In
anticipation of the impending release of their 25th studio album, Living the
Dream, classic rock icons URIAH HEEP embark on a North American tour in early
2018. The tour officially kicked off on
February 6th and will run through this spring, with more dates to be announced
soon!
Founding
member and lead guitarist Mick Box states, "The mighty HEEP are ready to
rock North America. We have waited so long to put a tour in place and now we
have one set, it is an incredibly exciting feeling to know we will soon be
playing to our fans out there. We are counting down the days and our set list
will be a musical journey that takes us from our first album 'Very 'Eavy, Very
'Umble to the last one 'Outsider.'' Appy days!"
In
addition to the tour announcement, the band have launched a pledge campaign to
crowd fund Living the Dream, their forthcoming studio offering, making it the
25th in their storied career. Fans who contribute will have access to exclusive
behind the scenes footage from the recording sessions as well as other perks
such as playing with the band during a soundcheck, a signed copy of the album,
and much more!
ABOUT URIAH HEEP:
URIAH
HEEP debuted in 1970 with the release of one of hard rock's
milestones, "Very 'eavy... Very 'umble" and have since sold in excess
of 40 millions albums worldwide. They constantly tour the world, playing up to
125 shows a year to 500,000+ fans. The band's live set features the classic
tracks from the '70s and is a musical journey from the band's beginnings to the
present day.
Along
with Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, Uriah Heep helped invent a
decorative and uniquely British form of heavy metal with their debut album,
Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble, offered as a self-titled on American shores, but
whatever the titling, historically massive in the invention of a music format
that would rule the '70s and only intensify in the '80s.
Uriah
Heep have been responsible for the most elevated and intelligent use of vocals
in a heavy metal context amongst the major bands inventing the genre in the
1970s. It is for this reason Heep were coined the Beach Boys of Heavy Metal,
and their influence is there for all to see in other bands including 'Queen.'
They were also one of the forerunners of using the Hammond organ along with
Micks signature wah wah guitar and this became the template for their sound.
Success
has followed the forging of such an audacious formula. Across 25 studio albums,
along with myriad live releases and compilations, Uriah Heep have managed to
sell 40 million records worldwide, four million of those in the US. Impressive
American numbers, but that leaves 36 million records to be sold in the rest of
the world, underscoring the fact that Uriah Heep have become, through their
relentless dedication to touring, a truly global band, with particular success
in Germany, Scandinavia, Japan, Eastern Europe and Russia, where they were the
first Western rock band to play live in Moscow in December 1987 to 180,000
people.
Through
their success as Rock n' Roll pioneers this enabled other bands to follow in
their wake and Russia is now part of every bands touring schedule.
URIAH HEEPis:
Mick Box: Guitars,
Vocals, Phil Lanzon: Keyboards,
Vocals
Bernie Shaw: Lead Vocals, Russell
Gilbrook: Drums, Vocals,
Dave
Rimmer: Bass, Vocals
For
More Info on the band and concert dates visit:
An Interview with Nazareth legendary singer Dan McCafferty:
Scottish Rocker Dan McCafferty has been the quintessential and charismatic frontman for hard rock veterans Nazareth
since the bands inception in 1968. McCafferty has fired up live
audiences across the globe for 45 years with a heavy dose of undisputed
hardcore crooning power. Most recently McCafferty has retired from
touring with Nazareth due to a lung disease that makes breathing
extremely difficult called COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Dan McCafferty will pass the microphone over to Nazareth’s new frontman, 41 year old Linton Osborne of Rosyth, Scotland.
McCafferty
will cease touring, but will not cease from recording in the studio. In
fact, McCafferty and Nazareth have recently released a mammoth new hard
rock gem entitled ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone.’ The album features Dan McCafferty on lead vocals, Pete Agnew on bass, Jimmy Murrison on guitars, and Lee Agnew
on drums. It’s the band’s 23rd studio album and their first since
2011.The CD features 11 original heavy rockers and bluesy ballads. The
deluxe digipack edition will include a second disc with two additional
studio recordings and five live tracks, and will also be available in a
double LP gatefold vinyl version.
Invigorating and commanding hardcore rock ‘n’ roll is back, just the
way we remembered it ...It's the rock we all listened to and partied
with in high school …I gave‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone’ by Nazareth (5) Stars.
