Editing Uriah Heep (band) (section)

===Post-David Byron period (1976–1981)===
[[File:Uriah heep 01041977 01 300.jpg|thumb|right|Ken Hensley in 1977]]

Uriah Heep recruited bassist [[Trevor Bolder]] (ex-[[David Bowie]], [[Mick Ronson]]), and after having auditioned [[David Coverdale]] ([[Deep Purple]], [[Whitesnake]]), [[Ian Hunter (singer)|Ian Hunter]] ([[Mott the Hoople]]) and [[Gary Holton]] ([[Heavy Metal Kids]]), brought in [[John Lawton (musician)|John Lawton]], formerly of [[Lucifer's Friend]] and the [[Les Humphries Singers]], with whom they turned totally away from fantasy-oriented lyrics and multi-part compositions back towards a more straightforward hard rock sound typical of the era. Box later said: "Image-wise he wasn't quite what we were looking for, but his pipes were perfect and so we went for the music end of it." Hensley agreed: "He had a voice that I thought would give a new dimension."

''[[Firefly (Uriah Heep album)|Firefly]]'' was released in February 1977, displaying "renewed effervescence and energy in unveiling what was clearly a new beginning for Heep" (per. K.&nbsp;Blows), "a new vigour and confidence" (according to a Record Mirror review)<ref name="blows_7"/> and also the new singer's abilities: the latter (according to AllMusic), although lacking the multi-octave range of David Byron, "boasted an impressive and emotionally rich hard rock voice that instantly jelled with the Uriah Heep sound".<ref name="firefly_allmusic">{{cite web |author=Donald A. Guarisco |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/firefly-r20900/review |title=''Firefly'' album review |website=AllMusic |access-date=1 January 2011}}</ref> The band then toured the US supporting [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]]. [[Paul Stanley]] later recalled: "They were incredibly professional, and so consistent that their worst nights were excellent and their best were tremendous."<ref name="blows_7">{{cite web |url=http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/heepstory7.php |title=Uriah Heep Story p.7 |author=Kirk Blows |website=Uriah Heep |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref>

''[[Innocent Victim]]'', released in November 1977, "had a slight edge on ''Firefly''" according to Box, but still in retrospect this "blend of sharp, short rockers and pop-friendly ballads" looked like "an attempt to court the American AOR market".<ref name="innocent_allmusic">{{cite web |author=Donald A. Garrusco |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/innocent-victim-r20901/review |title=Innocent Victim album review |website=AllMusic |access-date=1 January 2011}}</ref> The single "Free Me" (whose "acoustic style and accent on harmonies brought the group dangerously close to [[The Eagles|Eagles]] territory", according to AllMusic)<ref name="innocent_allmusic"/> became an international hit. In Germany the album sold over a million copies and became Uriah Heep's most successful, which coincided with the success of the re-released "[[Lady in Black (Uriah Heep song)|Lady in Black]]". For some time during this period, there were three Uriah Heep singles sitting together in the German Top 20, these being "Wise Man" (from ''Firefly''), "Lady in Black" and "Free Me".<ref name="blows_7"/>

In the end of 1978, ''[[Fallen Angel (Uriah Heep album)|Fallen Angel]]'' came out, having completed a hat-trick of studio albums to feature a consistent lineup (only the second time in their career that they had done so). "Too poppy" for Mick Box's liking (but still, "too eccentric to fit the bill of an AOR record", according to Allmusic),<ref name="fallen angel_allmusic">{{cite web |author=Donald A. Garrusco |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/fallen-angel-r20902/review |title=Fallen Angel album review |website=AllMusic |access-date=1 January 2011}}</ref> it was well received at the time (''Sounds'' gave it 4&nbsp;stars) but failed to chart. Meanwhile, the relative stability of the Lawton period belied the behind the scenes unrest having to do with Ken Hensley's earning much more than his colleagues. "Everything he wrote, he had to use… And if you insist in using everything you end up with substandard albums", disgruntled Box opined. The major rift, though, developed between Hensley and Lawton. As K.&nbsp;Blows writes, "the combination of constant friction between the two (resulting in the nearest thing to violence the group had seen) and the constant presence of Lawton's wife on the road finally led to the vocalist getting the chop, shortly after playing the Bilzen Festival in Belgium in August 1979".<ref name="blows_7"/>

Ex-[[Lone Star (band)|Lone Star]] [[John Sloman]] was brought in, a younger singer who played keyboards and guitar and was, in the words of Box, "an all rounder". But almost instantly, Lee Kerslake departed, after a row with Bron, whom the drummer accused of favouritism towards Hensley's material. Several tracks of the next album had to be re-recorded with a new drummer, [[Chris Slade]] (of the [[Manfred Mann's Earth Band]]). ''[[Conquest (Uriah Heep album)|Conquest]]'' LP was released in February 1980 (worldwide except the United States, where it was never released) and received 5 stars from Record Mirror, but, according to Box, "was a difficult album to record" and represented "a confused Heep", even "a mess" (in the words of Trevor Bolder).<ref name="blows_8">{{cite web |url=http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/heepstory8.php |title=Uriah Heep Story p.8 |author=Kirk Blows |website=Uriah Heep |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref> The band went on the 10th Anniversary Tour with [[Girlschool]] as support and attracted respectable crowds. Hensley was very unhappy, primarily with Sloman, and he explained why:<ref name="blows_8"/>
{{quote|The band had chosen John and I had opposed that decision. He was a good musician and he looked great but I thought he had little going for him vocally. The way that he interpreted songs were totally different to the way I had written them. I could understand wanting to move on but this was like the difference between [[Black Sabbath]] and [[Gino Vannelli]]. We weren't addressing our basic problems, in that we weren't re-establishing our musical direction and John definitely wasn't helping us to do that.}}

A meeting at the manager's office concerning the songwriting dissent was the last straw and, in September 1980, Hensley quit. Gregg Dechert, a Canadian who had worked with Sloman in Pulsar, came in and the band went on a 23-date tour of the UK. After recording an album's worth of unreleased material<ref>{{Cite web |title=BYRON ASKED TO REJOIN Mick Box hadn |url=https://www.travellersintime.com/Heeplore/sloman3.htm |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=www.travellersintime.com}}</ref> Sloman left, citing musical differences for a reason.<ref name="blows_9">{{cite web |url=http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/heepstory9.php |title=Uriah Heep Story p.9 |author=Kirk Blows |website=Uriah Heep |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref> He would later go on to work with [[UFO (band)|UFO]], [[Gary Moore]] and [[Robert Palmer]]. Hensley's acrimonious departure left the group in a state of collapse. Box and Bolder visited David Byron with attractive propositions. "We couldn't believe it when he said he didn't want to know", the guitarist remembered. Bolder, who by that time "had had enough of Gerry Bron and the management", decided to join [[Wishbone Ash]]. When Dechert and Slade left, Uriah Heep were down to just Mick Box with the name and contract.<ref name="blows_10">{{cite web |url=http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/heepstory10.php |title=Uriah Heep Story p.10 |author=Kirk Blows |website=Uriah Heep |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref>