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Actually it's the other way around. From rocker to businessman and back to rocker. Ken Hensley has been through it all. He has had three number one hits worldwide with Uriah Heep, lived next to George Harrison and Sting, became an export director at a big American distributive trade, inspected the first trial meals from Linda McCartney, discovered cocaine, watched his colleagues die from the same stuff, discovered God in 1992 and has now, at the age of 55, decided to start a second career in rock. NICKY MOEKEN travelled to Zoetermeer and saw The Hensley/Lawton Band at the venue De Boerderij.
It all started at the Heep Convention in London. Fans flew in from Japan and Brazil to experience this event. Uriah Heep had been around for thirty years. Thirty stirring years in which singer David Byron and bass player Gary Thain died and in which guitarist Mick Box as well as drummer Lee Kerslake conquered their addictions. And Ken Hensley…the composer of the biggest successes of Uriah heep. Ken survived it all, but with the necessary trouble. After he left the band in 1982 he had many mountains to climb to get back to a normal pace of life.
Uriah Heep was one of the founders of heavy rock in the seventies. Together with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin they formed the base of this musical culture. The heavy toll that came along with this new, successful way of life, was something the band had to sustain. Many games, many women, much money. A completely different world was on the rise but not yet discovered or explored. To avoid the immense pressure, cocaine was a pleasant escape. It became fatal for Gary Thain and later david Byron. Ken actually still doesn't know why he is still alive.
In spite of it all, Mick Box and Lee Kerslake kept Uriah Heep alive over all these years. They still play in packed venues in Japan and Russia and return to the Benelux once every two to three years.
They were the ones who, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Uriah Heep together with some 500 fans from all over the world, were invited as a band for the convention. In the end they turned out to have commitments in Scandinavia. The organisation was at their wits' end. What should be done? Former singer John Lawton - he replaced David Byron in 1977 - had helped the organisation for some time and now he was asked to come up with something spectacular.
So he phoned Ken Hensley in the USA. The previous ten years had been favourable for Ken and by then he had climbed the career ladder and had become export manager of the firm St. Louis Music. Can you leave that at the spot? Well, for a nice weekend in London, why not? Together with the band members of John Lawton's new band, Gunhill, and former bass player from Uriah Heep, Paul Newton, a small set of songs was put together for the fans.
"I had never thought that this would turn out into such a big party. You must understand that I had not played with John for twenty years. The fans went nuts. This was 'some weekend'".
Through all those years everybody had been able to enjoy a gig by Mick Box and his mates, but the great strength of John Lawton's powerful singing as well as the guitar playing and keyboard playing by Ken turned out to be a deprivation. In this weekend of the convention it was brought back to life. Every effort was made by playing all the classics. Lawton and Hensley then already knew that it wasn't possible to leave it at that. It must have been a tough step to leave the Armani suits in the closet and get back into the old jeans on stage. So, what about his position at St. Louis Music?
"Well, at the moment I can combine both things perfectly. As an export manager I was in the process of moving back to England. From here I can attend to customers from Ampeg, Crate and Alvarez in Europe well. We have a storage in Maastricht, from which we supply all of Europe. In the mean time I enjoy myself with this new band. For now we will keep all well-known Heep songs in our set. Slowly they will be replaced by new ones. However, I presume that July Morning, Lady in Black, free Me and Gypsy will never disappear from the set."
Uriah Heep was the band which for years, toured for most days of the year. They had their biggest successes in Europe and Japan and especially in Germany and in Russia they achieved the superstar position. In the Benelux they had only two hits and they never reached the charts in England nor in America.
"Neither did Black Sabbath, Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin. Hard rock didn't get accepted or appreciated until much later. Lady in Black from the (second) Salisbury album reached the first position in the German charts quite fast. We had performances in the famous television show Rock Palast and in no time we were headlining at different major festivals. A large part of Europe didn't get to know us when Easy Livin' was released. Especially Russia was a big surprise to us then. In most European countries it was a hit but it was a cultural breakthrough over there."
After Gary Thain had left the band and died six months later, Ken knew that the band would never be the same. When David Byron left a year later, he knew that was a fact. The bookings kept coming though and in some ways the band had definitely improved. First John Wetton came on bass guitar, after him Trevor Boulder. Also John Lawton turned out to be a better singer than David. But it wasn't the same anymore. The final hit for Uriah Heep came with Free Me in 1979. Actually unexpected.
"We had been reduced to an album band. We sometimes played for three hours as we had to combine so many old and new songs. In the end it became such a drag that I had to quit. A trip to the USA seemed to be a good idea to get everything in perspective. That was a bummer though."
Still after a recital of successes you notice that they have all been added to the repertoire of The Hensley Lawton Band. Doesn't this stir up bad blood with the 'real' Uriah Heep?
