Tag Archives: British Rock

The Bolton Iron Maiden: 1970-76 & Today

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Paul O'Neill of The Bolton Iron Maiden: Interview – At The Barrier

As pointed out in a previous article, long before Steve Harris formed Iron Maiden in England, there were other bands who had used the name, most notably a band from Bolton, in northern England, who existed from 1970 to ’76. The trio featured Ian Boulton-Smith [guitar], Derek George Austin [bass, backing vocals] and Paul T.J. O’Neill [drums, lead vocals, keyboards…]. Noel Pemberton Billing would later replace Boulton-Smith, who would return later as well. Although the band would go through a few other changes those were the 4 members who would be captured on cassette live and on tape in the band’s lone studio recording of 4 tracks. Ian Bouton-Smith [aka Beak] passed away June 23rd, 1976 of testicular cancer, and thus this Iron Maiden came to an end. Ironically, Steve Harris’ band was just getting off the ground, and I believe I read that it was Beak who informed Harris that another band was already using the name! Fast forward 30 years, and Paul T.J. O’Neill wanted to honor Beak’s passing and decides to compile a CD of the band’s recording – 4 taken from their only studio venture and a number of live tracks salvaged from a fans’ cassettes at the time. Proceeds of this 12 track CD are also donated to Macmillan Cancer Relief and Cancer Research UK in the guitarist’s name.

Maiden Flight was released in 2005 under the name The Bolton Iron Maiden, as Paul O’Neill had reached out to the world famous band’s manager Rod Smallwood, who not only suggested adding the Bolton to the name [for clarification and legalities], but also threw his support behind the release by having it mentioned on the band’s website and in their news. The Iron Maiden Bolton were a good band back in the day, and judging from the 4 proper studio tracks alone, it’s a shame they never got signed and had some of these songs put out in the day. Citing the likes of Zeppelin, Cream, and Free as influences back then, it is pretty spot on as far where to put this band — a solid blues-based hard rock band. The first of the studio 4 is “Cracked Path”, a song about addiction, and it is a definite Zeppelin early type of rocker, would’ve made a neat single! “Crawl Crawl Night-time” is a longer rocker, lyrically penned about O’Neill’s insomnia. You may recognize the riff, as it is pretty much “Hocus Pocus” by Focus; the Dutch band had recorded their hit classic not too long before this, and the similarity caused the band a bit of stress [an interesting story at their website]. But aside from the Hocus Pocus riff, this is really a stand out track here, love the lead guitar and fills. “Cell Debris” is a tale of man who’s wife has passed and he stands at her grave, reflects on his past and awaits his own end. A pretty interesting and chilling tune, musically reminds me of Cream in places. “Red Sky” is the last of the studio tracks, and it’s a rocker about a time traveler. An interesting theme [time travel], as many of the band’s songs would be based around sci-fi topics, and the time traveler would idea would be the basis for the 2020 album Puppet Master : the Rise and Rise of Slick Dandy. The rest of the originals are well worth hearing, though the sound is not great, and Paul O’Neill would overdub the vocals.

There is plenty of good original songs here performed live and one can only imagine that the likes of “A New Place Of My Own” and “The Naughtiest Girl Is Alive And Well” – which features a lengthy guitar solo [and a nod to Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”] that this Iron Maiden could’ve delivered a pretty decent album in the early ’70s, perhaps one of those odd rarities we’d all be paying stupid prices for!? Last of the live tracks is the band’s signature song “Maiden Flight”, another based on time travel, and this containing a good bit of jamming, clocking in at over 12 minutes. *Gotta say also, great detail put in to the CD packaging, filled with stories and notes about the songs and times, and a few pics!

A 2nd CD of live tracks was issued in 2007 titled Boulton Flies Again : The Covers [the spelling of Boulton after the band’s guitarist Ian Boulton Smith]. It consists of 11 songs featured in the band’s set, and were [again] saved from a fan’s cassette recordings at the time. The sound is not great, but again – very good for an audience recording of the time, and you can get a good listen and feel for how the band was then. It’s an interesting blast back to the early 70s pub scene, with a band that was still trying to make it, playing plenty of others’ material. Funny thing is Bolton Iron Maiden didn’t play a predictable batch of hits, but some pretty cool gems from other bands who weren’t too far in to their careers, notably they played “Black Cloud” by Trapeze, Spirit’s “Fresh Garbage”, Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”, Free’s “All Right Now”, The Groundhogs’ “Cherry Red”, and the early Mott The Hoople classic “Thunderbuck Ram”, in which Beak does a fine job covering brilliant Mick Ralph’s guitar work . Heck, I am glad to hear this CD being a fan of ’70s rock [and born too late to be there then], so I am finding a few gems I want to hear more of.

In 2018 Paul O’Neill decided to resurrect the Bolton Iron Maiden name again with a concept album about – time travel, as it was the basis for the band’s “Maiden Flight”. The album and story included within the CD titled Puppet Master: The Rise And Rise Of Slick Dandy tell the tale of a 50 year old musician named Norman Normal who’s wishes are answered when the Time Traveler takes him back 30 years, introducing him to an agent, who then introduces him to the ‘Sven Gali to the stars’ who has Norman change his name, becomes a huge star, but in time falls in love, loses the girl, and wants another chance to go back and not lose her. It is quite a unique and detailed stories, with a number of characters and great ending. But it is the story one will enjoy along with the music and the booklet [detailing the characters and tales]. As such, this album is quite varied in musical styles, and theatrical. There are 17 tracks, though some of them are short pieces relevant to telling the story. So you get some excellent rockin’ tracks [closer to the old Iron Maiden sound], and you get more theatrical pieces / ballads, as well as a bit of spoken word where required. Among favorite cuts are the upbeat rocker “Menamong Men”, “Rock n Roll Star” and “Gone Are The Days”. There’s also the excellent “Slick Dandy” [the main character], it’s a pop rock song that builds up heavier – it reminds me of The Fixx’s “One Thing Leads To Another”, and it features Don Airey [this guy is everywhere] on Moog synthesizer, There’s a few fine ballads in “Time Traveler” [the opener], “Old Sad Clown”, and “Who Pulls The Strings” – which has a very David Gilmour feel to it musically, and in Paul’s vocal.

The Rise And Rise Of Slick Dandy is a very detailed album, and once you sit down to ‘get’ the story, it is quite unique, and the music suits it so well. As mentioned there are some excellent individual pieces, but it’s more worth hearing the whole thing. O’Neill unfortunately could use a few former bandmates due to travel issues, but all are mentioned in some way in the detailed liner notes. He does use guitarists Rob Harris and Martin Low, as well as bass players Garry Cutress and Brian Ralph, his daughters on backing vox, and guests Nick Hill [trumpet] and Brian Sage [sax]. All mixed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios!

*Aside from this latest project Paul O’Neill also released a solo album in 2009 titled Totally Swept Away, which features 10 tracks – which are all stories based on Sea adventures / legends, with titles like “Pirates”, “The Mayflower – Hearts Of Oak”, “The Loss Of The Birkenhead”, and “The Captain Is Mad”. Musically more adult contemporary, progressive, pop, well produced… if I dare say this reminds me a bit of Phil Lanzon’s [Uriah Heep] solo albums and even Jethro Tull on occasion. Love the cover art!

*And just to be clear this Iron Maiden [from Bolton] existed before Steve Harris’ band, but there was no connection, though it would be interesting to hear the world famous metal band covering “Cracked Path” or “Maiden Flight”. Nor is this band to be confused with the Iron Maiden from Basildon, UK, who existed from the mid ’60s til mid 1970 and released a single that year. They too released a CD of recordings several years later titled Maiden Voyage.

