Uriah Heep are an English rock band from London. Formed in late 1969, the group originally featured vocalist David Byron, guitarist Mick Box, keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist Ken Hensley, bassist Paul Newton, and drummer Alex Napier. [1] The current line-up consists of Box, alongside keyboardist Phil Lanzon and vocalist Bernie Shaw (both since 1986), Russell Gilbrook (since 2007) and bassist Dave Rimmer (since 2013).
Nigel Olsson replaced Napier in early 1970, with both drummers contributing to the band's debut album ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble . [2] Olsson was replaced by Keith Baker and then Iain Clark, before Lee Kerslake joined as the group's first long-term drummer in late 1971, when Mark Clarke also replaced Newton. [1] Clarke was later replaced by Gary Thain, who first appeared on 1972's Demons and Wizards . [3] Thain was fired from the band in early 1975 due to an "increasing drug problem", which eventually led to his death from a heroin overdose on 8 December that year; he was replaced by John Wetton. [4]
Byron was fired from Uriah Heep in 1976 due to his growing alcohol abuse, which led to his death from liver failure in 1985. [5] He was replaced by John Lawton, as bassist Trevor Bolder also joined during the same period, following Wetton's departure. [6] After tensions arose between Lawton and Hensley, the vocalist left and was replaced by John Sloman, while Kerslake was replaced by Chris Slade shortly after his arrival. [7] Due to disagreements with the addition of Sloman and the band's musical direction, Hensley left the band in 1980 and was briefly replaced by Gregg Dechert. [7] [8] By April 1981, only Box remained in Uriah Heep, rebuilding the band with the addition of bassist Bob Daisley, returning drummer Kerslake (both recently departed from Ozzy Osbourne's band), keyboardist John Sinclair (later of Ozzy Osbourne's band with Daisley,) and new vocalist Peter Goalby (recently of Trapeze). [9]
After the release of Abominog and Head First , Bolder returned to Uriah Heep in 1983. [10] Goalby and Sinclair left in 1986, with Andy Scott's Sweet keyboardist Phil Lanzon and, briefly, Steff Fontaine taking over on vocals before Bernie Shaw was brought in a few months later. [11] [12] Uriah Heep's lineup remained stable until January 2007, when Kerslake was forced to leave the band due to "ongoing health problems". [13] He was replaced by Russell Gilbrook in March. [14] On 21 May 2013, Bolder died of cancer, [15] having taken a touring hiatus due to an operation earlier that year with John Jowitt covering. [16] He was later replaced by Dave Rimmer. [17]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mick Box | 1969–present [1] |
| all Uriah Heep releases | |
| Phil Lanzon | 1986–present [11] [12] |
| all Uriah Heep releases from Live in Moscow (1988) onwards, except Live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour (1997) | |
| Bernie Shaw | lead vocals | |||
| Russell Gilbrook | 2007–present [14] |
| all Uriah Heep releases from Wake the Sleeper (2008) onwards | |
| Dave Rimmer | 2013–present [17] |
| all Uriah Heep releases from Outsider (2014) onwards |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Hensley | 1969–1980 (plus live guest in 2001 and 2015 [23] ) (died 2020) [1] [7] [8] [24] |
|
| |
| David Byron | 1969–1976 (died 1985) [1] [5] | lead and backing vocals |
| |
| Paul Newton | 1969–1971 (plus live guest in 2019) [1] [25] |
|
| |
| Alex Napier | 1969–1970 (died 2023) [1] [2] | drums | ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970) (all but two tracks) | |
| Nigel Olsson [2] | 1970 |
| ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970) (two tracks) | |
| Keith Baker [1] | drums |
| ||
| Iain Clark | 1970–1971 [1] | Look at Yourself (1971) | ||
| Lee Kerslake |
|
| all Uriah Heep releases from Demons and Wizards (1972) to Fallen Angel (1978), and from Abominog (1982) to Magic Night (2004) | |
| Mark Clarke | 1971–1972 [1] [3] |
|
| |
| Gary Thain | 1972–1975 (died 1975) [3] [4] |
|
| |
| John Wetton | 1975–1976 (died 2017) [4] |
|
| |
| Trevor Bolder |
|
|
| |
| John Lawton | 1976–1979 (plus live substitute in 1995 and 2013; live guest in 2001 and 2019) (died 2021) [6] [7] [32] [24] [33] [25] |
|
| |
| Chris Slade | 1979–1981 [7] |
| Conquest (1980) | |
| John Sloman |
| |||
| Gregg Dechert | 1980–1981 [7] [8] |
|
| |
| John Sinclair | 1981–1985 [9] |
| ||
| Peter Goalby |
| |||
| Bob Daisley | 1981–1983 [9] |
|
| |
| Steff Fontaine | 1986 [11] [12] | lead vocals | Does not appear on any recordings |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Jowitt | 2013 | bass | Jowitt toured with the band in early 2013, while Bolder underwent an undisclosed operation. [16] | |
| Stefan Berggren | 2016 | vocals | Berggren substituted for Shaw on two occasions in 2016, due to family commitments. [38] | |
| Don Airey | 2020 | keyboards | Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey stood in for Lanzon at two shows in January 2020 after the keyboardist's son died. [39] |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Wood | 1969 | keyboards | ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970) [40] | |
| John Fiddy | 1970 | brass and woodwind arrangement | Salisbury (1971) [18] | |
| Manfred Mann | 1971 | moog synthesizer | Look at Yourself (1971) [41] | |
| Ted Osei | percussion | |||
| Mac Tontoh | 1971 (died 2010) | |||
| Loughty Amao | 1971 (died 1988) | |||
| Brian Cole | 1972 | pedal steel guitar | The Magician's Birthday (1972) [42] | |
| Jose Gabriel | 1974 | synthesizers | Wonderworld (1974) [43] | |
| Michael Gibbs | orchestral arrangements | |||
| Chris Mercer | 1978 | saxophone | Fallen Angel (1978) [44] | |
| Gerry Bron | 1979 (died 2012) | timpani | Conquest (1980) [35] | |
| Frank Ricotti |
| percussion |
| |
| Maria Zackojiva | 1988–1989 | Russian spoken words | Raging Silence (1989) [19] | |
| Brett Morgan |
