Back when I was … seventeen, I guess, or maybe just eighteen, I was doing the rounds of universities to decide where I wanted to apply. (Back in those ancient times, kids did this on their own, although it now seems that kids go around with their parents, which is a shame, although I’m definitely not letting my kids do it on their own… Oh, hypocrisy.)

ANYWAY… I have this quite clear memory of being shown around Sheffield University by a postgrad student. He was wearing a Uriah Heep T-shirt (possibly the showing the cover to Demons and Wizards, although that part of my memory has probably been corrupted by too much proximity to magnets).

At one point in the tour, he stopped and pointed to his T-shirt and said, in a slightly regretful tone, “I don’t suppose any of you know who this is.” This would have been at the end of the ’80s, by which point Uriah Heep didn’t really have any profile. They had been reduced to the dubious honour of being a ‘cult band’. They were never exactly pop stars, and many would argue their best days were well behind them.

But I remember thinking, “Yes. Yes, I do know who they are.”

ANYWAY… This is just a roundabout way of saying that I’ve been a fan of Uriah Heep for over 30 years, but I don’t think I’ve ever said anything about them.

For a while I did this “Music Monday” feature on my blog, but I am as organised as a tornado and never remember to actually do it on a Monday. So, I figured, so what if it’s Wednesday? The football doesn’t start until 7pm, so I shall do it now.

Uriah Heep were an English rock band who had a good deal of success in the 1970s. Like a lot of the big rock bands of the ’70s (Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc.) they didn’t survive in the same way in the ’80s and beyond, but while they were at their peak, they produced some amazing songs.

Uriah Heep are still around and playing, although only one member of their original line-up remains.

Here are two of my favourite songs by them. First up, The Wizard, from 1972:

And, from 1971, Lady in Black:

I think these are great songs, and I am slightly sad that they are never remembered these days.