Former Uriah Heep keyboardist Ken Hensley passed away on November 4: Mick Box expresses « deep shock » at his death
Ken Hensley, best known as Uriah Heep’s keyboardist and chief composer from 1970 to 1980, died of a short illness He was 75 Sad news broke today (November 5) by his brother Trevor in a post on Facebook
« I write this with a heavy heart to let you know that my brother Ken Hensley passed away peacefully on Wednesday evening, » wrote Trevor Hensley « His beautiful wife Monica was by his side and comforted Ken in his last minutes with us
We are all devastated by this tragic and unbelievably unexpected loss and ask you to give us some space and time to deal with it
Ken will be cremated in a private ceremony in Spain, so don’t ask for information about a funeral
Ken is gone but he will never be forgotten and will always be in our hearts
Born Kenneth William David Hensley on August 24, 1945, the keyboardist first gained national attention as a member of The Gods, which featured future Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, and recorded two albums, Genesis from 1968 and To Samuel A Son, for Columbia Records The band also released the album Orgasm under the pseudonym Head Machine
Hensley joined guitarist Mick Box and singer David Byron in the band Spice in February 1970: soon after, Londoners changed the band’s name to Uriah Heep
“We actually recorded half of the first album [classic 1970s… Very ‘Eavy… Very’ Umble] when we decided the keyboards would be good for our sound, » Mick Box recalls. « I was a huge Vanilla Fudge fan, with their Hammond organ and searing guitar on top, and we still had David’s high vibrato voice »
« I saw a lot of potential in the band to do something very different, » Hensley recalls
Hensley wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah Heep’s songs until she left the band in 1980, including the hit singles Easy Livin ‘, Stealin’, Lady In Black and Free Me
He wrote the band’s biggest hit, Easy Livin ‘, from the 1972 Demons And Wizards album, in just 15 minutes Although it was not ranked in the UK, the song, an ironic reflection on external perceptions of the band’s lifestyle, became one of the top 20 hits in continental Europe and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 39 A huge radio hit in America, it pushed the Demons and Wizards album to number 23 on the Billboard 200 album chart
« There was excitement everywhere », remembers Mick Box « I thought the guitar sound was fantastic, it was so outspoken, aggressive and pumping like crazy The title comes from a conversation we got in the van We were in the north of England driving to London to listen to studio recordings before going to the airport to catch the plane to America and someone said, ‘ It’s easy, isn’t it? « Like a joke, a piss-take But it resonated with Ken It wasn’t a song we overthought »
“Hearing the song on American radio was huge,” Box recalls “Then things started to move really, really fast A hit single is like a little rock rolling down a hill, collecting moss, and by the time it gets to the bottom it’s huge It wasn’t long before we made 10,000 seats across America and got Lear jets and limos at every airport It was an absolutely amazing time «
“Our strength back then was that we could make everything sound good,” the guitarist said “Ken could bring a simple idea on the acoustic guitar, we would give it the Heep treatment and it would take a life clean We felt indestructible «
“There was a magic in this combination of people that created so much energy and enthusiasm,” Ken Hensley later noted “We all wanted the same thing, were all willing to make the same sacrifices for to achieve this and we were all very committed «
“There was nothing between us and the music,” he told Classic Rock Revisited in 2016 “It unleashed my creativity, and the fact that FM radio in America was the pioneer of the trend of musical freedom made it even more inspiring »
Hensley recorded 13 studio albums with Uriah Heep before leaving the band in September 1980 following the release of their album Conquest The same year he released his third solo album, Free Spirit, after releasing Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf 1973 and Eager To Please 1975 when he was still a member of Heep
Hensley moved to the United States in 1980, then joined Rickey Medlocke in southern rockers Blackfoot, recording two albums, 1983 Siogo and 1984 Vertical Smiles After a break in music he returned in 1989 to play on WUNESP’s The Headless Children album, and contributed to Cinderella’s Heartbreak Station album the following year Hensley continued to release solo music after moving to Spain at the start of the new millennium He had recently finished working on a new My Book of Answers project, a follow-up to Love & Other Mysteries from 2012, scheduled for release at the end of February 2021
Admitting to being « deeply shocked » by Hensley’s passing, Mick Box today paid tribute to his late teammate with his own post on Facebook:
« I got devastating news this morning from Ken’s manager Steve Weltman that Ken Hensley has passed away. I had just finished watching his video of unboxing the 50th anniversary box set last night where it looked absolutely perfect and rightly proud of his time at Uriah Heep, which just added to the shock
We might not always have been best friends, but we also shared some wonderful moments, which I will always remember Ken wrote some amazing songs during his tenure with the band, and they will remain a true one. musical heritage that will remain in people’s hearts forever
His communication through lyrics and melody has stood the test of time, and with the power and group chemistry that brought these songs to life, we achieved success we could not have done without dream
My sincere condolences to his family and his wife Monica and may he rest in peace
Everyone at Classic Rock expresses our condolences to Hensley’s wife Monica, siblings Trevor, Mark and Dawn, and extended family and friends
Sign up below to receive the latest Classic Rock news, plus exclusive specials, straight to your inbox!
Louder is part of Future plc, a leading international media group and digital publisher Visit our corporate site
©
Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath
BA1 1UA All rights reserved England and Wales Company Registration Number 2008885
Ken Hensley, Uriah Heep, Mick Box, The Gods
News from around the world – UK – Ken Hensley, ex-Uriah Heep, deceased at 75
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
