Taking their name from the scheming, parasitic lawyer in
Charles Dickens' 1850 novel David Copperfield,
Uriah Heep are a progressive rock institution who, alongside bands like
Deep Purple,
Queen,
Black Sabbath, and
Led Zeppelin, helped lay the foundation for the United Kingdom's vibrant hard rock/heavy metal scene with combustible hits like "Easy Livin'," "The Wizard," "Sweet Lorraine," "Lady in Black," and "Stealin'." Founded in 1969 by powerhouse vocalist
David Byron and guitarist
Mick Box, the group went through a prodigious number of members over the next 50 years -- nearly 40 different musicians passed through the group. Originally operating under the moniker Spice,
Byron and
Box eventually recruited guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist
Ken Hensley, bassist
Paul Newton, and drummer
Nigel Olsson, and made the transition to
Uriah Heep, whom fans often refer to the band as simply
Heep.
With
Box and
Byron handling most of the songwriting duties, the newly minted quintet debuted their bottom-heavy guitar- and organ-driven blend of bluesy sonic might and innovative hard rock on 1970's Very 'Eavy...Very 'Umble (called Uriah Heep in the U.S.), which was released on Vertigo Records. Initially panned by critics, the LP has since attained legendary status as an early heavy metal classic.
Olsson would depart shortly after the album's release, making room for new drummer
Keith Baker, who made his studio debut on the group's 1971 sophomore effort,
Salisbury. The ambitious six-track set, which saw
Hensley making a more substantial writing contribution, adopted a far more progressive stance than the band's previous outing, with the 16-minute title cut employing a 26-piece orchestra. The group endured a flurry of lineup shake-ups --
Baker was replaced by
Ian Clarke, whose role was then usurped by
Lee Kerslake, while
Gary Thain took over bass duties from
Mark Clarke, who had succeeded
Paul Newton shortly after the release of 1971's
Look at Yourself and before the arrival of their acclaimed third studio long-player, 1972's
Demons and Wizards. Widely praised as the band's breakthrough LP, it heralded a hugely successful run of albums (The Magician's Birthday [1972],
Sweet Freedom [1973],
Wonderworld [1974], and
Return to Fantasy [1975]) that saw
Uriah Heep perfect their gothic-infused metal and maintain a mostly stable lineup: future
Asia frontman and
King Crimson alum
John Wetton joined the band on bass for the latter offering.
Wetton would stay on through 1976's fairly mainstream-sounding
High and Mighty, but internal issues, due in part to
David Byron's struggles with alcohol, were beginning to wear on the band.
Wetton left the fold in 1977, and the group were forced to let
Byron go, resulting in the release of
Firefly, the first
Uriah Heep effort to feature new vocalist
John Lawton and former
David Bowie bassist (and ex-Spider from Mars)
Trevor Bolder, the latter of whom would stay with the group until his death in 2013. The band's sound began to change as well, with subsequent offerings like
Fallen Angel and
Conquest leaning more toward commercial AOR than progressive metal, though the band maintained a respectable level of popularity, especially in Germany. 1982 saw them enter into another phase, delivering a punchier, more pop-metal-oriented with
Abominog, their 14th long-player and first of three outings to feature ex-
Trapeze vocalist
Peter Goalby.
While their audience declined as the years went on -- and pop culture norms waxed and waned -- the band enjoyed a strong international presence, and continued to release quality albums via multiple lineup iterations that left
Mick Box the sole original member. In 2017, the stalwart rockers begun work on their 25th studio album with
Jay Ruston (
Anthrax,
Stone Sour). The result,
Living the Dream, was issued in 2018 on
Frontiers, and saw the group sticking to their tried-and-tested classic rock formula. Longtime drummer
Lee Kerslake died on September 19, 2020, at the age of 73. Less than two months later, founding member
Ken Hensley lost his life on November 4, 2020, following a brief illness; he was 75 years old. ~ James Christopher Monger