*all images borrowed from CD cover and the band’s website. + CD promo poster courtesy of PO!

Links / Ordering / More info:

The Bolton Iron Maiden

http://paultjoneill.com/

(20+) The Bolton Iron Maiden | Facebook

Paul TJ O’Neill of The Bolton Iron Maiden – Puppet Master: The Rise And Rise Of Slick Dandy: Album Review – At The Barrier

One to Watch: The Bolton Iron Maiden | The Bolton News

KJ, 07 / ’21

Be Bop Deluxe – Live! In The Air Age [Box Set]

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If you weren’t familiar with this British band from the ’70s, you are missing out, and perhaps one of the greatest live albums of the era, released with the shows – 7 full shows to be precise. 7 shows from the band’s spring 1977 UK tour! While Live In The Air Age was initially released as an 10 track LP/EP and would become the band’s biggest seller, this box set includes all the shows recorded to draw from for that album – in their full glory. Lead by founder Bill Nelson, who handled all guitar and vocals, as well as being the band’s songwriter. Live In The Air Age set list of 15 tracks each night was pulled from the band’s 4 studio albums to that point. Be Bop Deluxe mixed various styles, with the glue being Nelson’s often blues influenced soaring guitar leads with bits of jazz influence, and his stunning and lengthy solos. He had such a unique tone. Musically the band were ahead of their time, likely influencing many hard rock and new wave acts of the late ’70s & ’80s with their progressive style of rock, smooth vocals, keyboards, and harmonies, delivered so well played each night. There are no ‘off’ sounding nights. And though the set-list rarely changed [save for the odd night without the encore], each night is a fantastic listen for the improvisations, Bill Nelson’s speech intros, and simply the playing of the band’s best material such as their biggest hit “Ships In The Nights”, and favorites such as “Sister Seagull” [classic riff], “Life In The Air Age” [the opener each night], and the rockin’ “Mill Street Junction”. The latter half of the shows would feature lengthier improvised jams and solos on such tracks as the instrumental “Shine”, as well as “Terminal Street” [killer heavy guitar solo here] and encore “Blazing Apostles” [which usually runs for 20 minutes] . Nelson’s amazing guitar sound was complimented not only by the rhythm section of Charles Tumahai [bass, backing vocals] and Simon Chase [drums] , but also by the varied spacey keyboards of Andy Clark [see “Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape”]. The box also comes with a colored booklet full of photos, images, and an essay from Bill Nelson, detailing the era, his recollections of that UK tour, adding a few stories, as well as his eventual reasons for putting the band to rest after 1978’s Drastic Plastic. There’s also further notes from journalist Mark Powell. *There is also a condensed 3 disc version featuring the restored original album, as well as the full show from one of the evenings at Hammersmith Odeon.

LIVE IN THE AIR AGE Box details:

• A DELUXE 16 DISC LIMITED EDITION BOXED SET OF THE CLASSIC 1977 LIVE ALBUM BY BE BOP DELUXE
• THE ORIGINAL ALBUM IS NEWLY REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES RESTORING THE CORRECT ALBUM
RUNNING ORDER
• WITH AN ADDITIONAL 14 CDs FEATURING EVERY CONCERT RECORDED ON THE BE BOP DELUXE UK TOUR OF
FEBRUARY & MARCH 1977 ALL NEWLY REMIXED FROM THE ORIGINAL MULTI-TRACK TAPES BY STEPHEN W. TAYLER
• INCLUDES A BBC RADIO ONE JOHN PEEL SESSION FROM JANUARY 1977
• ALSO INCLUDES A DVD (NTSC / REGION FREE) OF THE STAR RIDER IN CONCERT TV FILM FIRST SCREENED IN 1977,
RELEASED HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME
• INCLUDES A LAVISHLY ILLUSTRATED BOOK WITH MANY PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PHOTOGRAPHS & NEW ESSAY BY BILL NELSON
• ALSO INCLUDES POSTCARDS AND A REPLICA POSTER

Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce a new re-mastered super-deluxe expanded boxed set limited edition release (comprising 15 CDs and a DVD) of LIVE! IN THE AIR AGE by BE BOP DELUXE. This legendary live album was released in July 1977 and would prove to be the band’s most successful album, peaking at number 10 in the UK charts. The album was issued at a time of growing commercial success for the band and followed on the heels of two highly acclaimed studio albums in thirteen months, Sunburst Finish and Modern Music, both of which reached the top twenty of the UK album charts. Live! In the Air Age would be the band’s only live record and was recorded on a series of dates in the UK in February and March 1977 on the Rolling Stones mobile unit with John Leckie, who had engineered co-produced the band’s previous two albums, supervising the location recordings.

The band’s UK tour began in late January and was an audio-visual extravaganza that featured the use of projection screens and excerpts from the 1927 German silent film Metropolis, director Fritz Lang’s striking science fiction masterpiece. Continuing into February, the first concert to be recorded was at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester on the 12th of that month. The following two nights saw concerts at the Grand Theatre in Leeds which were both captured on tape and saw Bill Nelson perform to an enthusiastic home audience. However, at this juncture fate would intervene to cause a postponement to the remainder of the tour. Travelling to a concert in Bristol on 15th February 1977, Bill Nelson and John Leckie were involved in a car accident which resulted in them being hospitalized at Huddersfield Infirmary. Thankfully, all involved recovered quickly from their injuries, but as a result of the accident, the remaining concerts were postponed until the end of March. The tour began again with two concerts at Hammersmith Odeon in London on March 25th and 26th 1977 which revealed the band to be on top form, feeding off the tremendous warmth of the audience. Further shows in Bristol and Bournemouth on the 27th and 28th March respectively also contained many fine moments. Bill Nelson and John Leckie selected the best performances for mixing at Abbey Road and Advision studios in London and LIVE! IN THE AIR AGE was released in July 1977.

Research of all of the Be Bop Deluxe master tapes revealed that multi track tapes of all the shows recorded on the UK tour of 1977 had survived. After digitizing and listening through to all of the Rolling Stones mobile unit 24-track tapes it was decided to include each concert in its entirety in this expanded boxed set. The concerts were mixed over a period of several months by Stephen W. Tayler and are presented here for the very first time. They reveal the improvisational side of Be Bop Deluxe, particularly on pieces such as Shine and Blazing Apostles which made each concert unique.

This set features the original album, newly remastered from the original master tapes, and restores the correct running order of the original LP release and has three bonus tracks drawn from a BBC Radio One JOHN PEEL SHOW session from January 1977. This box also adds an NTSC / Region Free DVD of STAR RIDER IN CONCERT – BE BOP DELUXE, which was first screened on television in 1977 and appears exclusively in this boxed set for the first time. Finally, this limited-edition boxed set includes an illustrated 68-page book with many previously unseen photographs and an essay of recollections by Bill Nelson. Additionally, the set includes postcards and a replica poster. This special deluxe limited-edition boxed set of LIVE! IN THE AIR AGE is a fitting tribute to a fine live band and the creative vision of Bill Nelson.

Additional Links:

Pre-order- Be Bop Deluxe: Live! In The Air Age, 15CD/1DVD Limited Edition Box Set – Cherry Red Records

Be Bop Deluxe: Live! In The Air Age, 3CD Remastered & Expanded Edition – Cherry Red Records

Bill Nelson – 40 Years Of Recordings – Interview by Mark Powell – YouTube

Bill Nelson: Be Bop Deluxe And Beyond… – Music Republic Magazine

Bill Nelson – Talks about Be Bop Deluxe, His Guitar, Influences & more – Radio Broadcast 02/05/21 – YouTube

