![]() It wasn’t long before we were doing 10,000 seaters right across America, and had Lear jets and limos at every airport. A hit single is like a small boulder rolling down a hill, gathering moss, and by the time it gets to the bottom, it’s huge. ![]() “Then things started moving very, very fast. “Hearing the song on US radio was immense,” Box remembered. We were in the north of England, driving down to London to listen to some recordings in the studio before going to the airport to fly to America and someone said, ‘This is easy living, isn’t it?’ as a joke. The title came from a conversation we had in the van. “I thought the guitar sound was fantastic, it was so up-front, and aggressive and pumping like mad. “It had excitement written all over it,” recalled Mick Box. A huge radio hit in America, it pushed the Demons and Wizards album to number 23 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Though it failed to chart in the UK, the song, a tongue-in-cheek reflection upon outsider perceptions of the band’s lifestyle, the song became a top 20 hit across mainland Europe, and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 39. Hensley wrote the band’s biggest hit, “Easy Livin’” from 1972’s Demons And Wizards album, in just 15 minutes. “I saw a lot of potential in the group to do something very different,” remembered Hensley, who wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah Heep’s songs until his departure from the band in 1980, including the hit singles “Easy Livin’”, “Stealin’”, “Lady In Black” and “Free Me.” “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.” Songwriter-in-chief ![]() “We’d actually recorded half the first album when we decided that keyboards would be good for our sound,” Mick Box once recalled. Shortly afterwards, the Londoners changed the group’s name to Uriah Heep, recording their first two albums, …Very ‘Eavy, Very ‘Umble and Salisbury for Vertigo before switching to Warner Brothers for later releases. Hensley joined guitarist Mick Box and vocalist David Byron in the band Spice in February 1970. The group also released the album Orgasm under the pseudonym Head Machine. Stay safe out there.” One of the Godsīorn Kenneth William David Hensley on August 24, 1945, the keyboard player first attracted the spotlight as a member of The Gods, who featured future Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, and recorded two albums, 1968’s Genesis and 1969’s To Samuel A Son, for Columbia Records. “Ken has gone but he will never be forgotten and will always be in our hearts. Ken will be cremated in a private ceremony in Spain so please don’t ask for information about a funeral. "A big thank you has to go to the fans that have kept with us every inch of the way, and they just keep growing in numbers by the day.“We are all devastated by this tragic and incredibly unexpected loss and ask that you please give us some space and time to come to terms with it. There are still horizons to conquer and new songs to write and perform, and it feels like the adventure has just begun." "It is with great pride that we enter this 50th Anniversary with the same passion, desire and love of what we do, and long may it last. Mick Box comments: “Who would have imagined back in 1970 that Uriah Heep would still be here celebrating their 50th Anniversary? It is an amazing feat especially as the band are still a vibrant force in the live arena and still producing albums like the latest one ‘Living the Dream’, which has been lauded by the fans and media alike as one of their best in their career." To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the band will embark on a full UK tour in November 2020, promising performances to be remembered. The mighty Heep are cut from the same cloth of legends their career spans over 50th years and it has been a roller coaster: 25 studio albums, 21 official live albums, more than 45 million albums sold worldwide and over 4000 shows performed across 60 countries.įrom the aptly titled 1970 debut album Very ‘Eavy… Very ‘Umble, through to their last magnificent studio record Living The Dream and DVD extravaganza Live at KOKO, London, Uriah Heep have always produced high-quality hard rock blended with stunning melodies and intricate harmonies. Uriah Heep’s longevity is a testament to the band’s excellent music, prolific songwriting and tireless efforts. British rock icons Uriah Heep are thrilled to announce an extensive UK tour to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.
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