British metal legend Uriah Heep that have been in the music sector for 45 years with ups and downs since their “Very ‘Eavy… Very ‘Umble” was released in 1970 is getting ready for a world tour with their “Living the Dream” album released in 2018. 24 things you do not know about Uriah Heep as we wait to welcome the group in Zorlu PSM as a part of their tour!
1. Until today, Uriah Heep sold more than 45 million album copies and had more than 4000 concerts in 60 countries.
2. Until today, Heep released 24 studio albums, 21 live albums and 17 music clips. The quality hard rock production blended with distinct melodies and harmonies philosophy of the group resulted in the highest number of the pirate album release in the rock history. It is estimated that the number of pirate albums is more than 10 million.
3. At the beginning of 70s, Heep had hit albums and crazy festival tours in the US with Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Jethro Tull.
4. Uriah Heep were in BBC “Tops of Pops” twice; one in 1972 with “The Wizard of Wizard” and one in 1977 with “Wise Man”. Mick Box who was having a holiday in the US was forced to go back. The show news came when he landed and Box was forced to go back to London, Dallas and El Paso route. All was for 3 minutes on the BBC!
5. At the beginning of 70s, Mick Box fell from the stage in the first night of the US tour in Birmingham, the US. His left arm came out and he broke four bones on his right arm. Mick continued touring with a bold move and he was having three doses of pain killers before the show. His arm swells because of the cast and Box was forced to sing in the concerts in pain. During the tour, Box almost visited all ERs in the US.
6. In another US tour, Gary Thain was electrocuted on the stage during a concert in Dallas. This concert was rescheduled as a free show on 03 October 1975 and the key of the city was presented to the band.
7. In the US, they supported the careers of various bands such as “Rush”, “Kiss”, “ZZ Top”, “April Wine”, “Foreigner” and even “Earth, Wind & Fire”.
8. Heep was very enthusiastic to create rock marches with five giant albums released between 1970 and 1974 and they were in top 3 of the music lists in 20 countries for weeks with their cult songs Gypsy, Lady in Black, July Morning, The Wizard, Easy Livin’, Sweet Lorraine and Stealin.
9. Heep managed to be on the top list for 13 weeks with “Lady in Black” in Germany and they won prestigious “Golden Lion” which is Europe equivalent to Grammy. This success was crowned with a second Golden Lion they won in 1995.
10. Uriah Heep craze in the 70s was best summarized in 1976 “High and Mighty” album release. More than 300 most reputable media channels flew to Switzerland and met with the group in the restaurants at 12,000 feet in the Alpines. Unfortunately, everyone forgot that alcohol had five times more effect on this altitude. This has been the greatest “forgotten” album release of all times!
11. In 1987, Heep had a ground-breaking attack outside well-known markets when they sold out the concert series in Olympic Stadium in Moscow. They were officially invited by “Glasnost” and welcomed 180,000 music lovers. This way, they were the first Western rock band that took the stage in Russia.
12. Heep is one of the most hard-working groups of all time. Despite their crazy tour program, they complete between 150 and 200 live shows every year with their surprisingly high energy in each show.
13. The innovative approach of the group to improve live performance experience has disproved the “firsts”. Rather than being the first Western group performing in 1987 in Russia, they were the first group to go on a 5-week Russia tour. Heep went down in Russia with a 100,000-people huge concert in St. Petersburg to Siberia and they were the first Western rock group to perform in Poland, Bulgaria, South Korea, Czechoslovakia (now Czechia and Slovakia) and Romania.
14. In 1994, Heep performed for 120,000 fans in X-Leicia Stadium in Warsaw to raise money to build the first AIDS hospital in Poland. CNN broadcasted the entire shoe live and the group faced with death threats from underground organizations that are against the building of the hospital. Three armed bodyguards were hired per member and Heep continued with the concert.
15. Mick Box accepted Outer Limits Award in 2014 Progressive Music Awards for Uriah Heep. Heep was awarded due to their infinite inspiration to progressive music stage with their first 5 albums.
16. Uriah Heep performed a 1 hour 30-minute concert for a corporate event in Helsinki, Finland. The show was interrupted by the police because the audience had too much alcohol. The police took the audience with too much alcohol to the police station and decided to keep the audience inside the event hall by stopping the concern because the police station was full. Heep was forced to stop a show for the first time in the band history.
17. On 24 July 2008, Uriah Heep gave a concert to 620 inmates in a jail in Rottenberg, Germany. The jail director called Heep that was about to be on stage in “Rock of Ages” festival on the same night and Heep said the concert was possible because all the equipment will be there for the concert and they will do the show. This performance is regarded as one of the most extraordinary concerts of Heep and they gave a concert to 20,000 not-so-much Uriah Heep fans by setting up their equipment in the gym. With the power of the music, the night ended with the perfect picture of the inmates and guards singing “Free Me” song together.
18. Uriah Heep have an acoustic concert in a salt mine in Merkes, East Germany which is famous for the rumors that Hitler used the mines to hide his gold. All tickets were sold out for this concert venue which was 500 meters below the ground. The only access was via one elevator and it took two hours for all the audience to settle. It took hours to carry the equipment. Special white caps were made for each audience. Group members stated this as “it was like playing to 2000 boiled eggs!”.
19. Uriah Heep was in second Childline Rocks voluntary concert organized in 2009 in London Indigo2 Arena. They shared the same stage with Jon Lord, Glenn Hughes and Justin Hawkins from Darkness.
20. In 2012, Uriah Heep were selected as the godfather to two brown bears Elizabeth and Jack who lived in Czech Republish Plzen Zoo and Botanic Gardens.
21. Uriah Heep won “Interior Venue Tour of The Year” award in Live Entertainment Award 2014 with their November 2013 Germany tour with Status Quo. Mick Box and Bernie Shaw presented the award in Frankfurt, Germany to Heinz Preisch from KBK Konzert- and Künstleragentur GmbH.
22. In 2014, Uriah Heep is the first band that was included in the Steps of Fame in “The House on the Rock” music school directed by Judy Seutter in Regensburg, Germany.
23. On 31 March 2014, Uriah Heep donates one of the Carparelli S4 guitars of Mick Box to Hard Rock Cafe in Hamburg, Germany.
24. Supreme “Heep” was immortalized in “The Simpsons”! In that episode, a garbage collection area where people can sell their old records was created. This garbage collection area was called “Uriah Heep”.
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