Two new rock biographical books are being released, about rock legends Uriah Heep and Yes. “Uriah Heep In The 1970s” (Sonicbond Publishing) from Steve Pilkington on March 25, 2021, and “Yes: A Visual Biography” (Wymer Publishing) from renowned music author Martin Popoff on July 9, 2021. Let’s see the details!
“Uriah Heep In The 1970s”
Incredibly, Uriah Heep has now been active for a full 50 years. However, few would argue that the period which has come to define them the most, and during which they were at their most influential, was from 1970 to 1980. During this decade, they released an incredible 13 studio albums and a legendary double live album, as well as having a regular turnaround of musicians in all but the guitar and keyboard roles. This remarkable decade began with the first three albums, as the band sought to find a stable lineup, followed by the classic run begun by the “Demons And Wizards” album featuring the definitive Box/Hensley/Byron/Kerslake/Thain lineup.
When charismatic frontman David Byron departed, there was a period of some uncertainty, but still some remarkable music was made. This book, which features a foreword from founding member Paul Newton, is a year‐by‐year journey through that decade, looking at the albums, the often‐gruelling touring schedules and the ups and downs of the relationships within the band. Never quite attaining the sales and success of some of their rivals at the time, Uriah Heep nevertheless released some of the most extraordinary music of the 1970s — and this book takes you through it all.
Pilkington is a music journalist, editor and broadcaster. He was editor-in-chief for the classic rock society magazine Rock Society and is now co-administrator of the rock web site Velvet Thunder as well as presenting a weekly internet radio show called “A Saucerful Of Prog”. Before taking on this work full‐time, he spent years writing for fanzines and an Internet music review site on a part‐time basis. He has recently published books on Deep Purple and Rainbow, The Rolling Stones and Iron Maiden, all for Sonicbond, and has also written the official biography of legendary guitarist Gordon Giltrap. He lives in Wigan, Lancashire, U.K.
“Yes: A Visual Biography”
“Yes: A Visual Biography” documents the progressive rock pioneers’ first 12 years, from the release of their eponymous debut album through to 1980’s “Drama”. “Drama” is a suitable name for a band whose career has been full of drama as documented in Martin Popoff’s narrative that charts Yes’s ups and downs as the band glided out of the sixties with a full‑on assault on the seventies music scene that saw them become one of the biggest acts — selling out venues around the world from New York’s Madison Square Garden to London’s Wembley Arena.
Popoff takes you on a journey from the early days of the band with original members Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Peter Banks and Tony Kaye; to the hugely successful seventies when the likes of Steve Howe, Patrick Moraz, Rick Wakeman and Alan White all added their individual stamps on the band’s identity. Then the surprise union with The Buggles that saw Yes enter the eighties a world apart from the way they had entered the seventies but continuing to delight their legion of fans.
Throughout the book, Popoff draws on his own interviews conducted with various band members throughout the last two decades, leaving much of the story to be told in their own words, along with a smattering of album reviews by the author and others.
“Yes: A Visual Biography” will augment any Yes fan’s collection and those who pre‑order by the end of April can also have their names printed on a dedicated fan page.
