Uriah Heep’s song “Lady in Black” is almost 50 years old. And yet almost every child knows him. The song was written and sung by Ken Hensley — even though he wasn’t actually the group’s front man. Now the musician has died at the age of 75. When Uriah Heep was founded in London in 1969, the band had five original members. One of them was the multi-instrumentalist Ken Hensley, who was to significantly shape the sound of the group, especially with his keyboard playing. But Hensley didn’t just press the keys in the band, which, along with companions like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, was one of the pioneers of hard rock. He was also considered the mastermind of the group, which wrote much of Uriah Heep’s songs. One of them was “Lady in Black”, the quintet’s biggest hit, which also stormed the hit parade in Germany in 1971. In fact, Hensley can also be heard as a singer on the song, although he wasn’t actually the front man of the group, but David Byron. The singer should not have liked the song very much, which is why he let Hensley take precedence on the microphone.
Asleep peacefully
Hensley was a member of Uriah Heep until 1980. Later he not only released several solo albums. As a musician, he also supported various rock bands such as Blackfoot, W.A.S.P. or Cinderella. Uriah Heep are still active today. The only remaining founding member is guitarist Mick Box. Ex-singer Byron was fired from the band in 1976 because of his excessive alcohol consumption and increasing airs and died in 1985 as a result of his addiction. Ken Hensley has now also died at the age of 75, as his family announced. His brother Trevor Hensley announced that the musician fell asleep peacefully on Wednesday. “His wonderful wife Monica was at his side and comforted him in his last moments with us,” wrote Trevor Hensley on Facebook. “We are all dismayed by this tragic and incredibly unexpected loss,” he added. Ken Hensley is buried in a private ceremony in Spain, “never to be forgotten and always to be in our hearts”.