The third post-Uriah Heep solo release from Peter Goalby was discovered earlier this in a storage unit. 9 more songs that were thought lost decades ago. With the discovery of these songs, Paul Hodson (keyboards, programming) and Eddy Morton (guitar solos) – who worked on the previous songs released (Easy With The Heartaches and I Will Come Runnin’) were called upon to add overdubs. Former bandmate and longtime friend Mick Box added a brilliant solo to 1 track, and John Sinclair also worked on 1 track. In all, taking these late 80s recordings of demos to being a properly produced album.
I was hesitant to post a lengthy review, figuring I could easily be accused of bias, but oh well. I am excited to see this out (though not a fraction of how excited Peter must be). The finished product of this is probably beyond what fans could expect to still be made available… Don’t Think This Is Over is even more so impressive than the 2 CD released that came before, full of melodies, hooks, and Peter’s passionate vocals. This album is a great mix of different songs, with the easily likeable upbeat aor like the lead off cut “I’ll Be The One”, as well as “It’s Just My Heart Breaking”, “Heart What Heart”(with that keyboard intro being reminiscent of “I Will Come Runnin”), and the title song! Then there are those more unique songs here like “Another Paper Moon”, which begins as a piano ballad and builds into a power ballad, something unlike anything else in Peter’s catalogue; love the string sounds and synths throughout this. “The Sound Of A Nation” is more of an anthemic rock song highlighted by Mick Box’s guitar solo, which gives it a good lift. “Show Some Emotion” is my favorite here; a moving track, that starts softly and builds up, with one of Peter’s standout vocal performances here. The disc closes, fittingly with “I Don’t Wanna Fight”. This song was released as a single back in 1988, to mixed reviews, but the musical arrangement lacked a bit of weight, but this has been completely re-done here, with former Heep bandmate John Sinclair taking Peter’s vocals and putting them in to a completely new arrangement on keyboards, and along with Peter Kent’s guitar work, this one sounds like a brand new song, up to date and lively.
So many potential hits here. As I’ve said before, Peter’s specialty was writing choruses that are easily likeable and memorable, and songs that would be major hits for numerous acts in the 80s and 90s (probably still some now), as he’d intended to make his mark as a songwriter. I think he’s achieved that by now, with these 3 albums. Imagine a few of these either on a Heep album or on the radio back then!? This may not be the last thing we hear from him, but more than we expected still, and in time for Christmas!
*Artwork by Michael Inns, fitting nicely in the series of the previous PG releases.
*Check out the press release (edit) below, as well as links to Don’t Think This Is Over.
Uriah Heep’s Ex-Lead Singer Peter Goalby Announces the Completion and Release of his Long Lost Solo Album Don’t Think This Is Over – OUT NOW!
Peter Goalby was the lead singer of Uriah Heep, Trapeze and Fable but has now retired from the music industry after an illustrious career.
Peter had been living with the knowledge he’d recorded a solo album just after leaving Uriah Heep but it was only when a poorly labelled DAT was spotted, at a storage facility over 30 years later, that the lost album was found.
Peter Goalby explained the background to the release: “In 1987 I was offered a recording and publishing contract with RAK Records just after I’d left Uriah Heep. I thought these songs would be very commercial in the 1980s and Smokie recorded Fallin’ Apart. I later found out the master tapes had been lost and I silently carried the disappointment that music I’d put my heart and soul into was gone forever. Never say never!”
The lost album’s release follows the successful release of Easy With The Heartaches and then I Will Come Runnin’.Don’t Think This Is Over is OUT NOW from all good retailers:
JOHN SLOMAN (Lone Star, Uriah Heep) has just released his 3rd book Rock Heaven , a novel . Rock Heaven is not autobiographical, according to John. “At the beginning of this year, I decided to adapt my original screenplay to a novel which is now currently available on Amazon under the title of my screenplay: ‘Rock Heaven’.”
John adds – “Rock Heaven was a screenplay I wrote in 2007. Had meetings with various producers who loved it. But the money never came. It’s about a rock musician…and a song titled ‘Rock Heaven’. But also much more. I wrote the title track, so at some point in the movie people would hear this song that’s referenced in the dialogue. It then occurred to me to write an entire soundtrack album. By now I was several years into this thing. I demoed the title track as well as all the other tracks for this soundtrack album at home. This time last year, I was in the process of writing what would’ve been my third book, when I decided to set it aside temporarily in favor of adapting Rock Heaven to a novel. My intention is to release Rock Heaven as a digital single, to provide a musical context for the book. If I receive some interest in my soundtrack album, I will consider releasing it at some point. For example, in the absence of a movie being made, I could release an audio version of Rock Heaven, which would include my ten songs.
Who knows, perhaps some film director scrolling on Amazon one night for an original story to bring to the screen might discover my novel, and my tale of woe becomes a movie after all.”
“At one point I adapted the screenplay as a 6-part TV series and sent it to a new production company based in Wales. Unfortunately, I didn’t even receive a response to my email, leaving me wondering if perhaps a Welsh writer basing a story around a Welsh musician wasn’t quite Welsh enough for a Welsh production company to be interested.”
ROCK HEAVEN is available on Amazon, at present (mine arrives tomorrow)
John also has resumed writing on the book he set aside for Rock Heaven, as well completing a new album to be released next spring.
Louis Deveroe is the resident music critic at a London based lifestyle magazine called XYZ Magazine and married to the much younger Gina. He should be happy. But the memory of that stinging rejection letter from Rolling Stone magazine all those years ago haunts him day and night – and he wishes he could find a story worthy of his superior writing ability so he can show those guys at Rolling Stone just how wrong they were. One night over dinner, his school teacher wife challenges her unfulfilled husband to change his life and pursue his dreams. And soon the story of a lifetime presents itself. But how far is Louis prepared to go in pursuit of that story? Would he smuggle a Class A drug into a psychiatric hospital in order to loosen the tongue of a disgraced rock star? Would he risk his life? There are three steps to Rock Heaven. But what is Rock Heaven? Where rock stars go when they die? Or where wannabes live in a medicated fog? The only one who really knows the answer is Louis…
Hey folks, this is an interview I did with Peter Goalby on the occasion of his new archival album Don’t Think This Is Over. Kevin Julie has graciously accepted it for publication. It was a delightful, wide-ranging chat, but yes, if there’s any one thing I’d like you to gather from it, it’s that based on these songs, Peter should have been a big league songwriter to the stars, not to mention a famed vocalist past his well-graded run of three albums for Uriah Heep—enjoy!Martin Popoff
I guess to start with, why don’t you explain to me just a little bit, where these new tracks were recorded, like what sort of time period and what they were indicated for, I suppose. I mean, did you think you were going to end up in another major act kind of thing or were they going to be a solo album?
It’s exactly the same story as withEasy With The Heartaches andI Will Come Runnin’. After I left Heep, I tried various things to get back up there with the music scene. What happened was with the new album, which is obviously an old album, the songs are about 30 years old, just over 30 years old. And I signed a publishing contract and a recording deal with Rak Records in the UK; that’s Mickey Most. He was known for all the pop stuff, you know, Suzy Quatro, Mud, Hot Chocolate, all that kind of malarkey. Anyway, I signed with Mickey and we did we did two singles – both failed. But whilst I was under contract, I was on the publishing side of things, I was writing songs; that’s what I’ve always done, I’ve always written songs. And there was a falling out. He let me out of my contract. There was supposed to be an album. In fact, he did go over to America to sort me a record deal. And the story I got back from the people in the offices at the publishing company was he was offered a deal for me, an album deal, but they couldn’t or he wouldn’t agree with the terms. In other words, he wanted a lot more percentage than they were willing to give. And so, he walked away. Martin, that’s the story I got. So, the whole thing fell apart and that was the end of it. And I hand on heart, I totally, because I moved on, I was looking at other things as well. And those songs just got forgotten. And the reason that they reappeared is because the people that are looking after me now went to Rak Records and they said, would they consider releasing the songs? In other words, reverting the songs back to me, the copyrights, because they haven’t kept their side of the bargain. The publishing side of the contract was they would endeavor to try and get covers on my songs, from other artists, which they never did. So no, it was it’s called ‘non exploitation’. It’s in the contract that’s in my favor. In other words, if you don’t roll your sleeves up and do the job, the songs will revert back to the artists. So, it was absolute joy when Daniel Earnshaw told me these songs now belong back to Peter Goalby. I couldn’t even hum you a melody of one of them. I hadn’t got a clue. I mean, I’ve written a lot of songs anyway. I got an email and which said there’s a DAT been found in the offices at because RAK was sold and that whilst they were clearing everything out, there was a DAT and it hadn’t got a name on it. But somebody recognized some of the titles to be my songs. And in all honesty, I didn’t get very excited because I’ve heard all these stories and been there so many times before. But…I played the first song and I was absolutely delighted, I thought, my God, this is good. And then I played the second song and I thought. This is really good. After the third song, I thought, I don’t believe this. And I looked up to the sky and I said, thank you, God. I got my songs back, and not only did I get my songs back – they’re really good! I believe them to be very good songs. And for the time, if you look back and think of the late 80s when I wrote them and recorded them, and they still stand up today. We’ve done a lot of overdubbing. We put some good guitar work on there. And there it is – “Don’t Think This Is Over”. I’m absolutely thrilled with it, Martin.
Yeah, they are very solid songs. And you would think these could be absolute smash hits. How would you describe this kind of music if you were going to put on your rock critic hat? How would you describe these songs?
