Uriah Heep Newcastle Mayfair 1982 & 1985
So….the mighty Uriah Heep were reduced to one member, guitar wizard extraordinaire Mick Box, who “locked myself in my flat for two days and drank myself senseless in complete self-pity.” Like any true wizard Box was not to be defeated and he soon began to forge a mystic plan for the future of Heep. He contacted his old mate and former Heepster drummer Lee Kerslake who was now with Ozzy Osbourne in Blizzard of Oz. Kerslake rejoined Uriah Heep,bringing bass player Bob Daisley with him. They were joined by ex Heavy Metal Kids keyboard player John Sinclair and vocalist Peter Goalby from Trapeze. The new Heep line-up shared the song writing duties and produced the 1982 album “Abominog” which was well received by fans and critics. Uriah Heep were well and truly back and went out on tour. Their success was, in part, helped by a resurgence in interest in heavy rock, as result of the emergence of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal). Their sound was moving more in a hard rock / heavy metal direction and away from the swirling operatic progisms of “Demons and Wizards”. I first saw the new line-up at Newcastle Mayfair in June 1982. Note how the ticket declares the concert as bing by “Uriah Heep with Mick Box”, so that punters knew what to expect. Support came from NWOBHM band Rage. I went along not sure what to expect from Uriah Heep, and half prepared to be disappointed, but I was seriously impressed by the new line-up. All credit to Mick Box, who could have given up at that point, but rebuilt the band which he continues to lead to this day.
I saw Uriah Heep again a couple of months later in August 1982 when they appeared low down the bill at Donington Monsters of Rock festival. The line-up was, in order of appearance, Anvil, Uriah Heep, Hawkind, Saxon, Gillan and Status Quo.
My next Heep experience was when they returned to the Mayfair in 1985. By this point Bob Daisley had left and Trevor Bolder had returned to the fold. Note how the ticket cleverly uses the font from “Uriah Heep Live”. Sadly that concert came just over a week after the passing of the great David Byron.
1985 Set List: Sell Your Soul; Stealin’; The Other Side Of Midnight; Too Scared To Run; Rockarama; Angel; The Wizard (dedicated to David Byron); July Morning; Bad Blood; Party Time; Gypsy; Easy Livin; That’s The Way That It Is; Look At Yourself
Archive for the ‘Rage’ Category
12 Dec
Uriah Heep Newcastle Mayfair 1982 & 1985
Posted by vintagerock in Rage, Uriah Heep. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy metal, heavy rock, rock, rock n roll. Leave a comment
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