Uriah Heep
| Uriah Heep | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Hard rock |
| founding | 1969 |
| Website | www.uriah-heep.com |
| Founding members | |
| David Byron (until 1976) † | |
Lead guitar , vocals |
Mick Box |
Bass , vocals |
Paul Newton (until 1971) |
| Alex Napier (until 1970) | |
Keyboard , guitar |
Ken Hensley (until 1980) |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Bernie Shaw (since 1986) |
Guitar, vocals |
Mick Box |
bass |
Davey Rimmer (since 2013) |
Drums, vocals |
Russell Gilbrook (since 2007) |
Keyboard, vocals |
Phil Lanzon (since 1986) |
| former members | |
Drums |
Nigel Olsson (1970) |
Drums |
Keith Baker (1970–1971) |
Drums |
Ian Clarke (1971–1972) |
Drums, vocals |
Lee Kerslake (1972-1979, 1982-2007) |
Bass, vocals |
Mark Clarke (1971–1972) |
Bass, vocals |
Gary Thain (1972–1975) † |
Bass, vocals |
John Wetton (1975–1976) † |
Bass, vocals |
Trevor Bolder (1976–1981, 1983–2013) † |
singing |
John Lawton (1976–1979, 1995, 2013) |
Drums |
Chris Slade (1979-1981) |
singing |
John Sloman (1979-1981) |
Keyboard, vocals |
Gregg Dechert (1980-1981) |
Keyboard, vocals |
John Sinclair (1982-1985) |
Bass, vocals |
Bob Daisley (1982-1983) |
singing |
Peter Goalby (1982–1985) |
singing |
Steff Fontaine (1986) |
bass |
John Jowitt (2013) |
Uriah Heep is a British hard rock band, named after a character from the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens . Together with Black Sabbath , Deep Purple , Led Zeppelin and Nazareth , Uriah Heep are among the early and most successful representatives of the genre. The band's history is also marked by frequent member changes, deaths, musical differences and drug problems. Today, lead guitarist Mick Box is the only remaining founding member to lead the band's fortunes.
In contrast to many other interpreters, Uriah Heep emphasizes the melodic side of hard rock in some of her works through her sophisticated, often polyphonic singing. The band has sold over 40 million records.
history
Beginnings
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After the end of the band Spice, the musicians David Byron , Paul Newton and Mick Box looked for new comrades in 1969. Newton's father contacted Gerry Bron, who at the time was promoting Manfred Mann , Colosseum and Jon Hiseman and had ties to the rock music-oriented label Vertigo Records . Byron had the idea to add keyboards to the band sound and give it the name Uriah Heep. Newton knew the multi-instrumentalist and singer Ken Hensley from The Gods , who had already released two albums and a few singles with the drummer Lee Kerslake , who later also belonged to Uriah Heep .
The first Uriah Heep album Very 'eavy ... Very' umble already contained a top 30 hit in Germany with Gypsy . In 1971 the album Salisbury was released. It contains Lady in Black , sung by Ken Hensley, the most famous piece of the band. The title track of the album Look at Yourself was supplemented by musicians from the Osibisa group . Manfred Mann played the synthesizer in the song July Morning . These albums were released on the Vertigo label .
successes
From 1972 to 1975 the band experienced its most commercially successful period. The cast at the time consisted of Kerslake, Byron, Hensley, Mick Box and Gary Thain . The albums Demons and Wizards , The Magician's Birthday , Uriah Heep Live 1973 , Sweet Freedom and Wonderworld with the associated singles The Wizard , Easy Livin ' and Stealin' were particularly successful in Europe, but also in Japan and the USA. Bassist Thain suffered an electric shock during a concert in Dallas on September 15, 1974 . He remained weak after the accident, and the band had to break up with him. On December 8, 1975, he was found dead in his home. Since his electrical accident, he has suffered from cardiac arrhythmias . Since he was addicted to heroin , the cause of death could not be determined beyond doubt.
Thain's successor was John Wetton , who had previously been a member of King Crimson and Roxy Music . In this constellation, Uriah Heep achieved the greatest sales success of her career in Great Britain and other countries in 1975 with the album Return to Fantasy . Wetton later co-founded the British supergroup Asia and was replaced in 1976 by Trevor Bolder , who previously played in David Bowie's backing band The Spiders from Mars . In September 1976 the band separated from David Byron. His alcohol consumption had repeatedly led to internal conflicts and poor live performances, which culminated in public abuse. He died in 1985 of complications from alcoholism .
He was replaced by John Lawton , who had previously been a member of the Les Humphries Singers and Lucifer's Friend . With Lawton as the singer, Uriah Heep achieved a top 10 hit in several European countries in 1977 with Free Me . Especially in Germany the band was very popular with the albums Firefly , Innocent Victim and Fallen Angel until 1979. In 1979 the double live album Live in Europe was recorded in 1979 , but was not released until 1986 because of the dismissal of John Lawton. The hit Lady in Black came back into the charts several times through re-releases.
Ken Hensley released Lawton from the band after a dispute. With the choice of the successor John Sloman he was also dissatisfied, so that Hensley finally said goodbye to the band in 1980 during the Conquest tour . Mick Box made a comeback with the album Abominog and the new singer Peter "Pete" Goalby. The three records with Goalby were based heavily on American mainstream heavy rock. Goalby's voice suffered more and more from the non-stop concerts, and finally the singer was no longer up to the tour stress. After his resignation from Uriah Heep, Goalby ended his career.
