I wanted David Byron to REJOIN Uriah Heep! HE WOULDN'T LISTEN!

Uriah Heep came through during the UK's heavy rock movement of the late 60's, with bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
They went on to sell more than 40 million records worldwide. The bands original singer, David Byron was sacked in 1976 when his behaviour and stage performances were suffering due to his drinking.
But, in the 80's, ever present guitarist, Mick Box, tried to convince David to re-join the band. But Byron was in a bad place and much to Mick's disappointment, didnt take up the offer.
In this video Mick talks about just how good David Byron was for Uriah Heep and then details what happened when he tried to get him to come back to the band.
Despite Byron refusing to return, the band have continued on throughout the decades and have a new album about to be released! Chaos and Colour, Uriah Heeps 25th studio album, is a return to force for the band and is set to be released on January 27th. The lead single from the album, Save Me Tonight, is another powerful melodic rock song which will surely become a firm fans favourite.

[@SwisstedChef2018]

Mick Box, the last Heep standing is a treasure icon

[@bbkingwasthegreatest711]

He is the only original one left they were such a great band.

[@donaldellis-wt6xl]

David greatest vocalist and frontman in rock history. Was fortunate to see him live

[@geffersondoamaral767]

Que privilégio, Cara !! Brasil

[@L72Chevelle427]

Amen to this....

[@boozefueledreviews6928]

I would have loved to see David return, but at the same time, it was no secret how deep he was into alcohol at the time. More time on the road and being in the spotlight again may have only exacerbated his addictions. The poor guy was still young when he passed in 1985. RIP David Byron RIP Lee Kerslake RIP Trevor Bolder RIP Ken Hensley Long Live HEEP!!!

[@DavidGarrick1515]

R.I.P. Garry Thain R.I.P. John Wetton

[@michaelkoszowski3716]

R.i.p. John Lawton .

[@Zoso-lz8ov]

RIP Gary Thain

[@avihujesta6640]

Long live mick box

[@petersneddon1579]

My first gig was Heep at the Glasgow Apollo 1973 (I was 14) with Dave, Mick Gary Thane, Lee Kerslake and Ken Hensley The Heavy Metal Kids with Gary Holton were the support and it started me of in the best possible way what a night, love Uriah Heep.

[@anvara.9521]

Dear Mick Box! You are the last hartner of legendary composition of URIAH HEEP! Hold on! Keep yourself alive!

[@theofficialandylaytonjames]

Best voice EVER !!! So underrated

[@johnpace5774]

I was at the Albert Hall when David walked in! Yep, brilliant front man and a brilliant gig. Loved seeing you playing Look At Yourself with Osibisa. Osibisa, Uriah Heep, and Coliseum for 50p. What a bargain!

[@VRPRocks]

50p! Cant b uy a chocolate bar for that nowadays!!

[@johnpace5774]

@@VRPRocks I was being paid the grand sum of £17 a week at the time, though! But still, a real bargain……..

[@cujo9999]

They were my second concert along with Manfred Mann's Earth Band....before Blinded by the Light. It was the Wonderworld tour. Great show...what I remember of it....

[@davidryan6441]

I Have Always Said That if Things Like Re-Hab Was Around Back Then David Would Still be With Us, Instead it was Go Home and Sleep it off mate. The Chemistry between Mick And David was very Special and i have no doubt great things would have happened if David had Re-joined The Band. P.s The New Album is Awesome...Happy Days.

[@paulburrows7908]

It was back then. A.A and recovery has been around since 1935.

[@mikekeeler6362]

Is there a husband drug and alcohol around for decades

[@stevecoscia]

Great interview in terms of the depth and complexity of relationships among band members and management. It's difficult to say what would've happened if David Byron rejoined Uriah Heep. Hindsight is 20/20 so let the assumptions and opinions reign supreme.

[@steveelliott5643]

Gidday Mick,had the pleasure of playing before Heep in NZ in the 80s,you and Lee the only originals.Great few beers with you guys,marvellous chaps,te pai katoa,favourite band!

[@glendoucet5726]

Still Uriah Heep!!….long live Heep…..

[@eddieingalls534]

Mick is certainly right that David put that extra energy and soul into his singing - and that is what still can touch us when we hear Heep. I always saw Heep as a wonderful group made unbelievably brilliant by how Byron read the songs of Hensley. When they sacked him that extra 15% he gave was lost in my view, although Lawton was a very, very good replacement.

[@joeblog2672]

Lawton was a better technical singer than Byron. Lawton could sing with anyone within his style. Even so, Byron's studio (not live!) voice just has more natural feel to it for his catalogue of Heep songs.

[@aschule5684]

David was the only real voice of Uriah Heep for me. Never had interest in hearing them without him. It's so great to hear Mick speak so well of him. They were as important to me as all the heavy hitters in the 70's Demons and Wizard's, Magicians Birthday, Live, were 3 favorites!

[@theofficialandylaytonjames]

He was the most underrated vocalists ever !! He clearly inspired Freddie Mercury if you watch his moves

[@peterfraney7931]

Wrong! He came along well before Mercury !

