During a recent interview with "The Five Count" radio show, URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box was asked why his band has not yet been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He responded: "I've never even thought about it, because all I hear about how they choose bands and people to be in it, I'm not quite sure it's good or bad; I can't make up my mind about it. But, saying that, just recently, a campaign has been started for us to be in the Hall Of Fame. Whether it disappears into the ether, I have no idea. If it comes to fruition, it'll be great — it'll be a nice moment to savor. But, you know, life goes on regardless. And if it comes, great; if it doesn't, then that's great too." He continued: "Wouldn't it be nice to have [the trophy]? But if it don't come, then life will continue. And as it is, it's a pretty good life already. I mean, the thing they do overlook is that we were pioneers for a lot of bands throughout our career. For instance, we were the first band to play in Moscow when Glasnost sent us an official invitation to be the first Western rock band to play over in Russia. We went to Moscow and played to 180,000 people in the Olympic stadium over a 10-day period. It was just immense. And through our success, other bands could follow in the following years. And similarly in Czechoslovakia, before it became the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we were the first to play there, and then bands followed us there, and then Bulgaria and South Korea, Hungary… All these Eastern Bloc countries — even East Berlin before the wall came down. And it allowed other bands to follow in our wake, which opened up the world a lot more, certainly to good music." URIAH HEEP's 25th studio album, "Living The Dream", was released in September via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc was helmed by the widely respected Canadian producer Jay Ruston, known for his work with STONE SOUR, ANTHRAX and STEEL PANTHER. Box is the original guitarist and sole remaining founding member of URIAH HEEP. He, vocalist Bernie Shaw and keyboardist/vocalist Phil Lanzon have formed the nucleus of the band for more than 32 years and released 17 albums together. URIAH HEEP debuted in 1970 with the release of one of hard rock's milestones, "Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble", and has since sold in excess of 40 million albums worldwide. They constantly tour the world, playing up to 125 shows a year to more than 500,000 fans. The band's live set features the classic tracks from the '70s and is a musical journey from the band's beginnings to the present day. Along with LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH and DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP helped invent a decorative and uniquely British form of heavy metal with "Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble", offered as a self-titled on American shores, but whatever the titling, historically massive in the invention of a music format that would rule the '70s and only intensify in the '80s.
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