- - -" URIAH HEEP LIVE IN BANGKOK " - - - / 17th February 2006 /BEC-Tero Hall + + +

+ URIAH HEEP LIVE IN BANGKOK 2006 +

For when Mick Box decided to offer the vacant position to ex-Grand Prix, Praying Mantis and Stratus vocalist Bernie Shaw, it was a move that was to pay the highest dividends. Box had checked Shaw out at Stratus' farewell performance at the Marquee, on the advice of Heep and former Grand Prix tour manager Howard Menzies.

And so there was a new found optimism during 1987. Once again there was a definite feeling within the camp that here was a line-up that had a certain something about it. Things had taken an about turn behind the scenes too, as Heep had severed their old management connections the year before, linking up with the Miracle Group of Companies for business management. "I'd known the band for several years," says boss Steve Parker, "and had always been impressed by their tenacity. When the opportunity arose, I didn't need to think twice."

The real difference, however, between Uriah Heep and so many other bands who have built up large histories, is one of attitude. It would have been easy to stick to established routines but Heep have always tried to extend their horizons, visiting new countries and experimenting with new ideas.

The history making concerts at Moscow's Olympic Stadium, where the band played to a total of 180,000 people across ten consecutive nights (following a welcoming reception that Bernie remembers as being "something like Beatlemania"), represented not just an achievement for Uriah Heep but a major breakthrough for western music in general, opening the door for the likes of the Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Status Quo and Motley Crue.

He brought afreshness, he brought the live power onto record and I thought he enticed out of Bernie a lot of different styles. I think Bernie learnt a lot from him and I was very pleased to see the whole thing grow. And hopefully that natural growth will be reflected on the next album too."In 'Blood Red Roses' (written for the album by Pete Goalby) they had vibrancy, urgency and commerciality; in 'Cry Freedom' they had a rock solid winner inspired and inspirited by their travels behind the Iron Curtain; in 'Hold Your Head Up' (the old Argent hit) they displayed bravery with a touch of verve; in 'When The War Is Over' (previously a hit at home for Australia's Cold Chisel and Little River Band) they had an emotive ballad full of hope and optimism; the list goes on... The press, too, admired the way in which this particular Heep held true to its traditional values while displaying a vision of tomorrow."

RAGING SILENCE was followed by a return to the Soviet Union, this time providing a musical education to 100,000 people in Leningrad, then a visit to Wroclaw in Poland, six concerts in Brazil, a free concert in East Berlin (in front of another 80,000 people), dates in Britain (the performance at London's Astoria being captured on the RAGING THROUGH THE SILENCE video, courtesy of Fotodisk, living proof of how comfortably the likes of 'Bad Bad Man', 'More Fool You' and ' Blood Red Roses' sit alongside the old favourites), tours of Greece, Spain, Firdand and even a visit to Estonia, making it a total of 38 countries to have been touched by the strains of Mick Box's immediately identifiable guitar.

DIFFERENT WORLD, THEN THE SEARCH FOR A DIFFERENT LABEL

Work began on a new album in 1990 but with tours in North and South America and several festivals in Europe, the band were constantly in and out of the studio and consequently the album release was delayed. Richard Dodd (producer of Raging Silence) was unavailable, so Trevor Bolder assumed the production responsibilities. Released early in 1991, Different World

The present line up of Mick Box, Trevor Bolder, Bernie Shaw, Phil Lanzon and Lee Kerslake spans over a third of their history and is the longest lasting of all. Mick Box may be the only ever present member but Lee Kerslake has been around for all but a couple of years, Trevor Bolder has played bass in Uriah Heep for almost three quarters of the band’s career, Shaw has been the longest serving of all the vocalists and Lanzon’s time on keyboards will by 1996 be equal to Ken Hensley’s time in the band. They work better together today than any of the previous line ups and their latest album, Sea of Light