To be totally truthful, because it was what you got to remember, if you go wind the back, Easy With The Heartaches and I Will Come Running – All those songs would have been written anyway, whether I was in Uriah Heep or not in Uriah Heep. And most of those songs would have ended up, as I believe most of the songs or some of the songs, on the new album would have been treated differently because Mickey and the guys would have recorded them a lot heavier. A lot heavier. I mean, if you look back when we did, for instance, Bryan Adams “Lonely Nights”, it’s a pop song. But if you if you get the right players playing the song, it takes on a new meaning. I totally believe that I automatically write commercial songs. I can’t get away from the fact that I started off in a cover band singing everything from “My Way” to all the pop songs of the day when I was 17, 18 years old. And so I naturally write with introductions, with verses, with chorus, with middle eight, what I call a proper song. And part of the magic, and a lot of the magic that we had with Uriah Heep was. I would take a song, for instance “Too Scared To Run”, and I wrote “Too Scared To Run” two years before I joined Uriah Heep, but when I joined Uriah Heep and I did my audition, and I don’t know whether you know the story (?) – I’d already auditioned the year before, and it didn’t work out. Anyway, the second time around, when we were in rehearsals, I said, why don’t we try a song from scratch? In other words, I can sing “Gypsy”, I can sing “Easy Livin’”; I can sing pretty much all the stuff that they’ve done, we did it. So, we all started at the same place. And they automatically played “Too Scared To Run” in a lot heavier vein. And so I believe, the stuff on this album that’s coming out now, as we speak, it’s AOR. That’s what I think it is.
Were any of these (on the new album) worked up with the band? Were any of these put through the paces with the band, towards the tail end, say Equator, were any of these ever put through the paces by the band?
No. All of these songs were written after I left Uriah Heep. There’s nothing… I wrote “Blood Red Roses” for Mickey after I left. He phoned me up and he said, “We’re doing a new album. Have you got anything that would suit?” And to be totally truthful, I hadn’t at the time. But within about three or four days, I consciously sat down and I thought if I was still in the band, what would I like to put forward as a song? So, I wrote “Blood Red Roses”. But everything on this – my third solo album now, and every song that is on these three albums were written after I left Uriah Heep.
Did you have any interaction with Ozzy on losing or gaining Bob Daisley?
No, not at all. I didn’t know Bob previously, so there wasn’t really a relationship outside of the band, if you know what I mean. But Bob’s great. Absolutely fantastic. I love him dearly. And him and Lee were just fantastic. But going full circle, that’s what the point I was trying to make about 10 minutes ago. It’s because people like Bob and Lee and also John Sinclair and Mick, they think in a heavier vein than I write. And I think the magic that we had was because of what I do is a bit poppy in construction wise – and what they do is heavy. And the two meet, and then you end up with a song like “Too Scared To Run”. I could play you the original version of “Too Scared To Run”, and it’s nowhere near as punchy and as heavy. It’s exactly the same; It’s exactly the same words. It’s the same melody. It’s the same guitar riff. But it’s the way that these rock players, the professional, what I call ‘rock players’; it’s the way they interpret the song. I think that’s what the winning formula was. Definitely.
If Bob, Lee, Mickey and John had worked on the songs on this new album, they would have been a lot heavier. I mean, this album is a bit heavier than my last two in that there’s not so many keyboards on this album. Mickey loves the new album. In fact, I sent Mickey “Sound Of A Nation”, one of the tracks, because I could picture him doing it. not in the exactly the way that I’ve done it, but again, a far heavier version, like a rock anthem.
I knew Ozzy quite well. I’ll tell you a story about Ozzy because at the time we were doing Head First and Bob was splitting between us and Ozzy’s Blizzard of Ozz. And he was in the band, then he was out of the band. And the one day we were in the studio with Ashley Howe and I’d just done the vocal on “The Other Side Of Midnight”, from Head First. In walks Ozzy absolutely out of his tree, drunk with Bob. Bob was practically holding him up. And I’ve met Ozzy before and. They sat down and Ozzy had got a bottle of whiskey in his hand he’d walked in with. Well, I say a bottle of whiskey, about a half a bottle of whiskey, because half had gone. They sat down and I’d finished the vocal, and Ashley was playing it back and fiddling with something. I don’t can’t remember what he was doing, but he played” The Other Side Of Midnight”, and at the end Ashley pretended that it was a guide vocal. And Ozzy said, Fucking Hell! That’s a fucking guide vocal? I can picture him saying it right now. It wasn’t, it was the actual master vocal, and it was a fabulous vocal. And he took a swig of the whiskey. And, you know, like in the cowboy films and they take a swig and they screw the face up and say, “Oh God”(?) And he said, I hate this. I said, What!? He said, I hate drinking this stuff. I said, Well, why do you drink it? Then he said, I love what it does to me.
Was Ashley part of the heaviness because Abominog is recorded pretty harshly, right? It’s really exciting and visceral and distorted. What did he do to make that album sound as heavy as it did?
I think each member of the band would discuss the sound – like Bob, Ashley would say, I’m going to get you a good bass sound. So, Ashley would get the bass sound for Bob and said, Bob, what do you think? And Bob would say, yeah or nay. And in fact, another very quick story on Head First on “The Other Side Of Midnight”, you’ll notice the bass is quite actually too loud that was because Bob was in the studio when Ashley mixed the song. And when he was doing when he was doing the final mix, Bob leapt up from the seat and just pushed the fader up on the bass. He said, turn the bass up. It was a team effort, Martin. I mean, Abominog and Head First were both team efforts. There was just a great atmosphere. There I say there was no leader, Mickey Box is a born leader, but he doesn’t know it and he doesn’t show it – If that makes any sense to you. He doesn’t rule with a rod of iron, but he just suggests, well, what if we and let’s try it like this or whatever. But as I was saying, had the Heep lineup played this album, the songs would still be the same songs, but the solos would be heavier. The bass line would be. I mean, it’s a drum machine on a few of the tracks that wouldn’t be there, obviously. You’d have Lee thundering through. And if we were at a rehearsal, Bob and Lee would lay the scaffolding down and it would be a far heavier scaffolding than what’s on my album.
Peter on stage, 1981, photo Lynn Everett
It could be a nice story that two or three of these show up on the next Heep album and it gives everybody something to talk about.
Yeah. I mean, the reaction to the album…I’m bound to say this anyway, but hand on heart again, I’m absolutely gobsmacked. People really do get it! John Sinclair iiplayed on “I Don’t Want to Fight”, In fact, John rearranged “I Don’t Want to Fight” for me. It captures the time. “Heart What Heart”, it sounds ridiculous, but I wanted to write a song… My favorite singer in the whole world is Dusty Springfield. Somebody told me that Ian Gillan (?), (another singer?), Dusty Springfield is their favorite singer as well. I can’t remember who it was…It was somebody out of a big band.
Ian might’ve said that…
And I was absolutely thrilled to think, well, it’s not just me.
How about did to what extent did Bob Daisley write any of the lyrics through those Heep albums?
Bob played a big part of the writing of the lyrics of the album. I wrote that it was Bob and I. OK. No one else. We wouldn’t let anybody else touch. The thing is, at the end of the day, Martin, I’ve got to sing those words. And Bob and I would sit down together in a quiet room and we’d work, work on the song together. As I say, it’s me that has to stand there and sell the words. So, it was me and Bob.
Any interesting stories of how you picked any of these cover versions on the album, the Russ Ballard song or…
Totally down to Ashley. Ashley had got a nest of songs, even before I joined the band. Ashley was such a massive part of Abominog. It was almost as though it was his baby. He obviously had plans even before I joined. Whoever had gone into the singing seat, I think it would have still ended up exactly the same. The band were under a lot of pressure. I don’t know whether I should tell you this, but obviously you want to hear it….when I’ve told it anyway. Mickey was given a whole bunch of money for Abominog. I mean, at that point, it was just the next album.
He had to put the band together. He had to sort the whole thing out. And a lot of the record advance had been already been spent when I joined. And so, we were in a bit of a dire straits situation, which nearly spent all the money. And we hadn’t even started the album. We were under a lot of pressure.
What were you paying for, like paying flat sums to the new members or..?
Yeah, and the rehearsals and the gear and all that. And to be fair, there are probably a lot of bad stories about Gerry Bron. But to be fair, as Mickey always pointed out, Gerry Bron always put his money where his mouth was. They never wanted for anything. So anyway, there was a lot of money being spent, and they hadn’t even got a full band together. He got Lee and Bob and then he got John. When they asked me to join, I was going to America with Trapeze at the time. And I said I was flattered, and I would jump at the job. But the problem was I’ve got to go to America for six weeks. I thought they’ll find a singer easily, but I went to America for six weeks, and before I went, I said, if you hadn’t found anybody, I would come down and rehearse and see if we could make it work. When I came back from America, I’d been back a couple of weeks and Ashley phoned me, and he said, “Do you want this fucking job or not?” That’s exactly what he said to me. Yeah. And I said, “sorry, but I thought you’d buy now you would have found a singer”. And he said No. Do you know they auditioned 84 singers!? It’s a fact. I’m not lying. Ask Mickey. They auditioned 84 singers! But, all of this time was going by, and Mickey was spending more and more money trying to hold the thing together. So, when we finally got a line up, when I actually joined the band, we were under so much pressure to do an album for Gerry Bron to recoup some of his money. Had had we been given the time to write more songs there would have been less covers. But to be truthful, Ashley and Gerry Bron had a vision, had a picture of making the band more commercial. So, we were on a bit of a loser because everything that we wrote. Gerry would say No. too heavy. And Ashley would be saying, “I’ve got this song …this would be perfect”. So I think between Gerry and Ashley, they steered us in the direction of a lot more commerciality. They wanted us to go to America and sell the band in America. Gerry and Ashley were a massive influence on not only picking the songs, but the whole direction of it all.
