Uriah Heep, one of the pivotal hard rock groups to emerge from England in the late 1960s, return with ‘Outsider’, the band’s 24th studio album and the first since 2011’s critically acclaimed ‘Into The Wild’.

Formed in London in 1969 by guitarist Mick Box and late singer David Byron as ‘Spice’, the group evolved into Uriah Heep (the name was taken from a character in the Charles Dickens novel ‘David Copperfield’) when they began conceptualising their first record. The album, ‘Very ‘eavy, Very ‘umble’, launched the band’s distinct sound in 1970, one that was built around layered harmony vocals, swirling keyboards, and heavy guitar riffs. Current lead singer Bernie Shaw and keyboardist Phil Lanzon have been ever present since the mid 1980s, while drummer Russell Gilbrook joined in 2007. Mick Box has remained a constant presence throughout.

From the opening chords of the album’s hard driving rocker, ‘Speed of Sound’, to the more introspective closer, ‘Say Goodbye’, ‘Outsider’ proves that Uriah Heep has remained a musical powerhouse, and one that can effectively balance its legendary sound with a distinctly contemporary approach. The record, which was produced by Mike Paxman (Asia, Status Quo), also introduces bassist Dave Rimmer, who joined the band in the summer of 2013 following the untimely death of long time member Trevor Bolder.

When we played ‘One Minute’ the other week, it got a terrific response. We’re looking forward to playing more tracks from the album.

We caught up with Bernie Shaw who had only just returned from the band’s recent tour of Brazil. We talked about the tour, his observations of everyday life out in Brazil and the World Cup, Uriah Heep’s work ethic, Dave Rimmer the new bass player and how easily he slotted into the band following the passing of Trevor Bolder, how they went about recording the new album and what fans of Uriah Heep can look forward to with the new album ‘Outsider’.

Listen to our interview with Bernie Shaw:

The release of ‘Outsider’ [EU: June 6^th, UK: June 9^th, NA: June 10^th 2014] coincides with a Scandinavian tour and a number of summer festival appearances in mainland Europe, following which Uriah Heep will launch a world tour – including UK dates – as the band promotes the new album to an eager international audience.

This latest offering from THE hardest working rock band on the planet will not disappoint Heep fans. If you’re a fan of Classic Rock and straight up and down rock ‘n’ roll, then ‘Outsider’‘ is without doubt one of those albums that you simply must get.

For all things Uriah Heep, check out their website www.uriah-heep.com and you can follow them on Twitter @Uriah_Heep and on Facebook www.facebook.com/uriahheepofficial

Thanks for listening. ‘The Classic Rock Show’ is on every Thursday, so check us out if you haven’t tuned in before. You’ll be made most welcome.

Cheers!

MJ

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