Uriah Heep

The London hard rock band of Mick Box and Ken Hensley, whose 1972 album Demons and Wizards includes the US hit "Easy Livin'".

From Spice to Heep

Mick Box, born on June 9, 1947 in Walthamstow, formed Hogwash in Brentwood, Essex in 1967; he and the singer David Byron later played in Spice, renamed Uriah Heep in December 1969 according to the band article (the Mick Box article and MusicBrainz say 1970). Ken Hensley, ex-the Gods and Toe Fat, joined in February 1970. Under the manager and producer Gerry Bron they made ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970), Salisbury and Look at Yourself (both 1971). Lee Kerslake replaced Iain Clark on drums in November 1971, and Gary Thain joined on bass in February 1972, completing the classic line-up of Byron, Box, Hensley, Kerslake and Thain.

Demons and Wizards (May 19, 1972) and The Magician's Birthday (1972) followed, then Sweet Freedom (1973), Wonderworld (1974), Return to Fantasy (1975, number seven in the UK, their highest) and High and Mighty (1976). Thain left in December 1974 and John Wetton replaced him in March 1975. Byron left in July 1976 and John Lawton sang on Firefly, Innocent Victim and Fallen Angel; Hensley quit in September 1980. Peter Goalby sang on Abominog (1982), Head First (1983) and Equator (1985), and Bernie Shaw has sung since 1986. Ten nights at Moscow's Olympic Stadium in December 1987 drew about 180,000 people, the first hard-rock act there, and the live Easy Livin' from them was a 1988 UK single. Wikipedia counts over 40 million albums sold.

Farewell

Later albums include Raging Silence (1989), Sea of Light (1995), Wake the Sleeper (2008), Outsider (2014), Living the Dream (2018) and Chaos and Colour (2023). Byron died on February 28, 1985, aged 38; Trevor Bolder on May 21, 2013, aged 62; John Wetton on January 31, 2017; Lee Kerslake on September 19, 2020, aged 73; Ken Hensley on November 4, 2020, aged 75; and John Lawton on June 29, 2021, aged 74. A farewell tour, The Magician's Farewell, was announced in September 2024, with Mick Box saying in July 2026 that it is more of a slowdown rather than an absolute finish and that new music is definitely on the cards. Their influence is cited by Iron Maiden, Queen and Ghost's Tobias Forge, and the metal act Demons and Wizards took its name from the album.