[@michaelfoubister4339]

I saw Uriah Heep at Central Park return to fantasy tour. They were great David. Byron was great Love the HEEP !!!!!!

[@toddswift8737]

rip David Byron ...a very charismatic singer for UH! #VRP

[@conanthebasset5792]

Uriah Heep wasn't the same band, when David Byron was forced to leave. They are still a great band, but with David they were brilliant.

[@gooseabuse]

I discovered Uriah Heep 15 years ago in my early 20's and they've steadily grown into one of my favorites if not my #1. I'm glad Mick kept it going all these years; It was a dream come true to see them live. Byron is my all time favorite Rock singer but I also think Bernie Shaw has been the perfect fit for the new Heep and deserves a lot of praise.

[@freedom_aint_free]

Uriah Heap was amazing like black sabbath: whichever singer they chose could not spill nothing but gold !

[@bluesapphire7548]

Very good way to put it.

[@scottanderson4175]

David was amazing 😐Uriah Heep was amazing 😐 I only saw them one time live but what a lasting impression 🥂

[@kevinwindle8937]

Sheffield City Hall....1st of Dec 1974.....What a Marvellous Night, Thank you FELLAS.

[@geffersondoamaral767]

👏👏👏👏

[@AllSpace]

David could sing anything!

[@steven9370]

Saw them in Germany around 1973. Great seats and a great show, vivid memory of Mick moving across the stage and slipping bigtime on his butt and immediately jump up and jammed on.

[@Mick7391]

David Byron did the same thing at the Glasgow Apollo, they had a big build up for the first song, about 3 foot of dry ice then david ran on and tried to stop at his mike but slipped and disappeared under the dry ice. A huge cheer and the band pissing themselves, another great night. Miss them gigs.

[@user-nw9yl3nk9l]

...Original Uriah Heep only with D.Byron and K. Hensley...

[@gaborantal6298]

387 / 5 000 Fordítási találatok Fordítási találat I never thought that my other favorite song by Jeff Scott Sotó would be on the new record! I am 60 years old and I became a big fan of Uriah Heep in 1978! While I was playing music, I learned a lot from Heep's basses! After that I became a fan of Jeff Scott Sotó too! An unexpected meeting a Save me tonight! I'm very happy! I could really imagine this track with the instrumentation of that time on the Abominog record!

[@1MrErling]

so sad with David. Uriaha Heep was expelled from Oslo city in Norway, during the Wonderworld Tour May 1974. I saw the Gig the very same evening, but during the night David went so violently berserk at the Bristol Hotel in Oslo, that the police and judge expelled them out of town. Never heard that before or later.. Only UH .. Ken Hensly said in an intervue 40 years later it was not him, but would not disclose who Had a similar episode with soccer player Gazza in Tottenham, when they played in Stavanger, Norway. He also went brutally berserk at the Hotel Atlantic where I worked. Read on line today that he survived and asked to live with friends. Totally broke, as is his mental health. Bet both David and Gazza have/had major mental challenges

[@friotaiocht101]

It's really a shame that he never came back to Uriah Heep... he was a really great singer.... I lost all interest in Uriah Heep after David Byron was gone...

[@tomdutton6976]

I saw Heep twice in the 70's both times with David Byron, 73 & 75, both shows outstanding! Then later I saw the band in 2003, Box & Kerslake were with the band. another great concert!

[@frankmills625]

Saw them in Madison wi at the coliseum 😊fantastic 👏 show

[@tomoday4450]

Mick The nicest guy in Rock 👍🏻

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

He really comes off well, doesn't he?

[@jay4vice]

I saw URIAH HEEP on their first U.S. TOUR.

[@alexmcintyre6353]

Still love this band.

[@hoppareallife9297]

My favorite band 69 to 75 ❤❤❤ Mic you are very underrated. Wish I could have seen your last tour in the USA 2024

[@brantgoneau9603]

Money drives greed and addiction we all lost

[@Rober582]

Grande Mick! Grazie for all the years of good rock!

[@underdoggo9064]

Most say David's liver disease had advanced by this time and he didn't want to commit to something big. Rumor was in the 80s John Wetton had also offered him to front Asia. All rumor of course, no way to confirm.

[@SSenorr]

That would’ve been massive, if David was able to pull some sort of form with ASIA that would be so massive… that’s sad to see someone so talented and unique go like that

[@underdoggo9064]

@@SSenorr David and Heep both missed the mark IMO. If the Asia thing was true it may have been his big break, same time I think if John Sloman had stayed, Heep may have been huge in the NWOBHM scene.

[@onusgumboot5565]

The classic line up was the best. I still listen from time to time, to the early vinyl. I still have it after all these years. Demons and wizards, and Magicians birthday are true classics. But I am particularly fond of Look at yourself, and Sweet freedom. I had a copy of Fallen angel. I don't know what happened to it. A different singer on that one but still good. I think it was the victim of a two year old daughter, a cat and a dog. A few albums didn't survive that combination.

