Mick Box (Uriah Heep) Interview

It isn’t everyday the opportunity to speak with a man who helped invent the very music you listen to and write about daily presents itself. Sabbath were the first, but they weren’t alone during heavy metal: year zero. Bands like Deep Purple, Lucifer’s Friend, Sir Lord Baltimore, and of course, Uriah Heep, were quick to follow. Together, these bands laid down the groundwork for everything to come. I sat down with Uriah Heep guitarist, songwriter, and founder, Mick Box, to discuss the 50th anniversary of Heep’s debut album, …Very ‘eavy …Very ‘umble. 

I’ve read that before naming the band Uriah Heep, the group was around for a couple years under the moniker Spice. When did you guys first start writing the music that would end up on …Very ‘eavy? Was it before the name change to Uriah Heep?

Mick Box: Yes, we were playing mostly original music in the band ‘Spice’ which was a four piece and a manager called Gerry Bron came and saw us play in club called the ‘Blues Loft,’ in High Wycombe. He liked the music we were playing and said that he would take us into the recording studio and see how we got on. Well it sounded great, but we decide to add a keyboard player. A lot of those ‘Spice’ songs became the nucleolus of ‘Very ‘Eavy, Very ‘Umble’ .

Let’s talk about the songs on …Very ‘eavy …Very ‘umble. The album opens with the legendary “Gypsy”. An early staple of heavy metal, it’s one of those classics like “Easy Livin’” and “Stealin’” that Heep has to play at every show to this day. Did you and David Byron write “Gypsy” intending for it to be the opening track? Everything about it from your hard hitting lead riff, to David Byron’s vocal delivery, to Ken Hensley’s brilliant organ solo…this isn’t a song that begs the listener’s attention. It demands the listener’s attention!

MB: ‘Gypsy’ was one of the heavier tracks on the album and connected with everyone immediately. It has a very earthy riff, and we used block harmonies almost as another instrument, with a long organ solo and a crazy ending. It is one of those songs that has become a staple of our career for 50 years.

Other songs that utilize this early metal approach in riffs and song structure are “Walking in Your Shadow” and “Dreammare”. Was this approach intentional or was it a result of the naturally evolving rock scene of the time leaning towards harder and heavier sounds?

MB: It was probably as you say it was a result of the naturally evolving rock scene of the time leaning towards harder and heavier sounds. We had just come out of the 60’s with catchy short 3-minute songs with sweet harmonies in the chorus, and by the time the 70’s arrived, it was quite a rebellious time. Everyone had long hair, big stacks of equipment instead of small combos, and everything was getting louder and more exciting. Those songs were a product of that time. Both had great grooves.

To follow up the last question, which late 60s hard rock acts would you say were most influential to Uriah Heep in those early days?

MB: There was only really one and that was ‘Vanilla Fudge,’ and one of the reasons that we included the Hammond Organ sound into our music.

The sole cover on …Very ‘eavy is that of a traditional pop song, “Come Away Melinda”. A delicate ballad complete with acoustic guitar and mellotron, it’s rather a departure from the rest of the material on the album. Who’s idea was it to cover this song?

MB: David Byron and I saw Tim Rose, a folk singer, singing this in a club in London, and we thought it was a beautiful song and one that we had to do. I knew it would fit David’s voice perfectly. We did this for a long while in ‘Spice’ and brought the song with us into the studio for our first album. David’s voice on it is just perfect, and he was right in the pocket. He had such powerful emotion in his voice.

Songs such as “Real Turned On”, and the appropriately titled “Lucy Blues”, have a real bluesy quality to them. As nearly every British act of the era was influenced by the blues, who were your favorite blues guitarists/acts of the time?

MB: I will be perfectly honest here. I was not into any real blues guitarists at all, as I was a young man traveling the world, and playing guitar in a rock band, so I was really too happy to pretend to play the blues. In any case, my guitar background was more from the jazz guitarist field with people like Django Reinhardt, Tal Farlow, Les Paul & Mary Ford, and Barney Kessel etc.

