Uriah Heep

Alongside Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, Uriah Heep's thrashing hard rock and screaming guitar solos helped created a template for heavy metal in the early 1970s, and the band still continue to play together with the same ear-bleeding ferocity. Named after a character from Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield, the band was formed by guitarist Mick Box with front man David Byron in 1969 and debut album Very 'eavy. Very 'umble (1970) laid down a bombastic, soaring, theatrical sound that they have never veered very far away from since. The band dabbled with more complex, prog-rock on follow-up Salisbury (1971), including the 16-minute title track complete with a 24-piece orchestra, but made their breakthrough when fourth album Demons and Wizards (1972) reached Number 20 in the UK and became generally regarded by their fans as their finest moment. Just as they hit their prime around the mid-1970s, David Byron was sacked in 1976 when his drinking got out of hand. Nevertheless, they found particular appreciation in the late 1980s with bands such as Judas Priest and Def Leppard and continue to maintain a loyal fan base in Germany, Austria and Sweden despite Mick Box being the only remaining original member through numerous line-up changes.