[@olivermuggli4610]

Wahnsinn...ich habe Heep 1978 in Winterthur gesehen,sie waren Hackedicht,Mike fiel rückwärts zu Boden,2 Rowdies mussten ihm aufhelfen.Nach 1 minute wurde die Show abgebrochen,weil jeder ein anderes Stück spielte,staunende Blicke zueinander,danach neustart 😎

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

I'm certain that Mick terribly misses Ken, Lee, Gary, and David, the classic lineup everyone knows and loves. It' must be really lonely having to shoulder the burden as the last man standing, and he seems like a genuinely good and decent man.

[@alfredpetrie7920]

I saw Heep in 75 in Edinburgh Odean

[@signsmusic1]

Probably Mick´s (and Trevor´s) offer to David to rejoin UH also came at a wrong time in early 1981, when David had his Byron Band in full swing and touring...

[@gooseabuse]

The story of Uriah Heep is a tragedy for sure, unfortunately its a common story especially in this era of rock'n'roll. Greedy corrupt managers bleeding the project dry. Ken talked about how Magicians Birthday was rushed and he thinks it suffered as a result; I wish I could hear that parallel universe version where they had time to perfect it, its already so good I think it could have been another perfect album for them with some more polishing.

[@326vince]

I saw them at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. David was pretty drunk. He cut his face on a monitor somehow? he was bitching about it. Sad. They sounded great anyway! Rock on Mick. A year older then Steven Tyler. And he’s retiring supposedly

[@phillyupstart9200]

Seeing them for the first time Wed

[@FaridElDiwany-bg1eg]

A catastrophic loss to Heep fans was losing David Byron in 1976. I never got over it. He was a talisman ... an emperor ... a magician. Damn the demon drink!

[@victorstefanovsky6902]

Sad…

[@priyohan5262]

BRAVO MIX BOX (BEST REGARD FROM JAKARTA)

[@clowncarqingdao]

Rough Diamond. I remember buying that album (cheap from W H Smith's). I really had hopes for it but I recall it was mediocre. I'll see if I can find the vinyl in the attic and hope someone has a turntable to listen to it.

[@xomthood]

i was thinking along the lines of Take No Prisoners, but was hugely disappointed

[@careful__Icarus]

Great album. Bought the cassette for a quarter ( cassettes were on 4 for a dollar clearance ) at Woolworths. Had no idea at the time buying that it was David singing. Probably around 1987/88. Snagged it on cd about 10 years ago.

[@user-jo8hi9py4e]

❤❤❤❤

[@clarkthesharkshow9944]

bummer

[@gaborantal6298]

Bernie's voice is far from David's, but he can be a very good person and it would be nice to work with him!

[@MrValentyne]

What a performer David Byron was….great singer and great front man. He had it all…the voice…the looks and the Charisma. I think Mick is right…back in those days there was no support for people who got into trouble with a dependency ect. The bands were flogged to death, in some cases literally. Gary Thain was another. Great musician…great performer and writer, and he looked great. But he was basically washed up and finished by his mid 20s. I think he was a huge loss to the band. I love Heep.

[@guzziguy1000]

So sad.

[@alfredpetrie7920]

David Byron was a brilliant singer

[@thescarletandgrey2505]

Very ‘eepy Very B’oxy

[@Apacheviking1961]

David s half step down from Elvis Presley ❤

[@marceloaraujo8728]

r o c k

[@zaalqortua5459]

Only one really member of Great Uriah Heep...

[@joeblog2672]

David Byron was a great singer on album, but he sucked used barf bags live through most of his time in Heep. He was a literal embarrassment on stage, not caring he was miles off pitch, slurring or skipping words outright. Frankly they should have told him to get his shit together or GtFO years before he was let go!! Keyboard / rhythm guitar player (and core writer) Ken Hensley finally got fed up enough to basically do that in the summer of 1976. He couldn't can Byron himself but basically he told the others that either he goes or I go. Unless they could have gotten Byron back in live shape, the band made the right call and sacked Byron. You can't fake a voice as good as Byron had in the studio so that tells me he could have been a very good live singer if he had the right head space. Alas he did not. Byron even foretold his doom ten years before its reality, ironically during a live performance! I forget the song but he echoed (or played on) some lyrics saying to effect that he wasn't destined for a long life. Although Byron thoroughly deserved the sacking he got years earlier, I doubt he looked upon Mick's offer to rejoin the band as a second chance to get his game together with still a high profile band act. It sounds like (and doesn't surprise me) that he basically in polite terms told Mick and his crew to take a hike. I doubt things would have been better if Byron had come back. Maybe one or two more studio albums of fine vocals but then lord knows what on stage. A rotten end for a guy with such an amazing voice in studio. I get the feeling that Mick, long time producer Gerry Bron and others should have done more (if anything) to help Byron get his (beep) together. They would have been helping themselves as a band, along the way. Ultimately of course, Byron deserves full responsibility for his demise.

[@thewurm9177]

Agreed. Truth isn't always pretty. He recorded some terrific vocals for Heep. It's a testament to Box that the band has persevered and still has quite a decent career