Uriah Heep supported by White Noise.

Reviewed by Mark Robertson.

Uriah Heep are: Mick Box - guitar Bernie Shaw - vocals Trevor Bolder- bass Phil Lanzon - Keyboards Lee Kerslake - Drums

Bizarre rock connections! Bernie Shaw was singer in a band called Preying Mantis - Mark (our reviewer) went to school with the brother of one of Preying Mantis' drummers!

Mark gets out his (very) little book of 'rock journalist's cliches' and rocks on down with Uriah Heep.

With a back catalogue stretching back some 35 years and covering nearly every style of rock there is; Uriah Heep are one of those bands whom nearly every one has heard of ... Though when pressed few can actually name many, or even any of their hits!

Which is quite a shame really!

For a group that have trodden the road of 'pomp-rock' and 'stadium giants' with ease they have some damned fine and catchy tunes that they can knock out with apparent ease.

But don't let that fool you into thinking this is just a group who are living off past successes!

Still touring, writing and recording Uriah Heep are very much a band for now ... And a lot of today's '3-chord metal wonders' could do with seeing them play live to understand just what it really takes to be real rock gods!

Ok - but what about the Carlisle concert?

Well ... It started late! Never a good thing, but for the dedicated who had made their way to the Sands Centre that didn't matter - They were here to enjoy some great rock music and that's what they got.

The moment they strode on stage, Uriah Heep were in control.
From Mick Box's consummate guitar playing and Bernie Shaw's vocals to Lee Kerslake's blanga back-beat - it was perfect!
Right from the start Bernie was encouraging the crowd to clap, sing and dance - though many didn't need much encouragement to join in - especially the crowd from Scotland who'd been at the previous night's gig in Edinburgh.

This was a rock concert as it was supposed to be - no flashy pyrotechnics, no flying pigs, just hard and heavy rock for the faithful.

To paraphrase their 1973 album, they are very 'Eavy, but they certainly shouldn't be 'Umble about any thing they do.

If you do get the chance to catch them on tour, just make sure you do it's an evening very well spent.

Tour dates

Where and when you can catch Uriah Heep on their current tour with support from White Noise...