NAZARETH: Over the years …critics and music aficionados alike have correlated Dan McCafferty’s vocal
styles with such artists as AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Slade’s Noddy
Holder, and Humble Pie’s Steve Marriott. The band supported Deep Purple
on tour during several occasions which led to Purple’s bassist Roger Glover producing their third studio album entitled Razamanaz (1973). Subsequent Glover produced albums included … Loud ‘N’ Proud (1973) and Rampant (1974).
In 1975, while looking for a new direction, Nazareth appointed lead guitarist Many Charlton as their new producer. The band’s new order resulted in their biggest selling album to date entitled …Hair of the Dog. The album spawned the self-titled hard rock classic “Hair of the Dog”and their popular Top 40 hit “Love Hurts” (1975 #8 U.S. Billboard Hot 100) a cover track penned by Boudleaux Bryant and first recorded by The Everly Brothers (1960) and Roy Orbison (1961).
Nazareth has maintained modest popularity in the U.S. while enjoying
significant acceptance in Europe. Across the globe, Nazareth remains a
consistent concert-pleaser.
Former band members that have contributed to the success of Nazareth were … original drummer Darrell Sweet (1968- 1999,Sweet died in 1999), original lead guitarist Manny Charlton (1968-1990), Zal Cleminson on guitars (1978-1980), Billy Rankin on guitars (1980-83,1990-94), John Locke on keyboards (1980-82, Locke died in 2006), and Ronnie Leahy on keyboards (1994-2002).
I had the great pleasure of chatting with legendary Nazareth frontman
Dan McCafferty recently about the band’s brilliant new CD entitled… ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Telephone’ … The inception of Nazareth … ‘Hair of the Dog’ album … COPD … and of course my infamous ‘Field of Dreams’ question.
Here’s my interview with the quintessential voice of rock, songwriter, and legendary frontman of 45 years with Nazareth …DAN McCAFFERTY. Ray Shasho: Hi Dan, thank you for being on the call today … where am I calling anyway? Dan McCafferty:“Hi Ray, I’m in Scotland near Edinburgh.” Ray Shasho: Dan, first of all, I’d like to say
congratulations on a remarkable career with Nazareth that has spanned
over 45 years. You’ve recently decided not to tour with the band anymore
is that true? Dan McCafferty:“That’s true. I’ve got COPD, which
is a lung disease, and I can’t sing on tour like I used to anymore. I
figure if you can’t do the job then you really shouldn’t be there. But
they’ve got somebody else, a guy named Linton Osborne and he sings
really well. I’m sad about it but I just can’t sing a whole set live
anymore.” Ray Shasho: I always notice advertisements on television
regarding medications to help battle COPD, what have you been doing to
improve your condition? Dan McCafferty:“I’m taking all the meds they can
give you and going to rehab classes to help learn how to breathe again.
So we’ll wait and see. At the moment there’s no cure for it. I exercise
up to a point but because it’s COPD, if you do anything physical it
makes you breathless and therefore you panic, so it’s a kind of a
Catch-22. I feel great, but you’ve got to remember I’m sitting at home
on my ass.” Ray Shasho: Where did the band find Linton Osborne your new lead singer? Dan McCafferty:“He was from the same area that we
all grew up in, somewhat younger of course. He’s been involved in the
local scene for years in different bands.” Ray Shasho: Was Linton involved on the new album at all? Dan McCafferty:“No, he was not, but I guess he will be on the next one though. Ray Shasho: Dan, this doesn’t mean that you’re giving up recording? Dan McCafferty:“No, no, no, I hope not, I plan to
continue on recording. I’ll just need someone to support me or accompany
me while I’m doing it.” Ray Shasho: Dan, for years you’ve delivered that
quintessential, commanding, raw rocker voice on stage and in the studio …
and I know people sometimes compare your vocalist style to AC/DC’s
Brian Johnson. But I hear a lot of Steve Marriott and Noddy Holder in
those pipes as well. Dan McCafferty: “I think if you listen to these guys
you’re talking about, we all kind of grew up at the same time and
probably influenced by the same people, so I think for some reason it
all makes sense.” Ray Shasho: Brian Johnson lives about twenty minutes from me here in Sarasota. Dan McCafferty:“I see … the last time we played
around there, years and years ago, Brian came along for the gig. We used
to do a lot with Brian when he was with Geordie, it was great fun. We
did college gigs in Britain and had a lot of laughs together. He’s a
Newcastle guy, a Geordie, they’re really cool people.” Ray Shasho: I always wondered about the true origin behind
the Nazareth band name … did it actually derive from the classic tune
“The Weight” by The Band? Dan McCafferty: “(Dan began singing) … ‘I pulled
into Nazareth, was feelin’ about half past dead’ …yup, that’s where it
comes from. We were sitting around in the place we used to rehearse in
when we first got together and we couldn’t agree on a name, there must
have been four hundred different names. We were listening to “The
Weight” when it first came out and Pete Agnew our bass player said what
about Nazareth …and that was it, we all agreed on that one. So any
rumors that God came down and spoke to me about it would be a lie. (In a Godly tonality, Dan utters) … ‘You will call your band NAZARETH!’ (All laughing)” Ray Shasho: Nazareth was actually formed in 1968, what were those very early days like? Dan McCafferty:“In the early days we were just
playing in a band. We weren’t trying to be famous or trying to change
the world or anything. We lived in a small town, loved music, and all
the guys in the band liked different things. It was the chemistry of
everybody that we eventually ended up with. It wasn’t something that
someone came up with by saying … I have a plan! (All laughing) It was
just a bunch of guys trying to meet girls basically …we were terrible
spokesmen.” Ray Shasho: Who were some of the bands you shared the stage with back then? Dan McCafferty:“We used to play at a place in
Dunfermline called the Kinema Ballroom and a lot of bands used to come
up from London before they went out on the road. They’d play Glastonbury
on a Saturday and the Kinema Ballroom on a Sunday to try out their new
album or set. It was always a big draw on Sunday’s. We opened up for
everybody man … The Who; the second time they did ‘Tommy’ was in
Dunfermline. We played with Deep Purple, Cream, Jethro Tull … you name
it … everybody!” Ray Shasho: Let’s talk about your final studio album with
Nazareth entitled ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Telephone.’ Invigorating and
commanding hardcore rock ‘n’ roll is back, just the way we remembered
it. It's the rock we all listened to and partied with in high school. Dan McCafferty:“What we managed to do was to
capture the feel of the music from back in the day, and it’s not an easy
thing to do, you can’t do it forever. It’s kind of hard to maintain
your identity with all the technology and what people expect to hear.
It’s difficult, but I think we did it really well.” Ray Shasho: Tried-and-True rock fans are going to cherish
‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Telephone’ for years to come, because you sure as hell
can’t find pure/fresh rock ‘n’ roll on your radio anymore. The legends
of rock are unfortunately classified as 'classic rock' artists and those morons that run mainstream radio nowadays refuse to play anything new by rock folklore. Dan McCafferty:I was talking to Billy, a local
music guy that writes for a lot of music magazines and does radio shows,
and I asked Billy, what happened to the music scene? Part of his job
was to notice whose coming up, and he said nothing actually. He’s got
colleagues around the world and he said unfortunately there’s nothing
much to here right now, and that’s really sad. Music has become more of a
visual thing. The last band that I got excited about from the states
was ‘Kings of Leon,’ I liked them. Caleb has a very good voice you
know.” Ray Shasho: Straight off, from the very clever first track
entitled “Boom Bang Bang,” the album delivers a long-awaited rock
manifesto to all music fans. Dan McCafferty: “It is a fact man, once you get a
certain age like me, and you’ve spent a lot of time in hotel bars, you
wait for something to happen. Or when you go to the show, going for a
plane or waiting for the bus … I’ve become a people watcher these days
and I’ve seen “Boom Bang Bang” go down more than a few times.” Ray Shasho: “Speakeasy” was another favorite tune, what was the origin behind the track? Dan McCafferty:“I was sitting around with Lee
Agnew having a beer and imagining what it would have been like in the
1920’s in America when you couldn’t get a legal beer. So it was good
because we went into this whole discussion and it developed with a
Speakeasy in mind. We had a laugh about it at first, but the more he
worked on that tune, the more serious the song got, and all of a sudden…
this is a good tune man!” Ray Shasho: My favorite song on the new release is “Just a Ride” because your vocals shine brilliantly on the track! Dan McCafferty:“That’s a good vocals track. I liked
it because it’s about Bill Hicks, he gave me many a good laugh that
young man. We envisioned the track to show how epic the guy really was.” Ray Shasho:“Love Hurts” became a huge hit
for Nazareth reaching #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts in 1976. It was a
hard rock ballad and a cover tune. Was it The Everly Brothers or Roy
Orbison’s recording that inspired Nazareth to record it? Dan McCafferty: “Obviously The Everly Brothers, we