To what extent was anybody in the band aware or inspired of this great New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement around you and how you guys could fit inside of that?
Consciously, no, because we were automatically part of it. I remember when I first started rehearsing with the band, I used to stand there, Martin, and I’d think, wow, let’s just listen to this. It was just fantastic. And the band naturally played in the direction of what was becoming very fashionable. Again, I keep mentioning Ashley’s name; Ashley was such a big part of it all, but obviously the actual playing was down to the players. And I think we were all influenced consciously or subconsciously just by standing next to a jukebox in the pub, and you’re listening to Bon Jovi coming on and all the all these different bands. We used to do a lot of festivals and with Lemmy and Motorhead and all those guys. So, I think it just rubs off. I don’t think it was a conscious effort at all.
Looking back, I don’t think we purposely said we want to try and sound like this. Ashley might have thought that, and Ashley might have pushed it a little bit, to the way that he and Gerry wanted things to turn out. But we just played what we played. I was very proud of what they did to my songs, because there was “Too Scared To Run” and “Chasing Shadows” were my songs. It’s just the way that they played them.
Absolutely. What else would be a favorite of a Heep original on here and why?
“Think It Over”. I love that song. I didn’t know that already bloody recorded it. No one told me. I didn’t know, but they’d recorded it a year before with John Sloman. I thought it was just Ashley bringing in another cover. I love “Prisoner”. What I do get an absolute fantastic buzz from is when I, if I go on onto YouTube and put on one of those songs on and see the comments that people have put underneath. And they get it. And it really touches me that people get what we were doing.
It’s interesting. I like what you said about Ashley. I mean, the covers fit perfectly. And then if they’re steering you a little bit to, you’re less all-out heavy metal originals, that now melds with the covers and then there’s a couple pretty heavy songs on there still. So, you’ve got this nice range where it’s and we know the UK, and Kerrang, they love their AOR music, their American influence music. And then obviously there’s going to be a big hair-metal explosion soon. So, this is like a perfect proto-setup for that big hair metal explosion kind of…
As I say, direction-wise, we were just playing the way that we played. If we were pushed at all, it was Ashley that was pushing. He had a picture; he had a vision for this album. He wanted to take the band out of the 70s and put the band into the 80s.
Did you guys talk about the album cover?
Oh no, I Hate it. Absolutely.
What did everybody say about it, and how did the dialog go to come up with that?
I think we were all too polite to say, it’s yuck. I think what happened was because of Bob and Lee, and because of Bob and Lee’s background with Ozzy, the people that were doing the artwork for the album probably…I wonder, in all honesty, whether they actually listened to any of the songs, because I don’t think they did. Because if I was an artist, doing an album sleeve, I’d listen to the songs, and I wouldn’t come up with that picture. Would you?
Exactly. And how about the title? Where does the title come from?
Bob Daisley, I think it started off with ‘Abomination’, and it was taken from there. Maybe what went wrong was Bob did the title, and then the people looked at each other over the table and said, What picture can we put with this!? But to be fair, we were all too polite. Nobody would stand up and say, “Well, I don’t like it”. They’d say What do you think? Well, it’s okay. We were more interested in the music. I certainly had no say at all in the sleeve. And I think pretty much everybody in the band were in the same situation. I think it was just presented and we thought, well, yeah, we’ll go with that, not knowing that in a lot of areas, it probably did us a lot of damage, because a lot of people would look at that sleeve and think and run a mile. They’d run away and say, no, no, no; they would have this vision of some death metal band, which “Prisoner” and “The Way That It Is” certainly aren’t (haha). To be fair, it sort of worked against us, but it also worked for us, because here we are today, 40 years later, or whatever it is, and we’re still talking about the sleeve,
I think it gave you guys an extra little link to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. You’re part of this trend that’s, going strong for three or four years?
Yeah.
What is that story of your interaction with Rainbow?
Well, I’ve never told the story, and really for two reasons. One, because I was embarrassed. I’ll tell you the story briefly, and at the end of it all, I felt that I’d failed, and it wasn’t something that I really wanted to talk about Martin because it hurt. I was with Trapeze, and I was sat in my apartment, (or my flat) at home, and the phone rang, and the voice on the other end said, Is that Pete? And I said, Yes. He said, Pete, this is Richie Blackmore. And I said, Fuck off. Who is it? And I tell you I thought it was; do you know John Thomas of Budgie?
Yeah…
I thought, because we all knew each other, and we’re all from the Midlands. I said, Fuck off, John. He said it’s Ritchie Blackmore. I was given your name, and he told me who, somebody given him my name and my phone number. And then I thought, Oh shit, it is Rittchie Blackmore.’ He said, the reason I’m calling you, I’ve heard a lot about you. A lot of people are talking about you with the stuff that you’ve been doing with Trapeze. He said, Would you be interested in joining my band, Rainbow? And I nearly fell off the chair! And I said, Yeah, I would. Things weren’t going very well with Trapeze, which is another story, (but we haven’t got time for that). We had a five minute chat, and he said, Have you got anything you can play to me? And I said, What now? And he said, Yeah. I said, Over the phone?, and he said, Yeah. I said, We’ve just finished the Trapeze album called Hold On. And I said, I’ll play one of the tracks off that album. On the Hold On album there’s a fantastic song. (I didn’t write it Mel Galley wrote it) it’s called “Don’t Break My Heart Again”. And the song comes in two sections, there’s like a slow, bluesy section, and then it goes into the proper rock version of the song. I said, I’ll play this song, I put the album on, and I put the phone to the speaker, and the song is six minutes long, and I thought, by the time it’s finished, he’s probably gone. At the end of the song, he was still there. And he said, Would you like to come to New York? And I said, Yeah. When?, he said Tomorrow? I went to New York. ..I’ll have to speed it up, because we’ll be here five hours, because I was actually in the band for two months, I never told anyone…Well, they never told anyone. Anyway, I went to Connecticut and rehearsed with the band… And the bottom line was, I got the job. I was told to go home, and Bruce Payne, who’s the manager, would call me, which he did. I was on the payroll. To me, that means I’m in the band. I went to Roger Glover’s house. We did a demo of “Since You’ve Been Gone”. I can’t remember the time frame, but I think it’s over a couple of months. And then we went to Geneva to start recording Down To Earth. Okay? We arrived there and spent a few days doing nothing. And to cut a long story short, one night, about 11 o’clock, somebody came to say, Ritchie wants to rehearse now. And so I thought, Well, what are we going to rehearse? I didn’t even know what we were going to rehearse anyway. Anyway, that was the way he worked. He spent three or four days in the bedroom coming up with ideas, and then he’d bring it to the rehearsal. I found it all very bizarre in that we went down into the rehearsal room, and they all just started playing and expecting me to start singing. And I thought What(?) I’d never worked like that before Martin. I would learn a song or sit down with an acoustic guitar and go through a song and say yeah, yeah, yeah, and learn it that way. Apparently, I didn’t know at the time, but I’ve learned that since they just expected me to make something up on the spot. And I can remember Don Airey looking at me and laughing and mouthing as though he was singing, and he was saying to me, just sing anything. He was trying to help me. Martin. And I thought, How bizarre!? So, I started coming out with something from The Exorcist (haha). I mean, no melody, and no idea how the song is supposed to go. Not even time to sit down and think, it was just start singing, just do something – which I did, and I felt absolutely stupid doing it. We did that for, I can’t remember how long(?) And it could have been an hour, it could have been two hours, I don’t know… Anyway, the next morning there was a terrible atmosphere. And Roger Glover came to me and said, Ritchie’s not happy. and I said, Well, I’m not happy either. I said, I don’t know what he wants…I can’t work like this. I haven’t got a clue what you want me to do. And at that point, Roger said, You’re fired!
That is ridiculous. Like, just a little bit of warning, a little bit ‘Okay, this is how we’re going to do this’. It would have solved everything, right? You’re just blindsided..stupid. (PG -Yeah) I can understand what they’re doing, they’re looking for a vocal melody or whatever, and you’re just supposed to scat over it or whatever…
What he didn’t realize was, I can write songs. The way that I put things together is I put a framework up and I get an idea. I totally get if Ritchie plays a riff, but you don’t need the whole band blowing the roof off for me to try and think of a melody. You sit in a bedroom. I can do all that all my life. I’ve written a few songs.
And what hour was this? What time was this?
Oh, 11-12, o’clock at night.
And you’re in Geneva. Is this like Mountain Studios or…?
No. It’s a chateau, with a drawbridge, moat, castle – the whole shooting match. We’ve got Jethro Tull’s mobile studio outside. We’re there to make an album. And not one of us knew what the fuck we were doing.
What a story! That’s ridiculous.
So, the day before I was fired, to pass the time away. I used to have a go on Don Airey’s Hammond organ. I can’t play, but I can put things together, and I’d work it out. I’d got an idea for a song, funnily enough… Anyway, when Roger said to me, You’re fired. I said, Why can’t Ritchie fire me? And do you know what he said? what he said was Before you go. can I give you a message(?) Ritchie said, “Do you know that riff you were playing on the Hammond organ? Could you show Don before you go?”
Unbelievable! So crazy. That’s just so rock and roll, right!? It’s like you’ve got these employees, just give them a little bit of guidance…Just give them a little bit of encouragement of how this is going to go, right!? You may hear from me at 11 o’clock tonight, or whatever, anything, right!?
Yeah. I mean, I haven’t gone into the other all the details. I’m just telling you a part of it. I’m not telling tales, I’m telling the truth. And part of the reason why I’ve told the story now is because somebody asked me. Nobody has ever asked me, what happened. So, I don’t mention it. “Oh Peter’s embarrassed. We don’t want to upset Peter”… And I had to come home and tell my wife, I’d been fired, and it broke my heart. I honestly don’t believe I was treated very fairly. I can sing for fuck’s sake, I’m a singer. I didn’t go for the job with Rainbow, Rainbow came to me.