Reorientation
In July 1986 Uriah Heep found a new singer in Stephen "Steff" Fontaine. With him and the new keyboardist Phil Lanzon they went on a small North American tour. But in September 1986 the group separated again from Fontaine because he missed a gig and appeared overall unreliable and unprofessional. He was replaced by Bernie Shaw. With this, Uriah Heep had found a formation that lasted for over 20 years.
The first release with this line-up was the live album Live in Moscow , which is a cross-section of ten sold-out concerts in 1987 in Moscow's Olympic Stadium. In addition to classic pieces by the band, the album also contains three songs that were not on a regular studio album. Uriah Heep broke new ground with appearances in the Soviet Union : They were the first Western rock band to officially perform in the Soviet Union . The first studio album by this line-up was released in 1989: Raging Silence , produced by Richard Dodd.
After the album Different World , produced in 1991 by bassist Trevor Bolder , the next album was released in 1995 with Sea of Light . On the accompanying tour in the same year, there was a reunion with the former singer John Lawton, who stood in for Shaw, who had suffered from the vocal cords, for some appearances in South Africa, Austria and Germany. In 1998 the last studio album Sonic Origami was released for a long time . On December 7, 2001, Uriah Heep reunited with former members John Lawton and Ken Hensley for a one-off performance in London. The result was the live album The Magicians Birthday Party . Also in 2001 (with Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull as a guest), and in December 2006 Uriah Heep toured with an acoustic program. At the end of January 2007, the drummer Lee Kerslake , who had been available to the band with a short break since 1972, had to retire for health reasons.
In early March 2007, studio drummer Russell Gilbrook, who had worked with Tony Iommi ( Black Sabbath ), Van Morrison and John Farnham , took over his place. In May 2008 the 21st studio album Wake the Sleeper was released . The international press praised the work and the rock magazine Eclipsed voted it album of the month. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, the band recorded the greatest successes of their career again in the studio. The new recordings appeared in 2009, supplemented by two new pieces, under the title Celebration . In addition, the band went on tour in Germany between 2009 and 2010. In 2011 the band released the 22nd studio album Into the Wild and the release Nail on the Head .
In January 2013, bassist Trevor Bolder had to undergo surgery because of cancer. He has been represented at appearances by John Jowitt (including IQ ) and Dave Rimmer (including Zodiac Mindwarp ). Bolder wanted to perform again with the band on June 14th at the Download Festival, but succumbed to his illness on May 21st, 2013 at the age of 62. In addition, the singer Bernie Shaw took a break in May 2013 for health reasons. For him, the former singer John Lawton stepped in again. At these concerts the band mainly played songs from his time with Uriah Heep. In June 2014 the band released the album Outsider , for the first time with bassist Dave Rimmer as an official band member.
Mick Box is the only remaining founding member of Uriah Heep today.
Occupations
Discography
Studio albums
- 1970: … very 'eavy… very' umble
- 1971: Salisbury
- 1971: Look at Yourself
- 1972: Demons and Wizards
- 1972: The Magician's Birthday
- 1973: Sweet Freedom
- 1974: Wonderworld
- 1975: Return to Fantasy
- 1976: High and Mighty
- 1977: Firefly
- 1977: Innocent Victim
- 1978: Fallen Angel
- 1980: Conquest
- 1982: Abominog
- 1983: Head First
- 1985: Equator
- 1989: Raging Silence
- 1991: Different World
- 1995: Sea of Light
- 1998: Sonic Origami
- 2008: Wake the Sleeper
- 2009: Celebration
- 2011: Into the Wild
- 2014: Outsider
- 2018: Living The Dream
literature
- Markus Ott, Ken Hensley: Uriah Heep. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1980, ISBN 3-404-60034-7 .
- Dave Ling: Wizards and Demons - The Uriah Heep Story, Stratford-upon-Avon 2002.
- Jeff Perkins: David Byron - Born to Perform, Tiptree 2003.
- Ken Hensley: Blood On The Highway: When Too Many Dreams Come True; the Ken Hensley Story. Grosser & Stein 2007, ISBN 978-3-86735-319-9 .
- Uwe Reuters: Easy Livin '- The Story of Uriah Heep Vol.1, Aachen 1997.
- Uwe Reuters: Can't Keep a Good Band Down - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 2, 1998.
- Uwe Reuters: It Ain't Easy - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 3, Yearbook 1999.
- Uwe Reuters: Carry on - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 4, Yearbook 2000.
- Uwe Reuters: Sell Your Soul - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 5, Yearbook 2001.
- Uwe Reuters: Different World - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 6, Yearbook 2002.
- Uwe Reuters: Hold Your Head Up - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol.7, Yearbook 2003.
- Uwe Reuters: Running All Night - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 8, yearbook 2004.
- Uwe Reuters: One Way Or Another - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 9, yearbook 2005.
- Uwe Reuters: What Should be Done - The Story of Uriah Heep Vol. 10, Yearbook 2006.
Web links
- Official website
- Uriah Heep at Discogs (English)
- Uriah Heep at laut.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Official Website of Gary Thain ( Memento of December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- ^ U. Reuters: “Can't Keep A Good Band Down” The Story Of Uriah Heep Vol.2; P. 82; 5th edition Aachen 2002
- ^ The History of Uriah Heep: 2007 - Present Day
- ↑ Trevor Bolder dead at 62 ( Memento from June 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- ↑ Uriah Heep: Lawton replaces Shaw for some gigs in May ( Memento from November 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive )