After leaving R&b outfit The Jimmy Brown Sound in 1965, Ken Hensley (24 augustus 1945, London) who had previously played guitar with Kit and the Saracens formed the Gods with Mick Taylor (guitar), John Glasscock (bass/vocals) and Brian Glasscock (drums). This line up lasted until Jun 1967 when Taylor quit to join the John Mayalls Bluesbrakers and then the Rolling Stones. Hensley moved to Hamspshire where he put together a new version of the Gods wich featured Hensley (guitars, keyboards, lead vocals), Paul Newton (bass), Lee Kerslake (drums) and John Konas (guitar). Despite building up a good following on the South Coast college circuit Newton left and was replaced by Greg Lake. The grpup had a residency at Londons Marquee and a cotract with EMI’s Columbia label, but Lake left in the summer of 1968 to be replaced with John Glasscock. The Gods recorded the Album “Genesis” (SCX 6286) to be follwed by a few singles. In 1969 they released the LP “To Samuel a Son” (SCX 6372). By then the group had changed their name to Toe Fat with the addition of ex-Rebel Rouser Cliff Bennet (vocals), where they released the albums “Toe Fat” and “Toe Fat 2”.
Following this Ken Hensley became a founding member of Uriah Heep, together with Paul Newton, David Byron (b. David Garrick 29 january 1947, Epping, Essex, England, vocals) , Mick Box (8 June 1947 , London, guitar) , Alex Napier (drums). Byron, Box, Newton, and Napier had previously cut a single as Spice.
Uriah Heep’s debut , Very ‘eavy..very ‘umble, in 1970 was a simplistic, bass-driven passage from electric folk to a direct, harder sound. With a new drummer Keith Baker (ex-Bakerloo) they recorded Salisbury before deciding that the tour schedule was too rigorous form his liknig and was replaced by Ian Clarke. Salisbury was a drastic development from the debut, with many lengthy, meandering solos and a 16 minute title track embellished by a 26-piece orchestra. The band were on the forefront of a richly embossed, fastidious style of music dubbed ’ progressive rock’. During 1971 the line-up was again altered when Lee Kerslake, another former member of the pre Heep bands Gods and Toe Fat, replaced Clarke follwing the recording of Look at Yourself. Gerry Bron had formed Bronze Records by 1971 and Look at Yourself, their debut for the label, became the band’s first entry in the UK charts when it reached number 39 in November. An ex-member of the Downbeats and Colosseum, Mark Clarke, superseded Paul Newton on bass guitar but lasted just three months before his friend Gary Thain took over. The stability of the new line-up enabled the band to enter most successful period during the early 70’s when the fantastic, eccentric nature of their lyrics was supported by a grandose musical approach. The quintet recorded 5 albums, beginning with Demons and Wizards, their first entry in the US charts. The musical and lyrical themes continued on The Magicians Birthday, Uriah Heep Live, Sweet Freedom and Wonderworld (their last US Top 40 entry), as the band revealed a rare thitst for tough recording and perfomance schedules. Thain was asked to leave after becoming too unreliable, due to drug habit. There had been a brooding row the previous September when the bass player sufffered a near-fatal electric shock at a concert in Dallas and said he had not been shown enough regard for his injuries 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. However, many observers considered that he had taken a retrogressive step in joining a band that was quickly becoming an anachronism. 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 Brian 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 becoming ‘a bunch of machines plummeting to a death’. Hensley briefly walked out during a tour of the USA in he summer of 1976 and in a subsequent powerstruggle, Byron was forced to leave. Byron soon afterwards joined Rough Diamonds for a brief moment. He released a series of 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 backing musician, 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. Hensley subsequently left the band, and the band was dismembered. A brief hiatus followed and a new Uriah Heep was formed which inclued Box, Kerslake, John Sinclair (keyboards), Bob Daisley (bass, ex-Widowmaker, Rainbow) and Peter Goalby (volas, ex-Trapeze) was formed. Daisley quit in 1983 following the release of Head First, and was replaced with the returning Bolder. Bronze Records collapsed in 1984 and the band signed a contract with Portrait Records in the USA. In 1987 they were the first western rock band to perform in Moscow. Bernie Shaw (vocals) and Phil Lanzon (keyborads), both formerly of Grand Prix joined and the quintet recorded Raging Silence, Different World, Sea of Light, Sonic Origami. Their European tour of 1995 saw them reunite with former vocalist John Lawton as a temporary measure, with Shaw suffering a throat problem.
Albums:
Very ‘eavy…Very ‘umble (UK) aka Uriah Heep (USA) (Vertigo 1970)
Salisbury (Vertigo 1971)
Look At Yourself (Bronze 1971)
Demons and Wizards (Bronze 1972)
The Magicians Birthday (Bronze 1972)
Live: January 1973 (Bronze 1975)
High and Mighty (Bronze 1976)
Firefly (Bronze 1977)
Innocent Victim (Bronze 1977)
Fallen Angel (Bronze 1978)
Conquest (Bronze 1980)
Abnominog (Bronze 1982)
Head First (Bronze 1983)
Equator (Portrait 1985)
Live at Shepperton ’74 (Castle 1986)
Live in Europe ’79 (Raw 1986)
Live in Moscow (Legacy 1988)
Raging Silence (Legacy 1989)
Different World (Legacy 1991)
Rarities From The Bronze Age (Sequel 1991)
The Landsdowne Tapes (Red Steel 1993)
Sea of Light (HTD 1995)
Spellbinder (CBH 1996)
Live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour 1974 (King Biscuit 1997)
Sonic Origami (Eagle 1998)
Future Echoes of the Past (Phantom 2000)
Empty The Vaults: The Rarities (Castle 2001)
Acoustically Driven (Phantom 2001)
Electrically Driven (Phantom 2001)
Compilations: The Best Of .. (Bronze 1975). The Best of Uriah Heep (Mercury 1976). Anthology (Raw Power 1985). Antholgy Volume One (legacy 1986). The Collection (Legacy 1989). Ironstrike: 14 Rock Hard Hits (Avanti 1989). Milestones (Castle 1989). Still’Eavy, Still Proud: Two Decades of Uriah Heep (Legacy 1990). Two Decades in Rock (Essential 1990). Echoes in the Dark (Elite 1991). A time of Revelation (Essential 1996). The Best of … Part 2 (Essential 1997). Classic Heep: An Anthology (Mercury 1998). Travellers In Time: Anthology Vol I (Castle 2000). Easy Livin’ (Delta 2000). Blood On Stone: Anthology Volume II (Castle 2001). Come Away Melinda: A Collection Of Classic Uriah Heep Ballads (Castle 2001).
Videos: Easy Livin’: A History Of Uriah Heep (Virgin Video 1985). Raging Through The Silence (Video 1988). Live Legends (Castle Music Pictures 1990). Gypsy aka Live in London (Hendering Music Video 1990), Live In Moscow (Suncrown 1995), The Legends Continues…..A Celebration Of Thirty Years in Rock (Cromwell Productions 2000), Acoustically Driven (2001), Sailing the Sea of Light (2001).
Books: Uriah Heep: Golden Years, Alender Krispin and Stefan Eickhoff.