And you’re a writer, and you’re a writer!
Yeah, but I’d never worked like that. I know that the likes of Aerosmith, Steve does that kind of thing, they write in that fashion. Somebody will come up with a riff,
But their nightmare story is they have to do that because Steven will do the lyrics at the very last minute, and they’re just trying to get the lyrics out of him. So that’s really problem there. That’s one of the reasons they keep fighting and breaking up all the time, and albums never happen, is because they can’t get the lyrics out of Steven.
So, to me, it was, it was like me landing on another planet…with the best intention.
I don’t want to keep you forever…
Do you want me to sing you a song!? (LOL)
What was the environment making Head First? And what is your feeling of that album versus Abominog?
I love both albums. The biggest mistake we made or in the four five years that I was with the band is changing producer. I don’t get that to this day. I just don’t get why we didn’t use Ashley. It was madness.
You mean on Equator!?
Abominog and Head First were like brother and sister. Just stop and think for one second, the way Ashley recorded, and the way those two albums sounded. Now, picture the songs on Equator, but recorded in the same way, they would have been fantastic. I wrote Equator. I wrote practically every song on there. I get if you don’t like the songs, I have to take the blame. But I’m not taking any blame, because if you go on YouTube, there’s some live stuff, there’s some live versions of some of those songs from the album, and Martin they’re good. They’re plenty good. But it was the whole way the record was recorded. The sound of the album is foul. I can’t even listen to it. And that was one of the main reasons why I left the band. I was so upset and disgusted with the whole… I mean to be fair to Tony Platt, Tony to this day, hand on heart, swears that’s not his mix. He believes that they lost the final mix to the album, and somebody did a very quick mix of the album. Now, I don’t know. I’m embarrassed by the album, not by the songs. I do believe that most of the songs would have been absolutely bang in line with what we’ve already done on the first two albums, had we had the same producer. And as I say, it’s just such a disappointment that Equator, it just sounds bad.
The sessions were fine. You got along with Tony through the recording?
I got on great, absolutely great. But at the end of the day, firstly, it sounds like it’s in mono. I don’t get that. Why would you do an album in mono? And Tony said he wanted to sound the band to sound authentic, like they would live. That’s complete bollocks. Why would you not want to make an album in stereo!? And, why would you absolutely drench everything in reverb? We’re not Def Leppard, Def Leppard is Def Leppard, Uriah Heep. Is Uriah Heep, I don’t want to beat Tony Platt up. I really don’t, but I just don’t get why that the album sounded so bad. But as I say, as far as the songs are concerned, I have to take pretty much most of the blame, because I wrote them (haha). Okay, I’ve got pretty much all the songs written. John Sinclair and I went and hired a cottage, and just John and I put the songs together and moved keys around, and did all this, that and the other. And then we took pretty much the whole album to rehearsals. Everybody in the band was, well happy with the material. Nobody said, Well, we don’t like this, or we don’t want to record that, or why don’t we record one of my songs!? Or we’re recording too many Goalby songs. Everything was fine. It’s all on paper, it all worked, but by the time we came out of the studio, it didn’t sound anything like what we thought it was going to sound like. But it was too late, as I say. Apart from the fact that we were working too much, too many gigs, that was one of the reasons why I thought I can’t do this. There’s got to be something better, and to be totally truthful, when I left, I honestly thought that I would walk into another gig, and the phone never rang. And it took me about 12 months to realize the phone never rang because the story was put out that my voice had gone my voice never fucking went anywhere. I lost my voice in Australia. I got laryngitis. When you nothing comes out, just air. I got that, and the doctors made me have four days off. And in the four days off, I wasn’t allowed to speak. And in those four days I thought, I’m not going to do this anymore. So, when I left the band, firstly, they didn’t believe me. I can remember Lee, Lee said, Oh, come on, we’re going to Russia soon. I said, I’m not fucking going to Russia. I’m not going and they thought I was just going through a bit of, you know, at the time, we didn’t know what it was, but I did have mental health problems. I have to put my hand in the air, because after I left the band, I did have a bit of a breakdown. But I think that was partly, because my whole world had fallen apart. But I couldn’t continue doing what I was doing in the way that we were doing it… So anyway, I’m going backwards.
So, did you tour Equator a fair bit?
We did some dates in America. We did a few dates in England, and live the material went down great. That wasn’t the problem.
Where did that title come from? Or where did Head First come from?
I think Head First came from Bob. Equator,i t may have come from John(?) I can’t remember, to tell you the truth.
I like it. It’s a cool title..
Some people don’t like it.
The album cover’s all right, too.
Again, we got a lot of snip, because the album sleeve was shit. I don’t think it was shit. It depends what you’re looking for.
Head First is a little more high-fidelity than Abominog, and you went to the Manor for that, right!? Any good stories about working at the manor versus the Roundhouse?
Well, the Manor was a far, far better environment. The problem with the Roundhouse was because Gerry Bron was the manager, and because Gerry Bron was the record company, and because Gerry Bron owned the studio, every time Ashley did a mix of a song. Gerry would say, No, mix it again, because every hour that we spent in the studio, guess who was getting the money? Gerry Bron! So, what started off that might have cost 60,000 pounds, because he got Ashley to remix the album about four or five times (lol), it cost’ about 150000 pounds! So, we were well pleased to get out of the Roundhouse. Again, to be fair that was down to Ashley. Ashley refused to work at the Roundhouse because he knew what the problem that we’ve got, Gerry Bron would have a so far in debt that would never make any royalties. But the Manor was a far, far better situation. I loved it. Absolutely loved it.
That’s right. If he’s getting paid for everything, no matter what advance he gives you, he’s going to recoup. It’s like he’s just paying himself, right?
Yeah! And then after Abominog was a big success and sold. I mean, you might know better than I. I haven’t even got a clue how many albums we sold. We were never told. I know it was a lot. And you know what Martin!? never got a penny.
Wow! If I was to guess, just estimate, off the top of my head, I bet this went over 250,000 in the States. I bet you could add another three to 400,000 in Europe, you know, mainland Europe and UK.
That’s the exact number – 700,000; that’s the exact number that I’ve got on my gold disc on my wall. But I guess that. I didn’t get the gold to pay for it. I paid for it myself.
I think that number sounds sensible.
Yeah. It could have been more. It could have been more.
Yeah…Japan, maybe 50…
And we never received a penny. He put Bronze into liquidation. Because…not just us, he had Motorhead, Manfred Mann, he had quite a few acts on there, and he used the record company money to start his Airline, and that went through the floor. And so, nobody got paid. So, from Abominog and Head First, none of us got any money.
Who did you tour with for these records?
In Europe it was always the same team. We’d go and do festivals nearly every weekend, nearly every weekend we’d be in one European country or another. There’d be Ian Gillan was solo at that point. Gillan would be on the bill Motorhead. Gary Moore, anybody that was successful at the time. And then in America, Judas Priest, I mean, the Mickey and the boys are still touring with Judas Priest to this day. Joe and the boys, Def Leppard, that was great. That was a fantastic time for us when we toured with Def Leppard. Just wonderful, wonderful people. When we were doing the stadiums in America with Def Leppard, and when we’d have our soundcheck in the afternoon, they would be playing football in the auditorium, and Joe used to walk up to the stage and say, Play The Wizard, Pete! They were big fans of Heep, the early Heep stuff like “Gypsy” and “Easy Livin’”, and all that. We got on great. We used to do the radio interviews in the afternoon, and Joe and I, or Phil and I would travel in a taxi together; we were just like family. It was just fantastic. We did the Texas Jam… Funny enough, we did, I did, I think it was 81 or 82, with Trapeze, and a year later I did it with Uriah Heep. And so there were all sorts of bands on there. One story that I like telling in Europe, we were always headlining. And the one festival that we did, it was from all day Saturday and Saturday evening, and all-day Sunday. And we’d played somewhere on the Saturday night, we drove through the night to the town where the festival was, and we got into the hotel about seven in the morning. At about 10 o’clock in the morning, I was woken up by this guitar-riff. And you remember “Radar, Love”, by Golden Earring(!?) You know the guitar at the beginning? I was fast asleep in the hotel, and it felt like the walls were shaking. The festival had started. They were first on it was about half past 10 in the morning, and I was lying in the hotel bed thinking, fucking hell! And you know what I thought, Martin, I’ve made it! I’m listening to Golden Earring live, and I’m not on until half past 10 tonight. And I just felt so proud.
It’s just always stuck in my mind. But as I say, I loved being in the band, but I hated all the rest of the stuff that went with it. To tell you the truth, I hated traveling.
Was that laryngitis, you say Australia, were you in the middle of a tour?
Yeah. We’d done Australia the year before, and we’d done really, really well. We did loads of television shows out there, and we did something like 30 live shows, yeah. And then a year later, our manager said, We’re sending you to Australia. And I said, I don’t want to go, because I saw the dates. I saw the dates. There were 42, shows in 36 days. 42 shows in 36 days. (Wow). I complained and complained and complained, and I actually said to the manager, Harry Maloney. If you send me to Australia, I’m going to quit. I’d already had enough, because this is Equator, remember all the shit going on with Equator. Anyway, they sent me to Australia. We were about to two-thirds of the way through the tour and Lee Kerslake took me fishing, sea fishing one afternoon, and whether it was the sea-air, I don’t know what it was, but I came from fishing into the gig, to the soundcheck, and I started singing, Martin, and nothing came out. I’d got no control over it whatsoever. And I thought, I’m in trouble.
