URIAH HEEP's MICK BOX To Miss First Few Shows Of 2026 Leg Of 'The Magician's Farewell' Tour; Temporary Replacement Announced

URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box "has been taken ill" and will miss the start of band's Scandinavian tour. The 78-year-old musician will be temporarily replaced by BLACK STAR RIDERS and WAYWARD SONS axeman Sam Wood.

The British progressive rock legends are scheduled to kick off the 2026 leg of "The Magician's Farewell" tour in Tampere, Finland on Thursday (January 22),to be followed by 14 more shows across Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Earlier today, Mick's URIAH HEEP bandmates released the following statement: "We would like to let everyone know that Mick has been taken ill and will not be able to perform the first few shows on the Scandinavian leg of 'The Magician's Farewell Tour' starting in Tampere, Finland this Thursday.

"We are monitoring Mick's progress daily and he will be back on the road as soon as he is fit, and he sends his best along with his sincere apologies to you all.

"We have been very lucky to have Sam Wood stand in at the very last minute with Mick's blessing for the shows Mick cannot make.

"We truly appreciated everyone's understanding in this unfortunate position we are in and hope you can make Sam welcome in this less than easy task for him.

"We will keep you updated on Mick's progress and see you all starting tomorrow.

"Bernie, Phil, Russ and Davy."

In September 2024, URIAH HEEP announced its plans to embark on a farewell tour, dubbed "The Magician's Farewell", beginning with a seven-show U.K. run in February 2025.

In December 2024, Box was asked by Planet Rock's Paul Anthony what he is planning on doing with his time once URIAH HEEP has completed its farewell tour. Mick said: "I guess we'll do [some] writing and go in the recording studio and do other aspects of the of the game, but as I say, we're still gonna be touring, still gonna be playing. It's just that we're not doing the really long stuff. We'll do it in sections rather than a whole long splurge."

After Anthony noted that URIAH HEEP still records new music and is not known as "just a heritage act" which doesn't perform its more recent songs live, Mick concurred. "Well, yeah," he said. "I mean, when you look at it, we've got a lot of classic rock songs. And the new songs are soon to be classic, because it's only time that gives them that title. [Laughs] So, yeah, we look at it like that. And they merge very well, because it's the band doing what the band does, using the same template we had from day one, musically, and that's the Hammond organ, the wah-wah guitar, five[-part vocal harmonies], all that sort of stuff. We just apply that to each song and it's URIAH HEEP."

URIAH HEEP's farewell tour will run for approximately two or three years and will include performances in all parts of the globe.

In November 2023, 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.

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.