"A few months ago I spoke to Mick (Box) but he had no problem with it whatsoever. Nor have Lee and Trevor, the two veterans. The new manager of the band, he is being difficult about it. He has approached all promoters of our tour and has notified them that no link should be made to Uriah Heep. Nobody cares though. It is a fact that John and I were part of Uriah Heep. Besides, all the songs we play have been written by me. And it is no coincidence that Uriah Heep play them. I have written all the big hits. You will understand that I wouldn't be happy if Uriah heep would quit now. Every month I get a decent amount of pocket money due to the musical rights. On top of that we do this tour to promote the live album that was recorded during the thirtieth anniversary event. This promotion leaves nothing to the coincidence. The live CD is clearly called The Hensley Lawton Band.
Of course you can hear some mistakes. We kept them that way. It is live after all. We have mixed out some small things. At one point you can hear Rueben breaking a string and also the recording equipment made some noise. But in the end you get a perfect image of what we do now."
The Hensley Lawton band hasn't been a serious option until they hit Holland and Germany. The band has found the right formula to play live. It sounds like they have been together for years. Just like at the Heep convention, the remaining members of John Lawton's band Gunhill are now in The Hensley Lawton Band.
"Now you have seen it, you know how tight we sound. It won't surprise you that we almost all play on gear from St Louis Music, so at the same time I make some good promotion for my company. Killing two birds with one stone, that is. Apart from the fact that John sings all songs, he plays a electric-acoustic Alvarez, a type Paul McCartney plays. His amplifier is an acoustic Crate 100 Watt. Guitarist Rueben Kane loves his new Stratocaster. Even to such an extent that he only picks up his Paul reed Smith in emergencies. Rueben has his own set-up for the rest of it. Both his amplifiers and his effect-processor are by Marshall. He uses a JMP pre-amplifier with a stereo endtrap. The signal then first goes to the Marshall multi-effector and then to the two speakers.
Both are filled with 4 x 12 inch Celestions. He switches his sounds by a self-developed foot pedal, to which only a tuning device is connected. Simple but very effective. Steve Dunning plays a Yamaha TBR bass guitar, which is plugged in, with no fuss, into a 300 Watt Ampeg. You won't hear a bass guitar much tighter.
Except for the fact that I play a lot on the Hammond B3, I play a couple of slide solos on a Gibson Les Paul from the eighties. The signal goes to a Crate stack with one speaker, filled with 4 x 10 inch Celestions. For acoustic songs, like Lady in Black, I play two chords on an Alvarez Pro 90PF. Fun eh, to write a hit with only two chords. Drummer Justin Shefford completes the band."
I still remember it took me ages to find out which guitar Paul McCartney played at The Prince's Trust. Then you finally find out it was an Alvarez. Not the most logical choice for an acoustic guitar. How did you get in touch with him?
"At the time I lived in Henley, near London. My neighbour was George Harrison. Together with the Monty Python team he was setting up a film company. We talked to each other about film rights and that's how the first connection was made. At St Louis Music I was appointed to promote the company to artists. So, this was a chance. George got some guitars from me and he ran into McCartney. He invited me to come to the small island in Scotland where he lived. Together with Linda (McCartney) they were in the process of setting up her company in vegetarian meals. Apart from the fact that I tried to sell some guitars I was used as a guinea-pig for her meals. To my surprise they weren't half bad. I am not a vegetarian but this was a nice variation. For Paul we adapted the guitar in some ways but don't ask me now which ones they were. Later he ordered a twelve-string version."
Finally you are hitting the road with Steve Dunning but what happened to Paul Newton?
"One of the reasons why Paul left at the start of the seventies was health reasons. He never intended to join us. The reunion of the Heep members was nice for him but that is all. He has a good job and enjoys that."
Ken is happy. It is clear where his heart is. If he is to decide, the Armani suit, the heavily permed hair and the $1000 leather shoes will stay in the closet. Behind his Hammond B3 he gets fully to life. When he picks up his Gibson to play a slide solo, he can't be distracted. He is a musician. He wants to play.
" Together we have agreed that when the band keeps evolving and when the CD does well, we will eventually fully focus on the band. I don't know if that will result in giving up my job in the export business. Time will tell."
September this year The Hensley Lawton Band will release their first album. Presently the contracts for distribution are being drawn up. There have been a couple of try-outs for selected audiences during this short tour. At Zoetermeer over 400 people came to see the how and in Stadskanaal over 1,000 people. They could sing along every note from the past and recognised Ken's composing talents in the new songs. There is a good chance that this select crowd saw a new supergroup in concert for the first time.
(translation Monique Spruit)