How do they not know that you can’t put a lead singer through that?
Well, it’s the old story, you know, maximum three on – one off. Maximum! My world record is 16 back to back. I stood in the Hamburg Hilton with Gary Moore, and he came up behind me and kneed me in the back of my leg on it, you know, like when you’re kids, we call it dead-legging. And Gary Moore dead-legged me and I turned around, ready to kill somebody. And he said, Hello, Pete. And it was Gary Moore, and he said, How are you? And I started talking. He said, Fucking Hell, man. How’s your voice? I said, I’m struggling, Gary. I said, In fact, tonight… he said, Are you’re playing tonight!? They were all there for a TV show. There was loads of bands. And he said, Are you not doing this TV show!? I said, No, we’re actually playing live tonight. And he said, Are you going to be okay? And I said, I’m going to have to be. I said, This will be 16. He says, 16 shows back-to-back? And I said, Yeah. He said, I tell you something, Peter. He says, You ought to fucking sack your manager!? And I said, Well, funnily enough, Gary, meet Harry! (Harry was stood next to me) That’s a true story. It was a circus. Martin. It was partly our own doing, because we were really popular, and we could play anywhere in the world. You could go to any country in the world and say, you Uriah Heep. Oh, right! People know. They’re aware of the band. And that was the problem, you know!? And as I say, 16 shows back-to-back. We once did 23 countries in 30 days! That’s a lot. And people say, Why did you leave, Peter? And then I’ve got to live with the fact that because I’d left, the story was made-up that my voice was fucked. If my voice was so fucked, how come I’ve done three albums since!?
Singer Peter Goalby is mainly known for years during the 80s fronting Uriah Heep, with whom he recorded 3 albums, and prior to that a few years with Trapeze, where he recorded one studio and one live album. But in-between there, very briefly, Peter was chosen to sing for another, bigger band, at the time. His time with Rainbow didn’t last long, and he’s often (if at all) merely mentioned as a footnote as someone who auditioned for the band. Goalby’s story of that time, and his first ever detailed recollection of that period is a very fascinating read. Peter recalled it all to myself and Peter Kerr (Rock Daydream Nation). The 3rd part of this article contains questions (from Peter Kerr & myself), answered by PG.
Please note, Peter has wanted to tell this story for a long time. I know he has a very good memory of his career, and fine details. This is his account being told for the first time. It was a long time ago, and it came at very busy period in his career, while he was still with Trapeze. He would soon record a project later in 1980 under the name ‘Destiny’, followed by Trapeze tours and a live album. By late ’81 he was ready to step into the role of lead singer for Uriah Heep. Ironically, the 1982 album Abominog, a fantastic album, was comparable in direction (that American Hard-rock/AOR) to what Rainbow was also recording during the early 80s with Joe Lynn Turner. So, frankly, I don’t see how Peter wouldn’t have been a good fit for that band, but oh well….On to Peter’s story….
My Audition / Initiation
The day before New Years Eve, sitting in my unfurnished flat (apartment) in Wolverhampton phone rings – “Hello is that Pete?” , I said yes, it is. “Pete this is Ritchie Blackmore “, Fuck off I said, who is this? I thought John Thomas from the band Budgie; he was a prankster.” Pete, its Ritchie really (LOL) “He said I “got your number from…” I can’t remember who he said but I thought, ‘Oh Its Ritchie alright’.
“Would you be interested in joining my band, Rainbow? I have heard a lot of great things about you and your work with Trapeze. Mel Galley is gonna hate me even more if I steal you That will be twice.”
We chatted for a few minutes and then he asked, ‘do I have anything I can play to him?’ I said I have a copy of the new Trapeze album Hold On, “I can play you a track down the Phone(?)” I played him “Don’t Break My Heart Again” (phone to the speaker). It’s 6 minutes long, I thought he will have hung up by the end. “Are you still there?”, I said. “Very much so. Would you like to come to New York? “, I said ‘yes when’. “Tomorrow”, he said.
I was told to arrive at Euston Train station. I would be met and taken to the Airport. I was given a ticket and some money and put on a plane
(In New York) I was detained at the Airport upon arriving and taken to a back room where I was questioned and my luggage searched. They thought I was trying to work in the U.S I said I was there for an audition. I was asked who the band was. I said Rainbow. One of the security guys said Ritchie Blackmore(?), “then re pack your case you can go”.
I was met by a member of the Rainbow crew and taken to the Holiday Inn, Connecticut. I was there on my own for 2 days waiting for someone to greet me. I spent New Years Eve on my own, well me and the barman in the hotel.
Next evening I was in the Bar and who should walk in – Cozy Powell (LOL). Then in walks Don Airey (LOL). WE all got on great from the off. I had met Cozy before.
I said, ‘where is Ritchie?’, I was told he lives next door to the hotel. So, I had been left on my own for 2 days with Ritchie living next door celebrating the New Year. I was starting to get the picture and the way they all spoke of Ritchie, he was the Boss for shit sure.
Ritchie walked in the bar with his then very large breasted girlfriend, and we spent the evening talking – me, Ritchie, Don, and Cozy. I can’t remember when Glover arrived.
We arranged to meet for rehearsals next morning.
Down To Earth (with a Bang) LOL
I arrived at the Geneva; the place was incredible with a Moat and a Drawbridge, WoW.
Don arrived soon after me, we got on so well it was all fantastic. There was a guy called Jack Green there he was the new bass player, as Roger Glover was producing Down To Earth he was not playing – only producing. There was a mobile Recording Studio outside belonging to Jethro Tull. All the band gear was set up in the Dining Hall which was the size of a banquet Hall.
Cozy arrived, he was such a compete gentleman, he was such a complete person he really was great.
We were all there for a couple of days before Ritchie arrived with the girlfriend. He spent a few days in his room only coming out to have meals. We had a Cook living in with us. From time-to-time Ritchie would come out and ask me and Jack to write some lyrics for an idea he would have. Then he would say forget that one. “Can you do some words for this?” That would be another Idea he would be playing. I was finding it frustrating as we did not seem to be doing much at all. I used to have a play on Don’s Hammond organ to pass the time. We were all just waiting for Ritchie. After a few days Ritchie had come up with some riffs. One night about 10.30 to 11pm I was going to bed and was told Richie wants to rehearse now. I foolishly said I was about to go to bed. Never mind. We went down into the Dining Hall They all started jamming led by Ritchie showing them the ideas he had. I was expected to just sing something over them. Something I had never done before. I was used to having a structured song to sing knowing the melody etc. I just looked at Don thinking ‘what the fuck does he want’. So, I started warbling some nonsense. So, we did this for some time. Don was looking at me and encouraging me to sing anything by pretending he was singing. I found this all a bit bizarre. Next morning there was a bad atmosphere from the off. I did not see Ritchie at all. Roger said “can we talk in your room”. I said of course.
Roger said Ritchie is not happy. I said neither am I. I don’t know what he wants I am not used to working like this. Roger said you are fired. I said couldn’t Ritchie face me and Fire me himself.
Roger said I will take you to the airport now. So, I went and told the guys I was fired they were shocked. Ritchie did not even come to say goodbye. He did send me a message through Roger, he said You Know that riff you have been playing on the Hammond could you show Don how it goes before you leave? On the way to the Airport Roger said did I know any good bass players as Ritchie was not happy with Jack Green either
I was given no reason other than Ritchie was not happy.
It later transpired he was not happy with my vocal range he said my top note was an A which is not true as the world can hear on the Heep albums I did.
I did not apply for the job in Rainbow I was invited by Ritchie Blackmore after listening to me singing “Don’t Break My Heart Again” by TRAPEZE I made no claims about my vocal range.
I am very happy to finally tell the true version of my very very brief time in such a great band
Peter Goalby 09-09-2025
Did you talk for a while with Ritchie before having a sing?
It was all quite natural mainly down to Cozy being such a great and honest guy (what a lovely man)
What was he like?
Ritchie enjoyed being Ritchie and enjoying being number uno.
Were there any band members at this first meeting? Describe the rehearsal with the band? What songs did you play? Any of your originals or non-Rainbow songs were played?
A tiny rehearsal room. I was stood facing Cozy when he hit his bass drums My jeans blew back at the ankles LOL, He was making me laugh to make me feel at home. In fact, Don was the same very friendly as if they were relieved, they had got me there.
WE did “Long Live Rock and Roll”, I enjoyed that, not too many words LOL
I think Cozy said “we have this song demo with a girl singer”. He said Ritchie does not like it, but the record company want us to do it as a single. I said it’s a great song. I think. We ran through it. I can not remember what else we did. I kept thinking this is me singing with Rainbow LOL.
Did you get a good vibe as to how things were going?
I got great feedback from the guys they were talking like it was a done deal. Like I said I felt they were relieved they had a singer. Ritchie was very reserved I think that’s how he liked people to see him.
What was said at the end of the play through?
All very positive but what was weird is It was as though I was in, but no one said You are our new singer. I was given a plane ticket and told Bruce Payne (manager) would contact me, which he did when I got home. I was put on the payroll. I think it was £2000 per month. Little knowing it was to last only 2 months at that time. Bruce said we were to do a demo of “Since You Been Gone” at Roger Glover’s house, which we did. I remember Ritchie playing the wrong chords when we were recording LOL.
Then the recording date for the album was announced and I went off to Geneva to the chateau.
Did you think you would be offered the role?
Of course. I would have been great in that band
I am curious – Had you told anyone on your side (bandmates, management) that you were off to NY to possibly join Rainbow(?)