I’ve always been curious about the closing track, “Wake Up (Set Your Sights)”. It has a distinct jazz influence and reminds me of the band Chicago. It just so happens that Chicago’s first two albums were already out by the time of …Very ‘eavy’s June 1970 release date. So I must know, as I’ve been wondering for years. Did Uriah Heep listen to Chicago or is this similarity merely a coincidence?

MB: That song was written by David Byron and myself. As you can see from my guitar influences in the last question, I tapped into that jazz background that I had to write the song. This was another song that came from ‘Spice’ that we had been playing for a long while.

Every classic album needs equally classic album art to leave an impression on the listener’s psyche. …Very ‘eavy leaves an impression and then some with that iconic image of David Byron’s face covered in cobwebs. As much as that image disturbed me as a junior high student, there was also something cool and “metal” about it that drew me in. Were there any other ideas the band had for album art or was it unanimously agreed that this photograph of Byron would be the world’s introduction to Uriah Heep?

MB: The management had set up a film set along with a model and David to dress in some top hat and tails type evening dress; and then they had a fan that you put glue in the back and spray it in the corners of the room and it formed cobwebs. I thought this all looked a bit tame after being in the local pub as it was just not looking right, and it was too contrived. On my return to the photo shoot I picked up the fan machine and tapped David on the shoulder and aimed it at him full in the face. Luckily the camera man was quick, and we had our cover. David was not very happy with me as it took him forever to get the glue out of his hair, eyebrows and mustache.

Here in America, there were a couple differences between our edition of ..Very ‘eavy and the rest of the world’s. First off, our album cover features a black and silver dragon-esque creature, although Wikipedia compares it to a centipede. The image of Byron was reserved for the lyric insert. I know American record companies had a reputation back then of censoring album art they deemed “obscene” and “disturbing”. Was this the case with …Very ‘eavy?

MB: Yes, the record company thought that the Very Eavy cover was too scary, so they came up with their own. I do not think it has the same impact.

The second major difference involving the American edition is the track listing. “Lucy Blues” is replaced with one of my favorite Heep songs of all time, “Bird of Prey”. In England, “Bird of Prey” was used as the opening for Salisbury. Was “Bird of Prey” recorded during the …Very ‘eavy sessions or did the American release of …Very ‘eavy coincide with the beginning of recording for Salisbury?

MB: I cannot for the life of me remember, but once again, the record company wanted their input and moved the songs around.

While all of the songs on …Very ‘eavy blew my mind upon first listen, “Bird of Prey” absolutely rocked my world. I’ll never forget standing over my record player with my jaw hanging open as I heard those haunting harmonies. I was 11 years old and a diehard Mercyful Fate fan (still am today at 21 years old). That evening at dinner, I went on to my father about how Heep was “Mercyful Fate before Mercyful Fate!”, to which my father replied, “Where do you think King Diamond got it from?”. Did it ever occur to you back then just how ahead of its time the music you were writing and recording really was? Furthermore, nearly every member of Heep is given a songwriting credit on “Bird of Prey”. How did that song come to be?

MB: Yes, we have inspired many artists and bands along the way which is just great. King Diamond has always been very vocal about being a fan of Heep, especially of David’s vocals. ‘Bird of Prey’ was one of those songs that came together purely in the rehearsal room where everyone got involved.

In closing, …Very ‘eavy …Very ‘umble is constantly ranked and hailed alongside the likes of Black Sabbath’s self titled debut and Deep Purple’s In Rock as a milestone in heavy metal’s development. Would you agree? How would you personally assess it in the scope of Uriah Heep’s discography?

MB: It was the beginning of Heep releasing their music to the world and it has certainly stood the test of time. Most definitely it was part of the hard rock/heavy metal movement that was going on in those days, and when you think that was 50 years ago, then the music has really endured, which is fantastic.