06 / ’21

Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come : Anthology 1970-73

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Anyone familiar with British singer / performer will want to check out this new CD box. Brown who had had a #1 hit in the UK and Canada [#2 in US] with the song “Fire” in 1968. His stage show included his ‘fire hat’, and he wore black make-up around his eyes, an idea that would later be taken on by Alice Cooper, and later Kiss. When his ‘Crazy World Of Arthur Brown’ [which would feature organ player & co-writer Vincent Crane [pre Atomic Rooster] and drummer Carl Palmer] split up, he started the ’70s with a new band – Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come, which featured the great guitar work of Andy Dalby for the band’s 3 albums. 1971’s Galactic Zoo Dossier featured such tracks as “Space Plucks”, the heavy instrumental “Gypsy Escape”, “Metal Monster”, and “Sunrise”. Much of this is not your standard rock or prog writings or arrangements of the ’70s, there’s lots of variety, lots of unique theatrical deliveries, humor, but really amazing performances from the band, including organ, and Brown’s vocal delivery ranging from near spoken, and soft pieces to his powerful and emotional vocals on the likes of “Sunrise” .

This stuff is not to be entered in to lightly – you can’t just play it once and categorize it, as there is so much going on musically and lyrically. The follow up album was 1972’s self titled Kingdom Come, which appears simpler with a colorful and word-free cover, and fewer and short song titles. The album is highlighted by “Love Is A Spirit”, and the comical “Traffic Light Song” [that guitar hook reminding me of James Gang’s “Funk #49”], and closing with the 8 and a half minute spacey ballad “The Hymn”.

The 3rd and final album was 1973’s Journey. This would be even more experimental and a bit lighter overall than it’s predecessors. Journey would be the first album in history to use a drum machine [performed by Brown]. Plenty of experimental and diverse keyboards [less organ], with 3 tracks clocking in over 8 minutes, there’s definitely less vocals throughout this album, but best pics for me are the last 2 cuts “Spirit Of Joy” [the single, and which would be covered by Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden], and “Come Alive”.

Not sure how these albums sold in the day, but it’s a nice collection of a major period in Arthur Brown’s amazing career. Brown has one of Britain’s most powerful and unique voices, and would’ve been an interesting fit for a number of heavy or heavy blues based bands [see Atomic Rooster, Fleetwood Mac]. He would go on to record many more albums, and appear on other’s albums [see Alan Parson’s Project, Klaus Shulze, Hawkwind, Bruce Dickinson]. In more recent years he is still performing [pre CoVid], and has appeared on stage with Alice Cooper, the Hamburg Blues Band, most recently toured North America as part of the “Royal Affair” package [w/ Yes, Asia, etc..].


Press Release:

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a new boxed set featuring all of the albums recorded by the legendary
ARTHUR BROWN & KINGDOM COME issued between October 1971 and April 1973. The band came together in 1970 following
ARTHUR BROWN’s failed attempt to form a new band upon the disillusion of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown in 1969. Based in rural
Dorset, Arthur had undertaken rudimentary recordings with the bands The Puddletown Express and Rustic Hinge before forming a
new, more satisfactory band KINGDOM COME.
The initial group came together with a line-up of ARTHUR BROWN (vocals), BOB ELLWOOD (guitars), DAVE AMBROSE (bass),
ROB TAIT (drums) and PETE BAILEY (percussion) to record a lengthy jam session in the studio. This tape was impressive enough to
lead to a contract with Polydor Records and the album GALACTIC ZOO DOSSIER was the first album by the band. Issued in October
1971, the album featured Arthur Brown joined by ANDY DALBY (lead guitar / vocals), MICHAEL “GOODGE” HARRIS (keyboards),
DESMOND FISHER (bass), JULIAN BROWN (VCS3 Synthesizer) and MARTIN STEER (drums). The band’s debut album was a conceptual
work loosely based upon the subject of humanity living in a zoo and subject to cosmic forces. As a group, Kingdom Come took the
mantle from where the Crazy World of Arthur Brown had left off, presenting a highly theatrical show which utilized the VCS 3
synthesizer and presented a form of experimental rock music which was far ahead of its time. This led to them becoming a popular
act on the festival circuit (their memorable appearance at the 1971 Glastonbury Fayre was captured in the documentary film of the
same name).
For the band’s next album, 1972’s KINGDOM COME, Desmond Fisher departed and was replaced by PHIL SHUTT. The album
was another conceptual work and built upon the impact of their debut. Soon after the album’s release Martin Steer and Goodge
Harris also departed the band. American musician VICTOR PERAINO joined the group on Mellotron, VCS3 and Theramin and Brown
opted to utilize the Bentley Rhythm Ace drum machine instead of a drummer, bringing a new electronic direction to Kingdom Come’s
highly inventive Space Rock. This incarnation of the band recorded their final and finest album in the Autumn of 1972, the highly
influential JOURNEY. Issued in April 1973 the album was a superb conceptual work and featured such legendary material as “TIME
CAPTIVES”, “SPIRIT OF JOY” and “COME ALIVE”. Despite the excellence of the album, KINGDOM COME disbanded soon after the
album’s release leaving an impressive legacy.
This new remastered boxed set features the albums “GALACTIC ZOO DOSSIER”, “KINGDOM COME” and “JOURNEY”, along
with the archive disc “JAM – THE FIRST SESSIONS 1970” and “AT THE BBC 1971-1972” a twelve track CD featuring sessions recorded
for the BBC between March 1971 and September 1972, nine tracks of which are previously unreleased. The set also adds thirteen
bonus tracks (two previously unreleased on CD) taken from studio out-takes and a rare single. Also included is an illustrated booklet
with new essay featuring an exclusive interview with Arthur Brown and a replica poster. “ETERNAL MESSENGER” is a fine tribute to
Arthur Brown, a unique and visionary musician.

• A DELUXE 5 CD BOXED SET FEATURING ALL OF THE ALBUMS BY ARTHUR BROWN & KINGDOM COME
• FEATURING THE ALBUMS “GALACTIC ZOO DOSSIER”, “KINGDOM COME”, “JOURNEY” & THE ARCHIVE RECORDINGS “JAM – THE
FIRST SESSIONS 1970” & “AT THE BBC 1971-1972” (FEATURING NINE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS)
• ALL NEWLY REMASTERED
• WITH THIRTEEN BONUS TRACKS, TWO NEVER ISSUED ON CD, DRAWN FROM STUDIO OUT-TAKES & RARE SINGLES
• INCLUDES AN ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET WITH PHOTOGRAPHS, NEW ESSAY WITH EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ARTHUR BROWN
AND A POSTER.

For ordering: Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come: Eternal Messenger – An Anthology 1970-1973, 5CD Remastered Box Set – Cherry Red Records

Home – The REAL Arthur Brown – God Of HELL FIRE!! (thegodofhellfire.com)

Arthur Brown Story – Part 1 – Interview by Iain McNay – YouTube

Matt Ingham at Cherry Red Records
matti@cherryred.co.uk

KJJ, 04/’21

URIAH HEEP – Mick Box on Recording the band’s Upcoming album and Huge North American Tour!

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February of 2018 marks the return of Uriah Heep to Canada, and the start of the band’s biggest North American tour in decades! The list includes 36 shows – starting in Ottawa, Ontario, and eventually on to the US from the east coast to west and back up to Vancouver [Bernie Shaw’s home province British Columbia], and ending in Calgary, Alberta on May 1.
For the latest dates, check out > http://www.uriah-heep.com .

