The former lead singer of the British rock band Uriah Heep has passed away. John Lawton died unexpectedly on June 29, shortly before his 75th birthday, It came in a message on the band’s website. He was not suffering from any disease. “He died peacefully alongside his wife,” she added. He was buried with his family and close friends.

Appreciating his former bandmates, Mick Box, guitarist Uriah Heep said, “Rock has lost one of the greatest rock sounds of all time and her legacy will live on forever.

Although Lawton joined the band after their huge success and was only a relatively short member (1976-1979), he was involved in producing four albums. Among them are “Firefly”, “Innocent Victim” and “Fallen Angel”. The song “Free Me”, which took the top ten in several European countries, was especially successful during this period. The band was especially popular in Germany.

Luton himself had close ties with Germany. Before and after his time with Uriah Heep, he was a member of the rock band Lucifer’s Friend for several years. For a long time he was also part of Les Humphries Singers, founded in Germany.

Aria Heep has been around for more than 50 years

Ken Hensley, one of the founders of Uriah Heep, passed away in November 2020 at the age of 75. The London-born rock legend played with Uriah Heep between 1970 and 1980. In 2013, guitarist Trevor Boulder died of cancer at the age of 62.

With Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Nazareth, Uriah Heep were among the most successful rock bands of their era. The band, led today by their last founding member Mic Box, has sold more than 40 million records. The group’s most popular song is »The lady in black clothes«. The band has featured 25 musicians since its founding in 1969.