a Brentwood band called The Stalkers, which began playing in local clubs and pubs. When the band's singer left, drummer Roger Penlington suggested his cousin David Garrick (who knew the band) as a replacement. Box and Garrick instantly formed a songwriting partnership and, having higher musical aspirations than their colleagues, decided to give up their day jobs and go professional. They set up a new band called Spice; it was then that David Garrick changed his second name to Byron. Drummer Alex Napier (born 1947 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland) joined, having answered a music paper ad and bassist Paul Newton of The Gods completed the line-up.

From the very beginning Spice avoided playing covers and, according to Box, always strove "...to do something original." Managed initially by Newton's father, the band climbed their way up to the marquee level, then got signed by Gerry Bron (the Hit Record Productions Ltd.'s boss) who saw the band at the Blues Loft club in High Wycombe. "I thought they were a band I could develop and I took them on that basis," remembered Bron later. He became the band's manager and signed them to Vertigo Records, the newly formed Philips label.[The four-piece found themselves booked into the Lansdowne Studios in London, still under the name of Spice. Then the name was changed to that of the well-known character from David Copperfield, Uriah Heep (for, according to biographer Kirk Blows, "Dickens' name being everywhere around Christmas '69 due to it being the hundredth anniversary of his death"). Uriah Heep decided to widen the sound. "We'd actually recorded half the first album when we decided that keyboards would be good for our sound. I was a big Vanilla Fudge fan, with their Hammond organ and searing guitar on top, and we had David's high vibrato vocals anyway so that's how we decided to shape it," Box recalled. Session player Colin Wood was brought in by Gerry Bron, followed by Ken Hensley, a former colleague of Newton in The Gods, who was currently playing guitar in Toe Fat, was lined up. "I saw a lot of potential in the group to do something very different," remembered Hensley.

Their debut album, ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (released as Uriah Heep in the United States), introduced Hensley's heavy organ and guitar-driven sound, with David Byron's theatrical, dynamic vocals soaring above thunderous sonic backgrounds, although acoustic and jazz elements also featured in the mix. The album's title references the signature phrase of the Dickens character Uriah Heep ("very 'umble"). Hensley had little to contribute to the debut: Box and Byron wrote most of the material, including Gypsy, in many ways (according to Blows) "...a marriage of contrasts that, in time, became their trademark. In a 1989 interview, Mick Box recalled, "The funny thing was we wrote it at the Hanwell Community Centre, and Deep Purple were rehearsing in the room next door to us. You can imagine the kind of racket we were both making between us." Three quarters into the recording of the album Alex Napier was replaced by Nigel Olsson, recommended to Byron by Elton John. The debut was not popular with rock critics (especially in the USA where a Rolling Stone reviewer infamously promised to commit suicide "if this band makes it") but in retrospect the attitude towards it changed. "Those unfamiliar with Uriah Heep may want to try out Demons and Wizards or a compilation first, but anyone with a serious interest in Uriah Heep or the roots of heavy metal will find plenty to like on Very 'eavvy... Very 'umble," advised critic Donald A. Guarisco.] In the course of the album's making the writing relationship between Box, Byron and Hensley was beginning to develop. "It was very quick, because we were all into the same things. It was like it was meant to be, there was that kind of chemistry," Mick Box recalled.

When Nigel Olsson returned to Elton John’s group, Keith Baker took his place.[The band's second album Salisbury was more squarely in the progressive rock genre, with its 16-minute title track featuring a 24-piece orchestra. One of the album's tracks, Lady in Black, described as, "...a stylishly arranged tune that builds from a folk-styled acoustic tune into a throbbing rocker full of ghostly harmonies and crunching guitar riffs, became a hit in Germany upon its re-release in 1977 (earning the band the Radio Luxemburg Lion award). Produced by Gerry Bron, the second album went a long way to (according to AllMusic) perfect Uriah Heep's "blend of heavy metal power and prog rock complexity" and was also significant for Ken Hensley's instant rise to the position of main songwriter. Soon after Salisbury's release Keith Baker left the bandand was replaced by Iain Clark (from another Vertigo band Cressida). With him the band made their first US tour, supporting Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf.

