I wonder what the famous critic of their first album who threatened to commit suicide if they made it would think of Uriah Heep celebrating 50 years. Through that time the band, and sole remaining original member Mick Box in particular, have been an object lesson in persistence, in that time being critically reviled, ignored and criminally underrated, receiving a fraction of the attention and adulation given fellow heavy rock pioneers Purple, Sabbath and Zeppelin.

Yet the opening montage of tributes from various greying and balding rock greats, from Rob Halford to Brian May was a touching sign of the affection in which they are held by those who followed in their wake and have toured with them. Actually the 50th anniversary and the big shows to accompany it including the prestigious London date at the Palladium should have been in 2020, but there was no way the occasion could be unmarked with a little poetic licence for the now 52 year old band.

Having seen them post-pandemic at Stonedead and supporting Saxon, I was keen for something different so was delighted that a month or so before the show it was announced they would play two sets, effectively acting as their own support band with an acoustic set.

It’s a format they briefly dabbled with over 20 years ago and unlike many bands there are enough quieter and folkier songs in their catalogue to carry it off without needing to reinvent heavy numbers to fit the new format. They opened with two such in ‘Circus’ and ‘Tales’ before Bernie Shaw unexpectedly took to his feet to get the crowd to do likewise and orchestrate a singalong to ‘Free Me’. Mick, who told the stories behind the songs, then rightly said ‘Come Away Melinda’ had fresh resonance in today’s dangerous world and this disturbing, haunting song was brilliantly executed.

He then left just Bernie and Phil Lanzon for an acapella medley of ‘Confession’ (a real obscurity this from ‘High and Mighty’) and ‘Rain’, Bernie carrying off a splendid effort on one of the songs original singer David Byron most made his own.

Mick then introduced a trio of ‘Demons And Wizards’ songs: ‘The Wizard’ is of course one of their two most famous acoustic songs, though it did show up my one reservation, that the trademark Heep harmonies are not as rich and layered as they were when Trevor Bolder and Lee Kerslake were still in the band.

It segued into one of my favourites in ‘Paradise’ then ‘Circle of Hands’, but there could only be one song to end the 45 minute acoustic segment in ‘Lady in Black’ with again Bernie getting people to their feet as he conducted the wordless singalong.

In this gig of two halves, that meant the second set would consist of out and out rockers, preceded by a touching collage of photos across the years including portraits of former members, most sadly no longer with us, all to the strains of ‘Your Turn to Remember’ and adding to the sense of occasion.

They began with ‘Against the Odds’ which was fitting, both as what could almost be their motto and as the opener on the ‘Sea of Light’ album that marked a return to vintage Heep when they were at their lowest ebb in the nineties, after which arguably they have never looked back.

It wasn’t the most obvious choice though and Bernie had to rouse people to their feet, where thankfully they stayed, for ‘The Hanging Tree’ a welcome dip into the John Lawton era, with its distinctive shuffle and Mick’s solo making one guitar sound like two.

There was classic Heep in ‘Traveller in Time’ and ‘Rainbow Demon’ (could those lyrics and Phil’s pulsating Hammond organ be any more quintessentially early seventies?) either side of another from their nineties revival, ‘Between Two Worlds’, dedicated to late former members and a lengthy number really grew on me with some splendid work from Mick, king of the wah-wah pedal.

Whereas their previous London show four years ago saw them plugging the new ‘Living the Dream’ album heavily, this was one Heep classic after another- whether a sole pick from their early 80’s renaissance in a rollicking ‘Too Scared to Run’ or seminal material such as ‘Stealin’, Bernie successfully orchestrating crowd participation, and ‘Sunrise’.

Historically never my favourite Heep singer, I was realising what an exemplary job Bernie was doing as an energetic frontman, while in the hands of the relatively youthful rhythm section of Dave Rimmer and the ever smiling Russell Gilbrook these songs somehow have taken on a new lease of life and I don’t remember Heep sounding heavier in the 34 years since I first saw them.

The pace only relented once, for the interesting, more progressive sounds of ‘What Kind of God’ which, from 2008, was the most recent song in a set which, for good reason, primarily looked backwards.

Possibly my biggest surprise of the set was the almost forgotten ‘Sweet Lorraine’, boasting an incredibly catchy hook that somehow was not a hit in the day yet with several musical twists and turns, followed by what Bernie described as some metal as ‘Free ‘n’ Easy’ showed why the likes of Steve Harris and Biff Byford had been among those on the tribute reel. ‘July Morning’ was majestic with each of the four musicians showing their paces and its ten-plus minutes flew by before the set ended a tad abruptly.

Saved to the encore and with a lengthy organ intro, ‘Gypsy’ maintained the heaviness, but I was rather disappointed that Bernie then introduced traditional set closer ‘Easy Living’, which as usual flew by, as the ‘electric’ set ended to the strains of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ a relatively short 80 minutes in, as I’d still been secretly hoping for more gems such as ‘Return to Fantasy’ or ‘Bird of Prey’, both played on the tour on occasion.

That minor gripe aside, it would be hard to improve upon the gig. The presentation – allied to the history of the venue and a very impressive light show- helped give this night the sense of a special commemoration, and a setlist to die for covered nearly all phases of their career. But just as importantly ‘the Heep’ are sounding more vibrant as a live act than veterans of a 52 year career have a right to be.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)