To borrow Mick Box’s catchphrase, these are ’appy days indeed. Well, in certain respects anyway. As co-founder of the Essex band that became Uriah Heep in 1970 - and set out to “do something original” - the guitarist has led his band through a half-century of essential British heavy prog and on to 45 million album sales.
Not everyone has made it to this year’s 50th anniversary, but as the 72-year-old readies plans for a UK tour, it’s clear that his passion and purpose - not to mention his hair and humour - remain intact. If there’s a blot on Box’s horizon, it’s the spread of the Covid-19 (we spoke to him just before lockdown took hold) in Heep’s big year of hard-core touring - and the prospect of a hefty vet’s bill.
You’re just back from the Rock Legends Cruise, aren’t you?