Uriah Heep - Crime Of Passion (1980)

At the end of the last post, Uriah Heep had just released the poorly-received 'High And Mighty', and the tour promoting it didn't fare much better, with concerts becoming increasingly chaotic due to David Byron's inconsistency. Always the consummate professional on stage, he'd started to drink heavily before a show, as well as after it, and this caused the distance between Byron and the rest to grow to unworkable proportions. In July 1976, after the final show of a Spanish tour, Byron was sacked, followed quickly by John Wetton announcing that he was also quitting. Bassist Trevor Bolder was recruited to replace Wetton, and after auditioning David Coverdale ,Ian Hunter and Gary Holton, they finally settled on John Lawton, formerly of Lucifer's Friend and the Les Humphries Singers, as the new vocalist. They have admitted that image-wise he wasn't quite what we were looking for, but his pipes were perfect and so they went for the music end of it. 
The change of personnel was a catalyst for the band to rethink their sound, dropping the fantasy lyrics and getting back to the hard rock sound of their earlier albums. 'Firefly' was released in February 1977, and its renewed energy was considered a new beginning for the band, with Lawton being highly praised for his impressive and emotionally rich hard rock voice, that instantly jelled with the Uriah Heep sound. 'Innocent Victim' came out the same year, and had a slight edge on 'Firefly', but some fans felt that its blend of sharp, short rockers and pop-friendly ballads was an attempt to court the American AOR market. 'Free Me' was released as a single, and became an international hit, making it to No. 1 in New Zealand, and in Germany the album sold over a million copies, making it their most successful album. 'Fallen Angel' was issued a year later, and completed a hat-trick of studio albums which featured a consistent lineup (only the second time in their career that they had done so). Mick Box thought that it was too poppy, and the fans seemed to agree, as although it was generally well received, it failed to chart. 
Meanwhile, tensions were growing behind the scenes, with the other band members resenting the fact that Ken Hensley was earning much more than his colleagues, as he was the main writer, and also insisted on everything he wrote being used, meaning that substandard songs could easily appear on their albums. There were also clashes between Hensley and Lawton, mainly over the constant presence of Lawton's wife on the road, and this finally led to the vocalist getting the sack in 1979. Ex-Lone Star singer/guitarist John Sloman was brought in to replace him, but almost immediately, Lee Kerslake departed following a row with manager Gerry Bron. Chris Slade was quickly recruited to fill the drum slot, and several tracks already taped for the next album then had to be re-recorded with the new drummer.
'Conquest' was released in February 1980 and received a 5 star review from Record Mirror, although the band considered it a difficult album to record, and weren't really happy with it. Hensley also wasn't keen on Sloman as the new singer, as he was offered the job against Hensley's wishes, and he didn't think that Sloman was interpreting the songs as he'd written them. A meeting at the manager's office concerning the songwriting dissent was the last straw and, in September 1980, Hensley quit. Gregg Dechert, a Canadian who had worked with Sloman in Pulsar, came in and the band went on a 23-date tour of the UK, after which Sloman left. Hensley's acrimonious departure left the group in a state of collapse, with Box and Bolder visiting David Byron with what they thought was an attractive proposition to return to the group, only to be told that he didn't want to know. This, together with disagreements with Bron's management style, was the last straw for Bolder, who quit to join Wishbone Ash, and after Dechert followed him, Uriah Heep were down to just Mick Box,the name and a contract. So with the band effectively no more, let's listen to some rare singles, b-sides and out-takes from this turbulent period of their career, which, considering the disharmony and rancour with which they were recorded, don't actually sound too bad.  

Track listing

01 Crime Of Passion (b-side of 'Sympathy' 1977)
02 A Far Better Way (previously unreleased 1977) 
03 I Always Knew (previously unreleased 1977)
04 Dance Dance Dance (previously unreleased 1977)
05 Masquerade (b-side of 'Free Me' 1977)
06 The River (previously unreleased 1977)
07 Put Your Music Where Your Mouth Is (previously unreleased 1977)
08 A Right To Live (previously unreleased promo b-side 1978)
09 Cheater (b-side of 'Come Back To Me' 1978)
10 Gimme Love (b-side of 'Love Or Nothing' 1978)
11 Love Stealer (single 1980)
12 Been Hurt (b-side of 'Carry On' and 'Feelings' 1980)
13 Think It Over (single 1980)
14 Lying (previously unreleased 1980)