Last Monday, July 5th, Uriah Heep used their official Twitter profile to confirm the tragic death of former vocalist John Lawton , who reportedly passed away on June 29th at the age of 74, from unknown causes.
The following day, guitarist Mick Box posted his personal tribute to the musician and friend on the band's account. “John Lawton’s death on June 29th came as a complete shock and left me numb,” he wrote. “John was a huge part of the Heep family and when he was on stage covering for Bernie, who was in hospital at the time, he said over the microphone, ‘You can check out, but you never leave Heep.’”
“That was our John and he was one of the good guys,” Mick continued. “On a personal note, we had fantastic times in Heep and outside of it too. While we were filming Love.net and playing shows with him in Bulgaria, we never stopped laughing, and I’ll always remember those happy times.”
“I loved the songs we wrote together and he had an incredible voice that was powerful, soulful, and with a touch of blues. Rock has lost one of its greatest voices of all time, and his legacy will live on forever. Our condolences to his wife Iris, his family, and his German band Lucifer's Friend . John, rest in peace, my friend.”
John Lawton took over vocals for Uriah Heep in 1976 and recorded three albums with the band: Firefly (1976), Innocent Victim (1977), and Fallen Angel (1978), as well as the live album Live in Europe '79 . In November 2020, Uriah Heep also mourned the death of former keyboardist Ken Hensley .
Rest in peace, John.