used to sing the song in bars when we were sixteen. Like most groups we
started out as a cover band, so you played what people liked. It was a
massive hit for us and just amazing.” Ray Shasho:I understand there was some controversy surrounding the title of the ‘Hair of the Dog’ album? Dan McCafferty: “We wanted to call it ‘Son of A
Bitch’ and A&M Records who we were with at the time said, oh no, you
can’t do that, they won’t sell it. We said why won’t they sell it? We
weren’t American so you see we didn’t know. It was Jerry Morris, God
love him, who told us that it was a cussword here in America. So then we
called it ‘Heir of the Dog’ which is ‘Son of A Bitch’ anyway, but the
title eventually became ‘Hair of the Dog’ on the album. It was a good
record for us and a good record anyway.” Ray Shasho: Sources around the internet state that the album
was released for a short while with the title ‘Heir of the Dog’ and is a
heavily sought out collector’s item … any truth to that or just another
worldwide web misconception? Dan McCafferty: “(Laughing) it was never called
‘Heir of the Dog’ anywhere and never released under a different title,
always ‘Hair of the Dog,’ but I guess it gives it some mystery.” Ray Shasho: The most successful album by Nazareth was
recorded immediately after Roger Glover stepped-down as the bands
producer. ‘Hair of the Dog’ was produced by guitarist Manny Charlton.
Did Roger Glover perplex about the album’s enormous success after his
departure? Dan McCafferty:“No, I don’t think so. We all wanted
to have a change and Roger’s attitude was, yea, I can take that. We had
done three together. The albums we did with him were all good and
opened up a lot of doors.” Ray Shasho: Dan, do you have any good road stories from back in the heyday of Nazareth? Dan McCafferty:“The weirdest thing that ever
happened to us was … we were playing Brazil and our gear got kidnapped
and held for ransom. The guy’s were freaking out because you know how
guitar players are without their guitars. They caught the guys but money
was gone! Generally Brazil is a pretty cool place but there was some
guy just trying to be a smart ass … there always is one isn’t there.” Ray Shasho: Nazareth will be hitting the road beginning in
June and tour throughout the summer including various dates in the Czech
Republic, Canada, Europe and Brazil. Now that you’re not touring with
the band anymore, bassist Pete Agnew remains to be the only original
member left. Dan McCafferty: “Yea, Pete is the only original
member left, but you’ve got to remember, Jimmy Murrison the guitar
player has been with the band for seventeen years, and our drummer Lee
Agnew has been with us since Darrell Sweet died. So they’re not exactly
new kids. It’s pretty much the same band with a new singer.” Ray Shasho: Dan, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I
interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play,
sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would
that be? Dan McCafferty: “I would have liked to been around
Bob Dylan when he first started out and kind of picked up on the vibe he
was getting, because he just had something that was totally magic. I
liked all the changes he went through. Yea, I think I would have liked
to hang out with Bob.” Ray Shasho: Final thoughts Dan? Dan McCafferty: “Look out for yourselves and be kind to each other.” Ray Shasho: Dan, thank you for being on the call today, but
more importantly for all the incredible Nazareth music you’ve brought us
all these years and continue to bring. Dan McCafferty: “Thank you very much indeed Ray … Cheers!” Purchase the hard rockin' new CD by Dan McCafferty and Nazareth entitled Rock 'N' Roll Telephone at amazon.com
Nazareth official website
Nazareth on tour
Nazareth on Facebook
Nazareth on Myspace Very special thanks to Clint Weiler of MVD Entertainment Group
Coming up NEXT … Arthur Brown of ‘The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ (‘The God of Hell Fire’) Upcoming Interviews … My recent interviews with Susanna Hoffs the incredible lead singer of The Bangles … The legendary Jesse Colin Young of The Youngbloods … and pioneer of the electric violin Darryl Way of Curved Air Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’-The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. “Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d
like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion
picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story
definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary
moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s
historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was
evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I
read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a
wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com
