Brit Rock by the Bay: URIAH HEEP: FEBRUARY 1974 (BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS)

February 8, 2010

URIAH HEEP: FEBRUARY 1974 (BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS)

David Byron

Uriah Heep
Winterland, San Francisco, California
February 10, 1974

Photos by Dan Cuny

Ken Hensley

Editor's Note: With this post, we are pleased to welcome Dan Cuny as a regular contributor to Brit Rock by the Bay. In the coming months, we will be featuring Dan's photographs of performances by British musicians, while continuing to feature the photographs of David Miller. A brief account of the youthful friendship that the four of us shared in the 1970s can be seen here.

Dan: I guess some of the best memories I have of seeing Uriah Heep are of the excitement and pizazz that David Byron had when he came on stage. The bright pink pants, wild hair, and infectious stare were pretty entertaining to watch. I owned many of their albums, and I liked the energy that the band presented. I thought Uriah Heep was raw and edgy, which is what I liked about their music.

Mick Box

Mick Box and his flowing mane were a great deal of fun to watch. His fingers flew up and down the neck of his guitar, playing strong riffs that complimented Ken Hensley's keyboards. Ken Hensley was always my favorite band member. Not only for his strong songwriting skills, but watching him was like watching a wizard behind the keyboards. His long hair and wild hand gestures conveyed to me that he was brewing up a potion behinds the keys. Gary Thain was very glam and a great showman in his white hat, providing an excellent bass beat that went perfectly with Lee Kerslake's hard beat on the drums. I'll always hold a fond memory of this show.

Gary Thain, David Byron, Ken Hensley

More photos and memories of this performance can be seen here

More about Uriah Heep at David's Rock Scrapbook

Next: Wishbone Ash

4 comments:

AnonymousNovember 15, 2010 at 5:37 PM
Wolfgang's Vault not only has the Fillmore and Winterland shows on audio tape, but also video. Bill Graham recorded every show at his venues in both forms. It would be total Heepdom if someone who really cared and had the means could convince Wolfgang's Vault to grant a legitimate release; such as a boxset of live Heep cds/dvds. You know how many people would dig that? My favorite Heep lp is Sweet Freedom. MY EARS WOULD EAT SUCH A AUDIO TREAT FOR A WEEK STRAIGHT!

Peace,

Dustin Mahrt
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousNovember 24, 2011 at 1:22 AM
Half of rock fans in Russia will wait for such compilations (cds/dvds). There is still time...
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousJanuary 5, 2012 at 12:56 PM
super
ReplyDelete
Replies
Dale FredericksFebruary 9, 2012 at 10:39 PM
I saw this same show and tour down in San Diego the night before.It was the first time I saw Heep live and is something I will remember for my whole life. If you want to read about my experience, check out the liner notes in The King Biscuit release of the San Diego show. I sure do miss David Byron. He was a truly awesome entertainer and frontman.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

BRIT ROCK BY THE BAY

The Man Who Invented the Business of Rock 'n' Roll

Bill Graham (1931-1991) was a prime figure in the musical history of the Bay Area. In the words of Pete Townshend, "Bill changed the way rock evolved." Starting locally in the 1960s, with small venues in San Francisco, he soon established himself as the leading promoter in rock 'n' roll. He was known to be hardheaded in his dealings, but he also raised the general standards of the business, and, above all, he always worked to further the interests of musicians. He actively nurtured the full potential of the music, taking great pride in providing an experience of high quality to performers and audiences.

From the early 1970s onward, Bill Graham continued to promote frequent shows throughout the Bay Area. After he closed the famous Fillmore West in July, 1971, Winterland became his main venue, with top bands appearing every weekend. (Bill Graham later described Winterland as "the first place where I was able to do things a little larger.") He also promoted shows at Berkeley Community Theatre. Major performers (George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Cat Stevens, etc.) who required a bigger venue usually appeared at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Cow Palace, or San Francisco Civic Auditorium.

The Heyday of the 1970s

A second wave of British musicians, following closely on the heels of the first British Invasion that began in 1964 with the arrival of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Animals, The Kinks, The Searchers, Freddie and The Dreamers, Manfred Mann, Herman's Hermits and many others, regularly passed through the Bay Area in the 1970s. For dedicated fans of British rock 'n' roll, it was an exciting time of golden abundance, when leading performers from the United Kingdom, from Humble Pie to Mott the Hoople to Traffic to Fairport Convention to Yes, all appeared on local stages.

During that singular period of broad musicality, when British musicians were keenly pursuing varied forms of tuneful expression, frequent offerings of hard rock, glam rock, prog rock, and folk rock came out of the United Kingdom and were esteemed, embraced, and enjoyed by open-minded audiences at venues in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. It all happened within the wider context of a youthful community that eagerly drew musical sustenance from a hip network of record stores and radio stations.

In those bygone days before music became little more than a shallow commodity, when Ticketmaster and Live Nation had not yet gained the upper hand in the promotion of rock 'n' roll, and unbridled greed had not yet become the only rule of the game, a ticket for a musical performance in the Bay Area could be purchased for less than five dollars. Aside from programs and posters, there was little merchandise for sale at shows. The music itself, in all its honest glory, was still at the forefront.

Pages

February 8, 2010

URIAH HEEP: FEBRUARY 1974 (BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS)

4 comments: