For a band on the verge of celebrating an incredible 40 years in the business you’d be forgiven for thinking that Uriah Heep would be content to sit back and rest on their laurels. Well, you’d be wrong.
Earlier this year Heep released their first new material in almost 10 years and when Wake The Sleeper finally hit the streets it was met with almost universal acclaim. Not only had Heep released one of the best albums of their illustrious career but also created one of the albums of the year with an album crammed full of classic Heep with a modern edge.
When speaking to Metal Express Radio before the start of the UK tour, the usually jovial Mick Box was even more full of life extolling the virtues of the new material and saying how much he was looking forward to getting out on the road and playing the songs.
This was Heep’s first appearance at Holmfirth’s Picturedrome, an old Victorian playhouse set in a remote Yorkshire Dales village more famous for the hit UK sitcom Last of the Summer Wine than Rock ‘N’ Roll shows. The far-flung nature of the venue didn’t however; stop the hoards of Heepsters flocking to the show.
As Mick Box had promised, the show would highlight the new album and Heep hit the stage to the double whammy of “Wake The Sleeper” and the immense “Overload”, the latter being cut from the finest Heep tradition, incorporating all of the elements that make the band so special from the five part harmony vocals, to the wah-infused solo and the swirling Hammond organ, this is surely one of the best songs they have EVER written and live it was sensational.
Over the course of the evening Mick Box and the boys treated the crowd to the WHOLE of the excellent new album, every last slice of it. It was a brave move and in many other bands hands this could have been enough to send the fans scurrying for the exits. With Heep however, such is the strength of the album, that the fans lapped it up. The band clearly fed off the appreciation of the crowd and put in a dynamic and passionate performance.
The songs which sound so vibrant on the album come further to life on stage with “Tears Of The World” and “Shadow” with its stirring chorus being particularly impressive. “What Kind Of God”, which tells the tale of injustice from the Native Americans’ viewpoint, was an emotional and moving moment and Bernie Shaw’s vocals were inspired.
Heep have had many changes in their line up over the years but until last year they had a stable group for over 20 years. Unfortunately last year, the legendary Lee Kerslake retired due to health issues and his absence could well have been a big miss to the band as not only was he a fine drummer but also an integral part of the Heep harmonies and a big personality on stage. Fortunately Mick Box and the band chose Russell Gilbrook and he filled Kerslake’s shoes admirably proving that they had made the right choice.
No Heep show would be complete without the essential classics so throughout the night they came thick and fast with the titanic riffing of “Gypsy” taking pride of place alongside “July Morning”, “Easy Livin’”, “Take A Look At Yourself” and the dramatic harmonies of “Sunrise”.
As the band took their bows at the end of this superb and inspired show the ever beaming Mick Box looked over to his band mates with a knowing glance that a new chapter in their history was opening. With shows of this calibre and a top class album under their belt let’s hope that it’s not too long before we see Heep again.
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