Release Date: 23-09-2011
Genre: Hard Rock
Uriah Heep, who indisputably invented Hard Rock in conjunction with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, have sold in excess of 30 million albums since their inception in 1969. From their early incarnation as The Gods and Spice, through record breaking tours, gold and platinum selling albums, timeless chart scaling anthems and a fiercely dedicated fan base of worldwide proportions, Uriah Heep can rightly claim to be one of the greatest U.K. progressive heavy rock bands of both the 20th and 21st centuries.
Originally founded by vocalist David Byron and guitarist Mick Box, Uriah Heep have been through an incredible number of permutations, with Mick Box always at the helm. Ex Bowie/Ziggy band bassist Trevor Bolder joined in 1976, while keyboard player Phil Lanzon and vocalist Bernie Shaw were recruited a quarter of a century ago in 1986. Drummer Russell Gilbrook replaced long standing drummer Lee Kerslake, who had to leave the band due to ill health, about 5 years ago.
In October 2009, Uriah Heep released their 40th Anniversary ‘Celebration’ album, containing new studio recordings of 12 of their most successful, classic tracks, plus two brand new songs. This recording heralded an exciting new phase for the band, taking their classic sound right into the future.
The extensive tour that followed saw the band playing up to 250 shows a year to nearly 150,000 people, opening new Eastern European, Australian, Japanese and American territories and the band has played 53 different countries in total. The band’s motto has always been “if the people cannot come to see and hear Heep music, we will take it to them” and based on that when the band was invited to play for the first time in Armenia, they did not think twice and went for it. So when the band agreed they were approached by TV and film crews to document this concert which shows an epic performance and an incredibly strong and powerful audience reaction.
“It was unique because it was a first for us, and the fact that our music meant so much to so many people, was just wonderful” says Mick Box. “It cannot get any better than that. There were some technical problems to overcome, as we played on hired equipment, but the emotion of the night won through, and if asked, we would indeed go back and play again”.
URIAH HEEP
* Bernie Shaw – vocals
* Mick Box – guitar
* Phil Lanzon – keyboards
* Trevor Bolder – bass guitar
* Russell Gilbrook – drums
Produced by Mike Paxman
