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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).
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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 |
|
|
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