About Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969. Their current lineup consists of guitarist Mick Box, keyboardist Phil Lanzon, lead vocalist Bernie Shaw, drummer Russell Gilbrook, and bassist Dave Rimmer. They have experienced numerous lineup changes throughout their 57-year career, leaving Box as the only remaining original member. Former members of the band are vocalists David Byron, John Lawton, John Sloman and Peter Goalby; bassists Paul Newton, Mark Clarke, Gary Thain, John Wetton, Trevor Bolder and Bob Daisley; drummers Alex Napier, Nigel Olsson, Keith Baker, Iain Clark, Lee Kerslake and Chris Slade; and keyboardists Ken Hensley, Gregg Dechert and John Sinclair. Uriah Heep were part of the early 1970s rock scene and have been referred to as major pioneers of the hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock genres. The band have sold over 40 million albums worldwide, with over 4 million sales in the US, where their best-known songs include "Look at Yourself", "July Morning", "Easy Livin'", "Come Away Melinda", "The Wizard", "Sunrise", "Lady in Black", and "Gypsy". They also maintain a significant following and perform at arena-sized venues in the Balkans, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia and Scandinavia. Uriah Heep have released twenty-five studio albums of original material, twenty live albums and forty-one compilation albums (including two greatest hits albums). Thirteen of the band's studio albums have made it to the UK Albums Chart (Return to Fantasy reached No. 7 in 1975), while of the fifteen Billboard 200 Uriah Heep albums, Demons and Wizards was the most successful (No. 23, 1972). By the late 1970s, Uriah Heep had massive success in Germany, where the "Lady in Black" single was a big hit. Uriah Heep then decided to widen the sound. "We'd actually recorded half the first album when we decided that keyboards would be good for our sound. Hensley had little to contribute to the debut: Box and Byron wrote most of the material, including "Gypsy", in many ways (according to Blows) "a marriage of contrasts" that, in time, became their trademark.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.