At the heart of Uriah Heep

INTERVIEW | Devoted fans of hard rock groups of the early 1970s will tell you that there were three undisputed kings – Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. However, if you were asked to name the group from that era that came closest to challenging that supremacy, many would give you the same answer: Uriah Heep.

Named after a falsely ingratiating villain in a Charles Dickens novel, Uriah Heep was a hard gigging, hard living group that packed many great albums into its peak period despite a revolving door of musicians. The band’s nucleus from 1970 to 1976 was lead vocalist David Byron, guitarist Mick Box and organist Ken Hensley and, once they settled to a rhythm section of bassist Gary Thain and drummer Lee Kerslake, Uriah Heep unleashed a string of brilliant recordings.

Hit singles include Lady in Black, Easy Livin’, Stealin’, July Morning and the like, while I think the run of albums from 'Salibury' to 'The Magician’s Birthday' was touched by genius. Keyboardist Hensley, who also did the occasional lead vocal spot and played slide guitar, was the group’s main songwriter, and he soon became an idol of mine.

Hensley eventually quit Uriah Heep in 1980 and has largely focused on a solo career playing to a devoted following. After all these years, I still find his first solo album, 'Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf', to be his finest work.

Twenty years ago I interviewed Hensley via email as he was recording a religion-inspired work entitled 'A Glimpse of Glory'. He’s now 74, but still travelling the world with his unique brand of rock...