I did not have time; I was called and then the next morning I was on a plane. I only told my wife, I don’t think she believed me at first. And Then I told her I got the Job then a couple of months later I told her I was FIRED LOL
What were you up to when Ritchie called? Was there a Trapeze tour being planned or any other recordings?
I was in my apartment (flat) with no furniture I can’t remember what was happening with Trapeze. I had just got the first copy of “Hold On”, the Trapeze album. Thank you, Mel, for writing the song that got me in and out of Rainbow LOL.
Considering Ritchie was concerned about image (i.e. he hated Graham Bonnet’s short hair and choice of clothes). Did any appearance or image stuff come up?
No, he knows a star when he sees one LOL.
Was your audition or time with the band given any press treatment? Ie: photos taken, bios written, or mention in the press?
Only my local town paper; I was on the front cover if I remember correctly.
Did you really get to talk to Ritchie much at all? (Even in the bar) And was it all business?
I did talk to him, yes, I did get on with him socially. But then again, I get on well with everybody.
“And we had a singer called Pete Goalby, who did great things with Uriah Heep, but he didn’t quite get what Ritchie was going on about” – Don Airey (Rolling Stone)
“I was the one who helped talk Ritchie into doing it. His manager Bruce Payne NEEDED A HIT SINGLE. We did a demo at Roger’s house with Jethro Tulls’ Mobile.” – PG
PETER GOALBY & GRAHAM BONNET
There is one song that ironically both Peter Goalby and Graham Bonnet sang, and that is a cover of Paul Bliss’ “That’s The Way That It Is”, which I’ve put below. The song appeared on Bonnet’s 1981 album Line Up, as well as Uriah Heep’s 1982 album Abominog, and released as a single in both cases. Interestingly, Bonnet also covered Argent’s “Liar” (written by Russ Ballard) on that album, while Goalby had sang the song years earlier as a demo for his band Fable! Abominog would instead feature a different Russ Ballard track, “On The Rebound”.
I could not find any songs that both Goalby and Bonnet’s successor in Rainbow – Joe Lynn Turner both sang, but both Heep (w/ Peter Goalby) and Rainbow (w/ JLT) both took a similar direction in the 80s, which is discussed with Martin Popoff in an episode of History In 5 Songs – https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/history5songs?selected=PAN4285683323
Goalby’s post-Heep solo recordings are also much more in the 80s AOR style that would’ve definitely suited either Foreigner or Rainbow in that decade (Ironically, Goalby’s name came up when Foreigner was looking for a singer when Lou Gramm left the first time, but not bigger discussions or offers came about). But check out tracks like “Take Another Look”, “Waiting For An Angel“, or “It’s Just My Heart Breaking” and “Show Some Emotion” (from his upcoming 3rd album), they would sit comfortably on an 80s Foreigner or Rainbow album, IMO. As for the one ‘new’ song that Goalby sang with Rainbow, “Since You Been Gone”, no recording from those rehearsals exists, but both Bonnet and it’s writer, Russ Ballard, both have new versions of it in 2025.
My friend Boris Shnitzer from Israel has been a lifelong Uriah Heep fan. What is most interesting about Boris’ huge Heep collection is his focus on collecting variants of his favorite Heep album – Salisbury (the band’s second album, from 1971). It’s Boris’ Salisbury collection that got me wondering how one gets in to such an extreme collection of one album. Heck, I know many Heep fans have multiples of various favorites, and I people who know think I’m ridiculous having about 20+ copies of Demons And Wizards, but clearly I am small-time! Boris discusses his Heep and specifically, his Salisbury collection below. And in his latest emails, Boris has since gained 2 more unique vinyl copies of Salisbury!
How and why did you start collecting Salisbury variants?
I had this idea to frame the Live 73 inserts to put on a wall. So, I bought a few copies of the album, and I basically figured out that there are different releases. Before that I had all Heep albums, but one copy was good enough for me😉 So I started to buy some other copies of Heep albums, and got infected by the collecting virus. For several years I bought all things Heep, vinyls, various compilations, CDs, cassettes, posters, whatever. At some point I saw I don’t have too many copies of Salisbury, and since it is my favorite album, I decided to concentrate on it. The idea was not to have as many as possible copies, but as many as possible different releases, noy only vinyl, but also CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks,7-in. I would ask sellers to provide info on the albums, so I can figure out if it’s something I don’t have already.
Why (presumably) is this your favorite Heep album? and is it the only one you collect to this extreme?
Salisbury is my favorite Heep album because it was the first Heep album I bought when I was 16, and it made me a Heep fan. Something on that album hooked me on the first listen. I even started to learn English more seriously because I wanted to understand the lyrics.
It is the only one I collect to this extreme, thou I do have 20-25 copies of some other Heep albums, practically at least several copies of each album.
How many copies do you have (LP, CD, cassette, 8-track, reel to reel?)?
148 different copies on LPs (various countries, various years, various labels, etc.). 25 copies on CD, 24 cassettes, 6 8-tracks, 18 7in singles.
As far as I know Salisbury was not released on reel to reel. I think only Live 73 and Sweet Freedom were released on RtR. I have the Live 73 one, but never came across the SF.
Can you pick a favorite copy of the album from your collection (either for $ value or for personal reason) ?
I don’t really look at it from a favorite point of view. I would say the favorite copy is the first one I bought, an Israeli pressing from 1973, which made me a Heep fan.
What is the rarest copy of Salisbury you have?
I don’t know. Not sure what might be considered as a rarest one. Maybe the Vertigo mono pressing from Colombia. Probably the rarest are the ones I don’t have😉
Is there many more variants (in all formats you’re still looking for)? and is there a ‘holy grail’ copy of Salisbury that you still would like to find?
I wish I knew for sure. I suspect there are some more, like Yugoslavian or Turkish, other Heep albums were released in those countries, but I never encountered a Salisbury. Maybe more from South America.
A holy grail? I don’t look at collecting so zealously😉 Maybe the 17inch metal master, I saw it once, but wasn’t able to buy it. I guess it’s a lost cause😉
* Thanks to Boris for his replies, photos, And the Heep LPs from Israel I received a few months back, great additions to my collection.
Wonderworld was URIAH HEEP”s seventh studio album, released in 1974.. it was the band’s 4th (and last) one featuring the “classic line up” (Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Gary Thain, Lee Kerslake) as Gary Thain would be let go before the next one (and tragically passed away not too long after that). Wonderworld was also the band’s 2nd album for Warner Bros in North America, which likely meant big things were expected following Sweet Freedom. I am probably (and presumably) one of the many who thinks this album is full of classic Heep tracks but due to its sound – find it hard to take regularly..
Wonderworld was the 2nd Heep.album to be recorded outside of the UK, this time in Munich, Germany, and again for tax reasons. The band used German engineers Hans Menzel and Reinhold Mack (better known for working on a number of Queen and ELO albums). Some band members would later cite that the recording abroad caused a lot of the friction and less than stellar outcome.
Many songs were based around Hensley’s dreams, as the title “Wonderworld” referred to. The album’s cover art would feature the band posed as statues, a cover designed by Graham Hughes (cousin to The Who’s Roger Daltrey, and who had designed a number of Who album covers). I actually liked this cover, though Hensley, in particular did not. Asked about album covers, he once stated “I particularly dislike Wonderworld and Conquest, but nowhere near as much as I hate Toe Fat 1“. Some years ago when Ken was being acknowledged with a new statue of himself, I responded on social media if he would be re-enacting his Wonderworld pose, to which he responded in capital letters that NO, he would not be. Mick Box, who misread things, did not send in shoes for the shoot, so he is the only member barefoot on the cover.
More so than Sweet Freedom, Wonderworld saw Heep producing shorter tunes, ditching the lengthy epics, but still offering up quite a variation of tunes. The album opened with the title track, featuring a grand intro from Hensley, coming down to a soft piano before David Byron’s vocals come in softly. A near ballad that soars up and down between the verses to chorus and back, and an underrated classic in the band’s catalogue. Side one also contained 2 rockers, the classic “Suicidal Man” and “So Tired”. “Suicidal Man”, a favorite, would return to the live set in 1980, when longtime Heep fan John Sloman joined, and recommended it to be included. “So Tired” perhaps reflected the band’s state at the time, having such a non-stop recording-touring schedule at the time. It reappeared in the band’s live set in the early 2000s. The first side also includes the fan favorite “Shadows And The Wind”, which starts out soft and builds up, with the Heep choir adding a unique arrangement towards the end. “The Easy Road” ends side 1; this piano based ballad featured strings arranged by Mike Gibbs. It’s interesting (to me) that this type of ballad pre-Kiss’ huge hit “Beth”, which came a year later, and that it was never issued as a single! It did feature in the band’s live set at the time, and has been brought back periodically over the last few decades.
Side 2 opens with upbeat rocker And single, “Something Or Nothing” This is one of my favorite songs here, and a shame it doesn’t get more attention. The band adds some slower blues rock, with the guitar heavy “I Won’t Mind”; this one may have been better geared to the live show, featuring multiple guitar solos, but it kinda falls short in being an epic here. The album’s last 2 tracks are again something different in “We Got We”, and somewhat eerie (musically) closing track “Dreams”. The latter, again, was a chance where the band might’ve expanded this into something greater, like most closing tracks that came before, but instead it just ends with vocal lines mixed in from the track “Dreamer” (from the previous album), before grinding to a halt. All seeming a bit rushed, But not bad.
The single “Something For Nothing” was backed with the non-LP “What Can I Do”, a decent cut, that could’ve easily substituted for a few album cuts. The band’s 25th Anniversary box set Time Of Revelation, also included 2 outtakes from these sessions, the excellent acoustic track “Stones Throw”, as well as “Love, Hate, and Fear”, which sounds somewhat unfinished.
