Uriah Heep (ur-AYAH heep) noun - A hypocritically humble person.

Uriah Heep is a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield.

The character is notable for his cloying humility, obsequiousness, and general insincerity. The characteristics of grasping manipulation and insincerity can lead to calling a person "a Uriah Heep"

The British rock band, Uriah Heep is named after this character.

Original band members (1969) were: David Byron - vocals, Mick Box - guitar, Ken Hensley - keyboards, Paul Newton - bass guitar and Alex Napier - drums.

Although most critics have seldom had anything positive to say about Uriah Heep, the band has sold millions of records and have charted five albums in the U.S. Top 40. This was a band that rock critics loved to hate like no other since the universally despised Grand Funk Railroad.

A technically brilliant heavy rock band who were not very successful on the commercial radio market, they may be most noted for staying in existence, despite over 40 personnel changes and two deaths along the way.

David Byron's personal demons cost him his career, his family and eventually his life. He died of alcohol related complications in 1985, at the age of 38. Gary Thain was kicked out of the band in February 1975 after becoming too unreliable, due to a drug habit. He died of a heroin overdose on 8 December 1975, aged 27.

In spite of their huge popularity in Britain and continental Europe, Uriah Heep were never able to break into the American market in a big way, with the exception of three hit songs:

• "Easy Livin'" from the 1972 album Demons and Wizards
• "Sweet Lorraine" from the 1972 album The Magician's Birthday (a top ten album in Australia); and
• "Stealin' " from the 1973 release Sweet Freedom.

The band released several commercially successful albums in the 1970s, including the seminal Uriah Heep Live (1973), but their audience declined during the 1980s, to the point where they became essentially a cult band in the US and UK. Uriah Heep maintain a significant following in Germany, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Balkan Peninsula, Japan and Russia, where they still perform at stadium-sized venues.

Internal arguments were tearing Uriah Heep apart by early 1976, and the band nearly folded completely.

Bronze Records collapsed in 1984 and the band signed with Portrait Records in the USA. Their earlier extensive touring allowed them to continue appearing at reasonably sized venues, especially across America, and in 1987 they had the distinction of becoming the first western heavy metal act to perform in Moscow.

Into the new millennium, the band continued to tour, mostly in Europe, where they still have a large fan base.

In January, 2007, Uriah Heep announced that they had signed a new, exclusive worldwide recording deal with Sanctuary Records and were going into pre production rehearsals in February.

Wake The Sleeper will be the 21st Uriah Heep studio album. Originally the album was due to release in September 2007, but the releasing company, Sanctuary Records, was bought by Universal Records and the release was postponed for the beginning of 2008. It will be the first Uriah Heep album within 10 years.

These days, Box alone remain from the original glory days and actually enjoy a devoted cult sort of following fronting a new version of Uriah Heep.

Present band members are Bernie Shaw - vocals, Mick Box - guitar, Phil Lanzon - keyboards, Trevor Bolder - bass guitar and Russell Gilbrook - drums.

Studio albums

Very 'eavy... Very 'umble (1970) - titled Uriah Heep in the U.S.A.
Salisbury (1971)
Look at Yourself (1971)
Demons & Wizards (1972)
The Magician's Birthday (1972)
Sweet Freedom (1973)
Wonderworld (1974)
Return to Fantasy (1975)
High and Mighty (1976)
Firefly (1977)
Innocent Victim (1977)
Fallen Angel (1978)
Conquest (1980)
Abominog (1982)
Head First (1983)
Equator (1985)
Raging Silence (1989)
Different World (1991)
Sea of Light (1995)
Sonic Origami (1998)
Wake The Sleeper (2008)

Live albums

Uriah Heep Live (1973) - often referred to as "Live '73" by Heepsters
Live at Shepperton '74 (1986) - recorded 1974
Live in Europe 1979 (1986) - recorded 1979
Live in Moscow (1988)
Spellbinder Live (1996)
King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents In Concert (1997) - recorded 1974
Future Echoes Of The Past (2000)
Acoustically Driven (2001)
Electrically Driven (2001)
The Magician's Birthday Party (2002)
Live in the USA (2003)
Magic Night (2004)
Between Two Worlds (2005)