| drums |
| |
| Danny Wood | 1990 | accordion | Different World (1991) [46] | |
| Benny Marshall | harmonica | |||
| Steve Piggott | keyboard programming | |||
| Children of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford (as "All God's Children choir") | choir | |||
| Andrew Willoughby | choir conductor | |||
| Piet Sielck | 1994–1995 | additional keyboards | Sea of Light (1995) [31] | |
| Pete Beckett |
| |||
| Rolf Köhler | 1994–1995 (died 2007) | additional backing vocals |
Dates are taken from the band's official website. [47]
| Period | Members | Studio albums |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn 1969 – January 1970 |
|
|
| January – February 1970 |
|
|
| February – October 1970 |
|
|
| October 1970 – November 1971 |
|
|
| November 1971 – February 1972 |
|
|
| February 1972 – February 1975 |
|
|
| March 1975 – August 1976 |
|
|
| September 1976 – October 1979 |
|
|
| November 1979 – May 1980 |
|
|
| July 1980 – April 1981 |
|
|
| April 1981 – April 1983 |
|
|
| May 1983 – November 1985 |
|
|
| July – September 1986 |
| none |
| September 1986 – January 2007 |
|
|
| March 2007 – May 2013 |
|
|
| May 2013 – present |
|
|
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969. Their current lineup consists of guitarist Mick Box, keyboardist Phil Lanzon, lead vocalist Bernie Shaw, drummer Russell Gilbrook, and bassist Dave Rimmer. They have experienced numerous lineup changes throughout their 55-year career, leaving Box as the only remaining original member. Former members of the band are vocalists David Byron, John Lawton, John Sloman, and Peter Goalby; bassists Paul Newton, Mark Clarke, Gary Thain, John Wetton, Trevor Bolder, and Bob Daisley; drummers Alex Napier, Nigel Olsson, Keith Baker, Iain Clark, Lee Kerslake, and Chris Slade; and keyboardists Ken Hensley, Gregg Dechert, and John Sinclair.
Kenneth William David Hensley was an English musician, singer, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s.
David Garrick, better known by his stage name David Byron, was a British singer, who was best known in the early 1970s as the original lead vocalist of the rock band Uriah Heep. Byron possessed a powerful operatic voice and a flamboyant stage presence.
Lee Gary Kerslake was an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep and for his work with Ozzy Osbourne in the early 1980s.
Demons and Wizards is the fourth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in May 1972 by Bronze Records in the UK and Mercury Records in the US.
The Magician's Birthday is the fifth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in November 1972 by Bronze Records in the UK and Mercury Records in the US. The concept was "based loosely on a short story" written by keyboardist Ken Hensley in June and July 1972.
Firefly is the tenth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in February 1977 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US. It was their first album without lead vocalist and founding member David Byron, and the first of three albums with new singer John Lawton, formerly of Lucifer's Friend. Bassist Trevor Bolder made his Uriah Heep debut on this album. Barring a break of about 18 months in the early 1980s, he remained with the group until his death in 2013.
High and Mighty is the ninth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in May 1976 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US. High and Mighty was the last Uriah Heep album to feature bassist John Wetton, and vocalist and founding member David Byron who was fired later that year due to his troubles with alcohol and differences with band priorities.
Fallen Angel is the twelfth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in September 1978 by Bronze Records in the UK and Chrysalis Records in the US. It is the last album to feature John Lawton on vocals, before his firing in 1979. Fallen Angel only reached No. 186 on the Billboard 200, but in Germany, the band were at the height of their popularity. On this album, the band moved toward an AOR sound, as opposed to the progressive rock of previous albums.
Paul Newton is an English rock musician. He was bassist with progressive group Shinn, which featured organist Don Shinn and drummer Brian "Blinky" Davison, and then joined a reformed line-up of The Gods with Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake. He was the original bass guitarist for Uriah Heep and played on the band's first three albums. He subsequently played for a band called Festival for several years on the Mecca Palais circuit and also worked as a studio musician and appeared on various recordings.
Conquest is the thirteenth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in 1980. It was released worldwide by Bronze Records; however, the album was never released in North America, where it was difficult to find even as an import.
Abominog is the fourteenth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in April 1982 by Bronze Records in the UK, and on 12 July 1982 by Mercury Records in the US. It was their first album without keyboardist Ken Hensley. The album was critically acclaimed and fairly commercially successful, due in part to the band retooling and updating their sound to a contemporary style and delivering a "punchier, more pop metal era-appropriate effort.
Head First is the fifteenth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in May 1983 by Bronze Records in the UK and Mercury Records in the US. It is Uriah Heep's last album released by Bronze Records.
Toe Fat were an English rock band active from June 1969 to 1971, notable for including two future members of Uriah Heep and of Jethro Tull. During their brief existence, they released two full-length studio albums.
...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble is the debut studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep.
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