Despite a big promotional campaign and world tour, Wonderworld was seen as a disappointment to many fans, and is still a controversial album for some, due to the drop in sales, the aftermath of the album. It may not sit top 10 with many Heep fans (does it?), but it was the last Uriah Heep album to chart on the Billboard’s top 40 albums (only Return To Fantasy and Abominog would break the top 100). Wonderworld did reach the top 10 in a number of European countries, and #31 in Canada. It also made fans and influenced the likes of A-HA’s Morten Harket, and German guitarist/songwriter Axel Rudi Pell. The band were featured on US TV, filmed live at Shepperton studios (which was later transferred to being a live album release). Live At Shepperton featured a number of tracks from Wonderworld. A shame there was no 2nd single from this album, as the band went on break following the electric shock suffered by Gary Thain in Dallas on the Wonderworld tour, followed by his firing. But 1975 would become another very busy year for the band, between a line up change, new album, and solo projects.
WONDERWORLD – Uriah Heep – Warner Bros. W 2800 Always in demand as a top concert draw, Uriah Heep has proven over the past few years that it is indeed a viable’ recording act as well. With several Gold disks behind them, the fellows in Uriah Heep have reached a plateau of success that gets brighter and brighter with each new piece of work. Certainly this LP with its accent on strong bass and lead guitar riffs (not to mention Davey Byron’s vocals) will attract even more devotees to the Heep fold. Best cuts off this stunner are “The Easy Road,’ “Something Or Nothing,- and the mind boggling title track. (CashBox, 29-06-74)
URIAH HEEP-Warner Bros. WB 7836 SOMETHING OR NOTHING (prod. by Gerry Bron/ Bronze) (WB, ASCAP) From their “Wonderworld” of hard rock, the group’s strongest single effort since switching labels. Gutsy get -down still leaves room for quite a catchy melody riff. (Record World, 1974-08-03)
Uriah Heep/WONDERWORLD/Warner Bros. ( Past Uriah work has included some decent writing. Their power wasn’t excessive because of the substance. Here the power is empty as it drives too many songs with no reason to exist. Flabby.) (Walrus, 07-10-74)
This is the first 10 I’ve selected of classic album covers that feature a photo of the band on the cover. Not all album covers featuring the band on the front cover are interesting or memorable, but I think these 10 are a good start. If you have any suggestions for the next 10 (or further), let me know in the comments. (Actual photos, not drawings or separate photos put together).
Alice Cooper – Love It To Death (1971)
One of 2 early AC album covers that featured the band on the front cover, and really, what inspired me to start this list. Released in March of 1971, and featuring the band’s breakout hit “I’m 18”. This came in a black & white gatefold sleeve, with the band on the front, photographed by Roger Paul Prigent, who also shot cover photos for Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) and Barbara Streisand. A classic shot, with the band around their lead singer, in cape, with a black backdrop lit up with a spotlight. The cover shot originally saw Alice sticking his thumb out of above his cape, which some took as an obscene gesture, thus subsequent reprints air-brushed out the thumb or cropped it out.
The debut album from Southern rock’s greatest band. This album featured classics – “Free Bird”, “Tuesday’s Gone”, “Simple Man”… The cover photo taken on Main Street, in Jonesboro, Georgia, after a day of photography (other shots used for publicity). A casual shot of the band on the sidewalk, against a local business, was taken by the photography team of Emerson-Loew (Sam Emerson, Anthony Loew).
The Who –Who’s Next (1971)
My favorite Who album, and arguably their best, with “Baba O’Riley”, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “Bargain”, “Behind Blue Eyes”… This classic cover shot taken of the band, by Ethan Russell, who’s cover photo credits include The Beatles, Spooky Tooth, and Burton Cummings, among others. I’ve added a link to the story, as told by Russell below. https://www.loudersound.com/features/album-artwork-the-who-whos-next
Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)
The Beatles iconic cover, a photo of the band on the cross-walk, in front of Abbey Road Studios. Taken by Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan, who only took a half dozen of the band, in a short period of time, as it was a busy roadway. Macmillian also took cover shots for John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Kenny Rogers & The First Edition. The Abbey Road photo was also recreated by the band New York City, Soulful Road, 1974 (also by Macmillian), as well as Booker T & The MGs, McLemore Avenue (the band’s 1970 album that covers the songs on Abbey Road). The crosswalk is a popular place apparently for tourists to be photographed at as well. *I’ve added a link to an in-depth feature on the album cover, as well as a link to the outtakes.
Fin Costello photographed URIAH HEEP a number of times over the years, notably for the Live January 1973 insides, which in turn inspired the KISS Alive packaging. The Sweet Freedom cover, by the legendary Peter Corriston marked a new beginning for the band, having switched to a new record label, as well as getting away from the fantasy themes of their previous 2 albums. Costello took this cover shot at the Chateau in France, (where the album was recorded). Note Lee Kerslake’s left arm hidden behind Ken Hensley, as he had an injury, and Mick was actually holding it up,
Golden Earring – Contraband (1976)
Contraband was the Dutch rockers 12th studio album, as it preceded the classic double Live album. It was the band’s lowing charting album in their homeland since the 1969, but still making the top 10 there. Included the hit “Bombay”, as well as classics “Fightin’ Windmills” and “Mad Love’s Comin'”. The cover photo of the band’s 5 piece line-up, which included guitarist Eelco Gelling, was taken by the legendary Dutch photographer, Ronnie Hertz (RIP, 2024). Hertz had photographed the band for their 1969 album On The Double, as well as photographing the model for the classic Moontan cover. Not totally sure what’s happening here, with bandmembers all decked out in different costumes, making for an odd ‘band’ photo. Released in Canada and the US as Mad Love with a totally different cover.
New York Dolls – New York Dolls (1973)
The debut album from the NEW YORK DOLLS. These guys pre-dated the likes of KISS and TWISTED SISTER with the trashy outfits and make-up, as is here on the cover, taken by Toshi Matsuo. Must’ve been a shocker for that era. This album would feature the band’s 2 best known songs – “Looking For A Kiss” and “Personality Crisis”.
April Wine – First Glance (1978)
Canada’s APRIL WINE had already had a number of hits here before their US (Capitol) breakthrough album First Glance, which included the hit “Roller”. And while the Canadian (Aquarius) version of the LP featured artwork done by the label’s in-house artist (Bob Lemm), who had done most of the band’s previous covers, the US version featured the classic debut shot of the new 3-guitar line-up, having recently added Brian Greenway. The same cover photo would be used by Aquarius for the band’s Greatest Hits album, as well as later CD compilations.
Max Webster – High Class In Borrowed Shoes
One of Canada’s most underrated great bands of the 70s. This is MAX WEBSTER’s 2nd of a 6 album run in that decade. High Class In Borrowed Shoes would feature the hit “Diamonds Diamonds”. The cover was a design by Bob King and Hugh Syme (who also worked on a few Max Webster labelmate Rush covers), with photography by David Street. It’s the cover photo, with each bandmember dressed so oddly and different to one another, that makes a huge impression here.
PETER GOALBY, former URIAH HEEP and TRAPEZE singer, has announced his 3rd solo album of ‘new’ previously unreleased songs written and recorded after he left Heep. Don’t Think This Is Over features 9 songs, as well as a few former bandmates guesting. Just to be clear, over the last few months Peter let out a few of these songs on Youtube, but these songs have all been worked on for this release, withoverdubs and solos added, making them more than just the demos you might have heard or would think. It is safe to that if you liked Peter’s Easy With The Heartaches or I Will Come Runnin’ – you will definitely enjoy this! Artwork was done (as part of a series) by Michael Inns. Please read to the bottom, as Peter has more news to share. *Ordering link below!
“Hello everyone, great news, I am one happy bunny. I would like to tell you all about my new Album to be released December 5th 2025. Title is DONT THINK THIS IS OVER . (on Cherry Red) Songs written and recorded after I left Heep. We have spent the last few weeks overdubbing and adding some more to the tracks. We have used the same winning formula of Paul Hodson and Eddy Morton. I have also had some help from special guests. I know you will be excited when I tell you who they are lets just say old friends for now. This time no co-writes all Goalby tunes which I hope you are going to love .”
Peter has also given his insight and some recall into the tracks featured on the new album –
I’ll Be The One
I don’t remember to much about this other than I was thinking Bryan Adams. I wanted to write it in his style . ? Lots of guitars and a good guitar theme.
Don’t Think This Is Over
Yes you guessed it Foreigner. Loved it they were such a great influence on all of us British Bands…Great Band .The Singer Sounds a bit like me LOL LOL
The Sound Of A Nation
Well, where did that come from my god. Lyrics perfect for someone to record today. I often wonder where the words came from. Sometimes they just came out from nowhere I just sang them. I sent it to my dear friend Mick Box . He loved it so much he asked if he could play on it . No sooner said than done Mick thank you . If I had any money I would pay you lots great Solo!
Another Paper Moon
Did I write such a song? I always loved the Title Paper Moon it’s an old song from a movie of the same name, as is Poor Little Rich Girl . So I thought I will write Another Paper Moon LOL . I sent it to John Parr a couple of months ago, he said he filled up and got goose bumps. (Thank you my dear friend John). We wrote 3 songs together for his Man With A Vision Album back in the day. I also sent it to Mick Box. He said he never realized I had that other voice and could sing like that. Again thank you Micky Box X.
It’s Just My Heart Breakin‘
Well no prizes here . Only 2 words – Tina Turner LOL. “If you hear the Thunder as you walk away Don’t worry darling , Every Thing Is OK . Its Just My Heart Breakin’ !!!!!!” Am I mad or can you hear her singing it ??
