Uriah Heep is a British rock band, officially formed in 1969 in London, England, when record producer Gerry Bron invited keyboardist Ken Hensley (previously a member of The Gods and Toe Fat) to join Spice, members of whom included soon-to-become Heep stalwarts David Byron (vocals) and Mick Box (guitar). The band rapidly grew to become a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s and beyond. Their distinctive progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion has always featured a massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and (in the early years) David Byron's operatic vocals. Sometimes jokingly referred to as "The Beach Boys of heavy metal" for their melodic songs, and trademark multi-part harmony backing vocals, although their music draws on diverse influences including psychedelia, gothic sound, progressive rock, hard rock, early heavy metal, jazz, and even country on occasion. Uriah Heep remains active, its lineup staying steady from 1986 to 2007, when drummer Lee Kerslake left for health reasons, and was replaced by Russell Gilbrook. The current lineup is: Mick Box (guitar, vocals), Trevor Bolder (bass, vocals) passed away in 2013 and was replaced by Davey Rimmer, Phil Lanzon (keyboards, vocals), Bernie Shaw (lead vocals), and Russell Gilbrook (drums, vocals).