You can also go to the site and let other fans know which shows you’ll be attending [I’ll be at London and Toronto, Ontario]

The band has just completed recording a new album – “Living The Dream”, which won’t be out for several months, and something Heep fans are eagerly awaiting and pre-ordering – https://www.pledgemusic.com/uriahheep

Check out Mick’s blog at http://www.mick-box.net

 

The recording for the new album went fairly quick!? How prepared were you guys [with new songs written] before recording?
We were very prepared as we had a 2 week pre-production before hand, so most of the ideas were in place, and it was just a matter of a nip and tuck here and there once Jay Ruston our Producer was involved in the studio. We finished the recording process in under 3 weeks which was just amazing.

I can’t imagine there’s too much you can tell at this point [too early?] – but are there any details you can give regarding Living The Dream?
It is a typical Heep album with all of our usual trademarks. The harmonies, organ sound, and the wah wah guitar etc. 

Is everything written by yourself and Phil Lanzon?
Everything basically, but one song Bernie had a hand in the lyrics and one that Davey wrote with Jeff Scott Soto.

How was working with Jay Ruston? He’s done a lot of cool albums! Who recommended him?
Jay was fantastic to work with and he brought out the best in each of us in a very understated way. When we started hearing back the first track that we recorded we knew we had the right man. He became part of the Heep family vey quickly.
We were fans of his from his work with THE WINERY DOGS, STONE SOUR, BLACK STAR RIDERS, PAUL GILBERT AND EUROPE to name but a few..

uh - jay r

Living The Dream won’t be out until the fall [that’s a long wait for us ;-)] . Will any of the new songs work their way in to the live show before then?
It is still in the process of being mixed. We do not usually put songs in our set until the release of the album. If we did then they would be all over the media sites and there would be no impact on the release.

You are coming to North America in a few weeks, and in particular [for me] Canada! This will be the first time Heep plays in Ontario since 1993. How did getting the band here finally come about?
We now have management Ace Trump & Adam Parsons along with an agent Keith Naisbitt of APA Agency USA who believe in the band, and they made it happen. Previously we had been in a bit of no-mans land and we were not being driven to capacity in that market, which is a real shame.

Bernie must be excited?
That’s a big understatement!

Will the set list be changed much from recent shows? will it still feature a number of Outsider tracks and any old surprises?
We will perform a musical journey throughout our career starting with the first album and finishing with the last one ‘Outsider.’ 

It must get tough when an album – such as Into The Wild and Outsider have had their tour in the live show and you have to decide what stays and goes in the setlist!?
It usually sorts itself out in the end . There is only so much we can play each night, so once we get to rehearsals and the energy and ideas flow, it usually comes together reasonably quickly.

In recent years you guys have struck up a friendship with Alice Cooper [who’s on tour here at the same time].
Yes, we have become good friends with Alice. In fact Bernie and I did a tour in Germany with Alice called the ‘Rock Meets Classic,’ tour. This was with a 40 piece orchestra from Prague in the Czech Republic. Bernie and I used to get up each night and play ’Schools Out,’ with Alice on his encore. Alice also told us that he used our song ‘Lady in Black,’ as his warm up song, so there was mutual admiration there. He is a great guy.

Can you tell me a bit about the connection to Alice and his support with One Minute?
Alice Kindly played ‘One Minute,’ from our ‘Outsider,’ CD on his radio show.

Phil released an outstanding album recently. Will any tidbits of it feature in the shows? and will he be bringing some copies to sell over here?
That is Phil’s project so no tidbits and he is planning to sell them at shows.

The band had a strong following in such cities as Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal… do you have any great memories or a few stories to share from any places in Canada?
I remember way back when playing in Toronto with Rory Gallagher and being totally blown away by him. He was the first guitarist I saw play pinched harmonics, and he did a whole solo on them. He was something special and a super great player and singer. He is sadly missed. 

Lastly, the band has their own label and has been re-issuing a few things from the past few decades [Raging Through The Silence, Totally Driven…] – will there be something new in 2018 from the vaults?
I am sure there will be as things are constantly surfacing at a rate of knots.

‘Appy days!
Mick Box