By the Spring 1971 Gerry Bron's deal with Philips/Vertigo was over, so he set up his own label, Bronze Records. The third album was recorded in the Summer months of 1971, during the band's three visits to Lansdowne. "It was the point in time when the band really found a solid musical direction," said Bron later. The third album, Look at Yourself, released in October 1971, marked the solidification of disparate ideas that had been a prominent feature of Salisbury and presented the unified sound and direction. Among the stand-outs were the title track, Tears In My Eyes and July Morning, an epic many Heep fans regard as equal to Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven and Deep Purple's Child in Time. "I think that July Morning is one of the best examples of the way the band was developing at that point in time. It introduced a lot of dynamics, a lot of light and shade into our sound," Ken Hensley said. The album peaked at No. 39 in the UK.
1972–1976
Lee Kerslake, David Byron, Gary Thain, Mick Box, Ken Hensley. The 'classic' lineup of Uriah Heep in 1973

By the end of 1971 it became clear, according to Hensley, that he, Byron and Box had become the tightly knit nucleus of the band. Feeling marginalised, first Newton left and was briefly replaced by Mark Clarke, then in November 1971 Iain Clark was replaced by Lee Kerslake, once of The Gods. New Zealander Gary Thain, a then member of Keef Hartley band, joined Uriah Heep as a permanent member halfway through another American tour. "Gary just had a style about him, it was incredible because every bass player in the world that I've ever known has always loved his style, with those melodic bass lines," Box later said. Thus the 'classic' Uriah Heep formed and, according to biographer K. Blows, "Everything just clicked into place."

The result of this newly found chemistry was the Demons and Wizards album, which reached No. 20 in the UK and No. 23 in the USA in June 1972. While the title of it and Roger Dean's sleeve both suggested that the band was romantically working medieval myth into their songs—and surely songs like Rainbow Demon and The Wizard (co-written by Mark Clarke, during his short stay) did have thematic links with fantasy world—a more straightforward,[18] hard-rocking approach was also apparent. To discard any possible insinuations concerning any kind of concept behind it, Hensley's note on the sleeve declared the album was "...just a collection of our songs that we had a good time recording." Both critics and the band's aficionados hold the album in high regard, which, according to AllMusic, "...solidified Uriah Heep's reputation as a master of gothic-inflected heavy metal." Ken Hensley remembered:

"The band was really focused at that time. We all wanted the same thing, were all willing to make the same sacrifices to achieve it and we were all very committed. It was the first album to feature that line-up and there was a magic in that combination of people that created so much energy and enthusiasm."

Two singles were released from the album: The Wizard and Easy Livin', the second (a defiant rocker, according to Blows, "...tailor-made for Byron's extrovert showmanship") peaked at No. 39 in Billboard Hot 100.[18] Six months later, in November 1972, Uriah Heep's fifth studio album The Magician's Birthday (#28 UK, No. 31 USA) came out, with "Sweet Lorraine" released as an American single and the title track (a multi-part fantasy epic featuring Hensley–Byron vocal duel and Box' extensive guitar solo in the middle) being the album's highlight. "Uriah Heep used to have an image, now they have personality," wrote Melody Maker in 1973. A lot stemmed from the flamboyant Byron. "David was the communication point, the focal point of the whole group's stage presentation. He had so much charisma, so much ability," admitted Hensley many years later. But Hensley too developed into a sophisticated instrumentalist and stage persona, whose writing and keyboard flair ignited the rest of the band.
Lee Kerslake in 1973

A lavishly packaged (an eight-page booklet plus) double album Uriah Heep Live followed, recorded at the Birmingham Town Hall in January 1973. Having completed another Japanese tour, the band (due to tax problems) went to record to Chateau d'Herouville in France. It was there that the solid, but rather mainstream-sounding Sweet Freedom (#18 UK, No. 33 USA) was created with "Stealin'" released as a single. Having gained world-wide recognition, the band quit the fantasy world in lyrics and made an obvious stab at versatility by adding funk ("Dreamer") and acoustic folk ("Circus") elements to the palette.Ken Hensley meanwhile had been gradually recording his own, mellower material; his solo debut Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf was released the same year.

Wonderworld (1974), recorded in Munich's Musicland Studios in January, disappointed fans and band members alike. "Recording abroad disrupted the band's normal method of operation and that had a big negative effect on the group. Our communication was falling apart, we were arguing over stuff like royalties and we were getting involved in matters beyond music," Hensley said. Box remembered weeks spent in the studio as 'dramatic' for all the wrong reasons. "David was drunk for most of the time, Kenny was having an emotional time of it and I was constantly trying to help them so it was difficult for me too. There was also a little bit of friction because (artistic) Kenny didn't like all the attention that (flamboyant) David was getting." Gary Thain was in even more serious trouble. According to Blows, "A strenuous touring schedule, compounded by the bassist's heavy drug dependency (inherent even before joining Heep) was taking its toll, though matters came to a head while on tour during September," when the bassist was electrocuted on stage in Dallas. Soon after going out of hospital Thain in Sounds openly accused manager Gerry Bron of having turned Uriah Heep into a mere "financial thing" and was promptly fired. On 8 December 1975, Gary Thain was found dead in his Norwood Green home, having overdosed on heroin.

John Wetton (ex-Family and King Crimson) joined the band and with him Return to Fantasy was recorded; representing a revitalized Uriah Heep, it soared up to No. 7 in the UK. "It was a relief to have someone solid and reliable, and he had a load of ideas too," Box remembered. The following "Year-long world tour" (according to a headline in NME), was marred by a new accident. Mick Box fell off stage in Louisville, Kentucky, breaking the radial bone in his right arm (but persevered through both the set and the tour, receiving three injections a night). In November 1975 The Best of Uriah Heep compilation was released, preceded by two solo albums: Byron's debut Take No Prisoners and Hensley's second, Eager to Please.
Uriah Heep in 1976

High and Mighty followed in June 1976. It was considered lightweight; even Box' stated: "less of the 'eavy and more of the 'umble." The matter of production here became the point of major contention. With Bron committed to non-musical projects (including his air-taxi service) the band decided to produce the album themselves. The manager later insisted the result was Heep's worse album, while Hensley accused the manager of deliberately ignoring the band's interests.[ The album, though, was launched in the most lavish manner (with journalists and business people being flown off to the top of a Swiss mountain for a reception). However, it was not matched with the quality of live concerts, which were increasingly chaotic due to Byron's inconsistency on stage. "He'd always got drunk after the show but it had never got to the point where it would jeopardize the show itself. The performance had always been first and foremost with David. It was when the show started to come second that the problems began," Hensley remembered. "The distance between David and the rest had grown to unworkable proportions," according to Blows. "It's a tragedy to say it but David was one of those classic people who could not face up to the fact that things were wrong and he looked for solace in a bottle," commented Bron. In July 1976, after the final show of a Spanish tour, Byron was sacked. Soon bassist John Wetton announced he was quitting. Obviously neither he was comfortable in the band, nor his colleagues with him. Hensley later explained, "When he joined, we thought that we could replace a great bass player (Thain) with another great bass player, but we ignored the personality factor, which is crucial. It was like grafting on a new piece of skin but it just didn't work—the body rejected it."
1977–1981
Ken Hensley in 1977

Uriah Heep recruited bassist Trevor Bolder (ex-David Bowie, Mick Ronson) and, after having auditioned David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake), Ian Hunter and Gary Holton (Heavy Metal Kids), brought in John Lawton, formerly of Lucifer's Friend and the Les Humphries Singers, with whom they turned away from fantasy-oriented lyrics and multi-part compositions back toward a more straightforward hard rock sound typical of the era. Box later said, "Image-wise he wasn't quite what we were looking for, but his pipes were perfect and so we went for the music end of it." Hensley agreed: "He had a voice that I thought would give a new dimension." Firefly was released in February 1977, displaying, "renewed effervescence and energy in unveiling what was