Mick Box
Uriah Heep 1969 - Present

Ken Hensley
Uriah Heep 1969 - 1980

I worked with and admired a lot of singers over the years but David was much more
than that.  He was an artist in every since of the word and one I would compare with Freddie Mercury or (early) Rod Stewart for originality as well as for his contributions
to musical performance as a art form.  In the 70s we took a lot of risks.  Some of them
paid off and some didn't but there is no doubt that, by taking these risks, we made it
a lot easier for bands and artists that came along later.

What is less well-known is the amount of sacrifice we all had to make then so we could devote ourselves to our beliefs and commit ourselves to the goals we set for our music.  Relationships suffered as we did things that defied common sense, like touring for 300 days a year or recording for 72 hours non-stop.  Up until the time that alcohol got the
better of David I think Uriah Heep was unstoppable.  After that, at least for me, it had already stopped.  I didn't know David well personally but I loved writing for him and
working with him and  I will never forget him.  Gods knows, I remember every time I 
try to sing those songs that he made his own!

No one person was Uriah Heep, at its best it was a complete band until, at its worst, it
fell apart but not before it had left you and me with some incredible memories and not before Heep had carved its own niche in rock music history.

God bless

Ken Hensley

Daniel Boone (Pete Green) recommended me as a guitar player/producer to David when they were recording together in Worcester.  David rang me to arrange a meeting.  The first time I saw him he was flat on his back outside the local pub!  Pete Thompson (now drumming with Robin Trower) and I dragged David into the pub and propped him up in a chair.  When he woke up, the first thing he said (to my mate who drove me) was ‘What the f**k are you looking at?’

David had a reputation as a belligerent drunk, but that was the only occasion I witnessed that side of him in all the years we worked together…we never fell out or argued throughout writing, recording, rehearsing and touring, which is of course very intense, but we became great friends and had an excellent working partnership.

I lived with David and Gaby in his stunning mansion in Sonning for about a year as we were writing constantly. We also auditioned musos for what was to become ‘The Byron Band.’ David wanted to call it ‘Famous Final Fling’ which is ironic, but the management didn’t like it, so The Byron Band it was.

David knew Mel Collins and we were both delighted when he joined the band.  Mel and I recently finished an album with our new group ‘The LovePower Band’ and he came over to Spain for some gigs in August. We were reminiscing about touring with David and were both amazed at the gaps in our memories…it was a pretty wild time…the 80’s riots were raging outside most of the gigs, but David’s fans braved them to see their hero in action. He was still singing and performing excellently as some of the live tracks I re-discovered prove.

Mel also recently played on a really emotive track David and I wrote called ‘Tired Eyes’ on my LovePower and Peace sharing album (100% for charities!). David sang it so touchingly, and Mel is superb as usual. It’s great to hear the track again in a new guise after all this time.

David and I drifted apart as my solo career progressed and I was touring a lot. I heard he had died just before I went on stage in Paris. It was a hard gig to get through, but I found thinking of the great times we had together helped. It still does!

I’ve done two interviews about my times with David which have many interesting memories, and I hope I help put the record straight. (My site and youtube)

Yes, David had a major drink problem but he was not the ‘washed up drunk’ I’ve heard about!   He was professional and gave his best at all times when we worked together…Believe me, I was there!

LovePower and Peace be with you David.

Robin George
December 22, 2011

Love him or hate him he was one of the best front men I have seen and I count myself very lucky to have been around when Heep were at their most powerful and, in my opinion, their most creative.   A lot of this creativity came from the fact that David had such a range and he could deliver pretty much anything the band through at him with ease.  On a good day he was as good as anyone out there.

I was very lucky to count him as a friend and have some really happy memories of him up on stage and off stage.  I can so clearly remember some of the early London gigs, going into the hall or the club where Heep were playing and seeing a “crowd” of maybe 80 people standing there open mouthed wondering what on earth was hitting them.

Not just the noise but the power of David’s vocals and the way the band just rocked!  The small venues didn’t last for long and they were quickly playing in larger venues and quickly gathered a huge fan base which David loved playing to.  My one enduring memory is that it didn’t seem to matter how big the venue was or how many people were in the audience David was the same, up front strutting his stuff handling everything from Gypsy through to the Wizard and July Morning with apparent ease.  

I met David often and whilst we didn’t become close friends he was always happy to chat after the gig and had a great sense of humor.

Sadly, as we know, David kind of lost his way and became a troubled soul and despite attempts by members of the band to help him it was too late and he passed away far too early.  We are all lucky in so much as when we listen to Heep with Byron we will witness a unit that has never been equaled and he will touch us all in his own way.

I count myself as lucky to have known him.

Trevor Hensley
December 2011

I never actually met David....except for a nod of recognition backstage at the
Hammersmith gig way back in the late 70s (you know me, my memory was never
my strong point) too much Jack Daniels & "fags".  :-))))

I do wish I had had the chance to sit down and talk to him, something I will always
regret.  He was and remains to this day one of the greats of Rock.

John Lawton

David had an amazing voice and we always had lots of fun in the studio.

As to memories of David in the studio, I don't really have any except that he was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot but mostly we just got on and did the work as there was often a full orchestra in the studio too and time being money, there was no time to just hang out.  We were always rushing against a deadline before the string players doubled their price at overtime.

Dana Gillespie
November 2011

David was very easy to work with and took direction well.  He was blessed with a very individual style and approach and usually took no more than one take to achieve the result I wanted.   

Unfortunately I had no further contact with David as he decided to embark on a solo career.  It was the right decision and of course he left the world of session work behind him.  His death was a very sad loss.

John Schroeder
February 2000