URIAH HEEP Announces Farewell Tour: 'We Intend To Play As Many Places As Possible'

British progressive rock legends URIAH HEEP will embark on a lengthy farewell tour in 2025. The trek, which is expected to kick off next February, will run for approximately two or three years and will include performances in all parts of the globe.

Earlier today (Thursday, September 19),URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box released a video message in which he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Hello there. It's Mick from the mighty HEEP. And who can believe next year is 55 years since the band started, and that's just so amazing. I know many of you have been with us since the beginning, and we do thank you for that. It means the world to us.

"Unfortunately, we have made the decision to wind down touring the whole world next year under the title of 'Magician's Farewell'. In fact, 'The Magician's Farewell'," he continued. "Over the next two to three years, we intend to play as many places as possible and see you all for the one last time. We will continue to play shows, but these will be limited to festivals and weekends and things like that. But the tour dates will be announced starting February 2025. So we hope to see you all out there.

"On behalf of the band and myself, I wanna thank you all for the continued support you have always given us. It means the world to us, and it means so much to us, and I just wanna thank you for that.

"Happy days."

Last November, Box was asked by Metallerium how he and his URIAH HEEP bandmates have managed to retain their trademark sound despite having gone through so many lineup changes over the years. He responded: "Well, I think, I think, basically, as long as I'm there, the band's gonna sound like URIAH HEEP. Because we created a template on how we sounded back in 1970 with our first album, '...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble'. So, we've continued with that all the way along the line. And I think a lot of the credit must go to Jay Ruston, our producer, because he understood where we come from, what we're all about, but he managed to make the album sound really fresh and today, and I think that's a marvelous achievement. So really, as long as we keep playing and writing good songs and doing good performances, and we get someone like Jay Ruston recording it, I think it will always sound fresh and exciting."

Regarding what has kept URIAH HEEP going for so long, Mick said: "I think the only thing that drives us on, it's only one word — it's called passion. And if you've got passion for what you do, then eventually you'll achieve it."

URIAH HEEP's 25th studio album, "Chaos & Colour", was released in January 2023 via Silver Lining Music. The LP was recorded during the summer of 2021 at Chapel Studios in London with the aforementioned Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, COREY TAYLOR, BLACK STAR RIDERS) at the helm.

"Jay was completely on board with what we are trying to achieve in the studio," Box previously said. "We're a band that has a fantastic heritage and to carry on that tradition it was vitally important that the band recorded in the studio all playing at the same time. Jay understood that and he pulled out the best of us as a band, as well as individual players, while getting us some amazing sounds."

URIAH HEEP's current lineup includes Box, frontman Bernie Shaw, bassist Dave Rimmer, drummer Russell Gilbrook and keyboardist Phil Lanzon.

URIAH HEEP debuted in 1970 with the release of one of hard rock's milestones, "Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble", and has since sold in excess of 40 million albums worldwide. They have constantly toured the world, playing up to 125 shows a year to more than 500,000 fans. The band's live set features the classic tracks from the '70s and is a musical journey from the band's beginnings to the present day.