Show Some Emotion
I love the emotion of the song . The 2 part harmony I do . I imagine this song as a Rock Duet Boy Girl . Leather Jackets all the way .
Heart What Heart
I wanted to write a song that Dusty Sprinfield would sing . I just love Dusty (waving her arms about LOL ) I think I captured the 60s vibe. Can you dance to it? Yes you can Mini Skirts everywhere . I can see her LOL.
Fallin’ Apart
I was so proud of this song. I have a Diamond Disc on my wall from 80.000 sales in Norway. The band Smokie recorded it on an album. I gained a couple more Discs when I was in Heep.
I Don’t Wanna Fight
Well , How long have you got. One of my favorite compositions it really is. I did a great demo of this at the time which got lost. This song got me a record deal with RAK records . We recorded it . Micky Most Produced it and lost the magic of the song. I have not played it for many years although I love the song, the arrangement was pretty awful. My Dear friend John Sinclair also loves the song . Recently John did a brand new arrangement for me, A complete new backing-track with a modern vibe WOW! what a difference. We put the original vocal on the new track. I got my dear friend Pete Kent (who I have known since he was 8 years old) to do the guitars and a great solo on the track. I think the song now has legs and I am convinced we will get a cover by one of today’s artists. Fingers Crossed!
I hope this has let you in to my writing world and that you will enjoy the Album.
AND there is more to come from Peter: “I have one more project to do before I close the book. Its a Rock Album which I am hoping to release next year. Recorded in 1980 this is Peter Goalby’s DESTINY…FINGERS IN THE FIRE”.
More to come on Destiny, as well as Peter recalls his short time in RAINBOW!
HNE (Cherry Red) is releasing a 5 CD box compiling URIAH HEEP’s studio and live recordings starting with the classic Live…January 1973 through to the live recordings from the Wonderworld tour. Not sure if there’s anything here that hasn’t been released before, but it seems likes an interesting collection. A busy period for Heep, featuring what most hail as the ‘classic line up’. Coming out November 28. *Track-listing below. Pre-order link at the end.
Following hot on the heels of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, British hard rock legends Uriah Heep released their debut album in June 1970. Featuring David Byron on lead vocals, Mick Box on lead guitar and Ken Hensley on keyboards, ‘Very ‘Eavy Very ‘Umble’ is quite rightly regarded as a major influence on the development of hard rock and heavy metal. 1970 was the centenary of Charles Dickens’ death, and having originally been called Spice, they switched to the more Dickensian Uriah Heep when Hensley joined their ranks after spells in The Gods and Toe Fat before recording their debut.
Like their hard rocking contemporaries of the 1970s, it was live on stage where Uriah Heep truly shone, and no self-respecting rock or metal band of the era could be without a classic double live album, and ‘Uriah Heep Live’ (CD1) is no exception. Recorded at Birmingham Town Hall in January 1973, and released three months later, it delivered their third gold record in a row in the States, it remains a testament to the classic line-up of Box/Hensley/Byron/Kerslake/Thain.
Back in the days when bands were expected to be prolific enough to release two new albums a year, Uriah Heep released their sixth studio album ‘Sweet Freedom’ (CD3) in 1973, by which time they had been joined by drummer Lee Kerslake (Ozzy Osbourne) and bassist Gary Thain, which many see as the most enduring line-up of the band. The album saw Ken Hensley develop as a songwriter, with the music a blend of proto heavy metal and progressive rock, consolidating their growing popularity at home as well as the all important US market. ‘Sweet Freedom’ was followed by ‘Wonderworld’ (CD4) in June 1974, with the hard rock attack of Mick Box’s guitar, alloyed to Ken Hensley’s keyboards and David Byron’s operatic vocal approach making the band a formative influence on bands such as Queen. With a significant dent in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, ‘Wonderworld’ featured the single ‘Something Or Nothing’, but was the last studio album to feature bass guitarist Gary Thain.
It was the classic Box/Hensley/Byron/Kerslake/Thain line-up that would record ‘Live at Shepperton ’74′ (CD5) the same year. Issued in bootleg style artwork, the album wasn’t given an official release until 1986, and captures the band in a more intimate setting in front of a much smaller, invited audience. CD2 was originally released as part of a deluxe version of ‘Live 1973’ and features the band in 1974 with a US Radio show session, and with film mixes from the Shepperton show and on an extended ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Medley’.
Uriah Heep continued to tour and release new albums until the present day. In 2025 they launched their farewell tour, celebrating 55 years of music. The package includes liner notes based on new interviews with founder member, Mick Box.
DISC ONE
URIAH HEEP LIVE 1973
1 Sunrise
2 Sweet Lorraine
3 Traveller In Time
4 Easy Livin’
5 July Morning
6 Tears In My Eyes
7 Gypsy
8 Circle Of Hands
9 Look At Yourself
10 Magician’s Birthday
11 Love Machine Rock ‘N’ Roll Medley
12 Roll Over Beethoven
13 Blue Suede Shoes
14 Mean Woman Blues
15 Hound Dog
16 At The Hop
17 Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On
18 Blue Suede Shoes
DISC TWO
U.S. RADIO SHOW 1974
1 Something Or Nothing
2 I Won’t Mind
3 Look At Yourself
4 Gypsy
FILM MIXES USED FOR RADIO
5 Easy Livin’
6 So Tired
7 I Won’t Mind
8 Something Or Nothing
9 The Easy Road
10 Stealin’
11 Love Machine
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MEDLEY ’74
12 Roll Over Beethoven
13 Blue Suede Shoes
14 Mean Woman Blues
15 Hound Dog
16 At The Hop
17 Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On
18 Blue Suede Shoes
DISC THREE
SWEET FREEDOM (1973)
1 Dreamer
2 Stealin’
3 One Day
4 Sweet Freedom
5 If I Had the Time
6 Seven Stars
7 Circus
8 Pilgrim
Bonus Tracks
9 Sunshine
10 Seven Stars (Extended Version)
11 Pilgrim – Extended Version (Previously Unreleased)
12 If I Had the Time (Demo)
13 Sweet Freedom (Alternative Live Version) 14 Stealin’ (Alternative Live Version)
DISC FOUR
WONDERWORLD (1974)
1 Wonderworld
2 Suicidal Man
3 The Shadows and The Wind
4 So Tired
5 The Easy Road
6 Something Or Nothing
7 I Won’t Mind
8 We Got We
9 Dreams
Bonus Tracks
10 What Can I Do
11 Love, Hate and Fear (Previously Unreleased Version)
This pop/rock gem was originally penned by songwriters Phil Wainman and Richard Myhill, and first recorded by British glam band HELLO. The song was soon picked up and recorded by a number of other varied acts, particularly in just a few year span. A single for many, though I don’t see that it was a huge hit for anyone after Hello.
“Hello was the first, they were rehearsing it within days of us writing it.”, recalls Wainman. “Richard Myhill and I wrote together over a couple of years, he was great fun to work with.”
Asked about his biggest hit as a writer, Wainman replies – “Probably “Give A Little Love”, Bay City Rollers, number one in the UK. I would not call myself a prolific writer there are so many real writers… I’m more of a producer that writes and can fix other people’s songs, that’s what I enjoyed most.”
Phil had produced a lot of early Sweet recordings, but by the time “Love Stealer” came about, Sweet had largely moved on to recording their own material. – “I never thought of offering it to Sweet as they started to write their own songs.” Richard Myhill had a career as a singer as well, releasing a few solo albums, as well as work on various soundtracks.
Richard Myhill (demo)
I found this on Youtube, according to Phil Wainman – “That sounds like the demo Richard Myhill sung, not me! That’s an EMI label, it was never released like that.”
Hello – 1976
Back in the days of of British Glan scene, HELLO released a few albums, and a number of singles, including their version of Russ Ballard’s “New York Groove”.
Cliff Richard – 1983
the last track on Cliff Richard’s Silver album. Not bad at all! Kinda loud and heavy (musically), and very 80s.
Ian Lloyd – 1979
From Ian Lloyd’s (Stories) 1979 solo LP Goose Bumps A very likeable poppy version. Goose Bumps featured songs by a number of writers (Rod Argent, Russ Ballard, Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance, Ric Ocasek…), as well as an impressive list of players and guests. Also, this version was a single.
Brownsville Station – 1978
Perhaps my favorite version of this song, American band Brownsville Station recorded it for their 1978 album Air Special, their last. The band had recorded another Wainman song on their previous album (self-titled, red album) – “Lady (Put The Light On Me)”. Both Brownsville covers were issued as singles.
Ray Burgess Band – 1978
Australian musician Ray Burgess, from the lone Ray Burgess Band album, Final Mix. A lighter, but very good version of this song..
Uriah Heep – 1980
Somewhat of a controversial choice for Heep (being as it was recorded not long after their Conquest album). Although it’s not a bad version, it was an odd move at the time. Singer John Sloman was not happy about recording it, and it would be the last recording to feature keyboardist Ken Hensley, who left soon after.
Richard T Bear – 1979
American singer (pianist, writer, producer) who released a few albums in the late 70s and 80s. This is from his 2nd album Bear, which included a number of name players such as Bob Kulick, Ian Thomas, Mark Clarke. Co-produced by Jack Richardson. A bit of rock, pop, funk, blues….
The Scooters – 1981
From The Scooters 2nd LP Blue Eyes, produced by Phil Wainman. This was also released as a single. The Scooters, a power-pop band, based in England included American Larry Lee, who went on to play and produce several acts, notably the late Joey Molland (Badfinger, the 80s) Mr Big (produce), and Roger Daltrey.
BoysVoice – 1990
German hard-rock/metal band that released 3 albums. This is from their self-titled debut album; also released as a single.
Outsider Rock 