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Mick Box
Mick Box, 23 June 2011 with Uriah Heep in Foxboro, Massachusets
Background information
Birth name	Michael Frederick Box
Also known as	Mick Box
Born	(1947-06-09) 9 June 1947 (age 65) Walthamstow, East London, England
Genres	Hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1965–present
Associated acts	David Byron Uriah Heep Iris Spearfish
Website	www.mick-box.net

Michael Frederick Box (born 9 June 1947 in Walthamstow, East London, England), better known by his stage name Mick Box, is the lead guitarist of British rock group Uriah Heep, having previously been a member of The Stalkers and Spice, both with original Uriah Heep vocalist David Byron.^[1] He is the only member from the band's founding in 1969 who is still active with the group. He currently resides in North London with his wife and son.

Mick Box, Oslo, Norway, 1977

Discography[link]

With David Byron[link]

• Take No Prisoners

With Uriah Heep[link]

• Very 'eavy... Very 'umble - 1970
• Salisbury - 1971
• Look at Yourself - 1971
• Demons & Wizards - 1972
• The Magician's Birthday - 1972
• Live '73 - 1973
• Sweet Freedom - 1973
• Wonderworld - 1974
• Return to Fantasy - 1975
• High and Mighty - 1976
• Firefly...1977
• Innocent Victim...1977
• Fallen Angel - 1978
• Conquest - 1980
• Abominog - 1982
• Head First - 1983
• Equator - 1985
• Raging Silence - 1989
• Different World - 1991
• Sea of Light - 1995
• Sonic Origami - 1998
• Wake the Sleeper - 2008
• Celebration - 2009
• Into the Wild - 2011

With Iris[link]

• Lady In Black

With Spearfish[link]

• Back For The Future

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Official Website of Mick Box

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Uriah Heep
David Copperfield character
Drawing by Fred Barnard
Created by	Charles Dickens
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Moneylender
Nationality	British

Uriah Heep is a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his novel David Copperfield.

The character is notable for his cloying humility, obsequiousness, and insincerity, making frequent references to his own "'humbleness". His name has become synonymous with being a yes man.^[1] He is the central antagonist of the later part of the book.

In book[link]

David first meets the 15-year-old Heep when he is living with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter Agnes, in chapter 15:

[Uriah's face] was quite as cadaverous as it had looked in the window, though in the grain of it there was that tinge of red which is sometimes to be observed in the skins of red-haired people. It belonged to a red-haired person—a youth of fifteen, as I take it now, but looking much older—whose hair was cropped as close as the closest stubble; who had hardly any eyebrows, and no eyelashes, and eyes of a red-brown, so unsheltered and unshaded, that I remember wondering how he went to sleep. He was high-shouldered and bony; dressed in decent black, with a white wisp of a neckcloth; buttoned up to the throat; and had a long, lank, skeleton hand, which particularly attracted my attention, as he stood at the pony's head, rubbing his chin with it, and looking up at us in the chaise.

Uriah has been employed as clerk to Wickfield for four years, since he was eleven. Uriah's father, who instilled him with the need to be humble, died when Uriah was ten, and for the first part of the novel he lives alone with his mother in their "umble abode". Copperfield takes an immediate and permanent dislike to Uriah, in spite of the latter's persistent, if insincere attempts to win his friendship. Uriah addresses Copperfield as "Master Copperfield" well into their adulthood, an indication of his true patronising view.

Uriah is repeatedly mentioned as ugly and repulsive, even in his youth - tall, lank and pale with red hair and lashless eyes. Dickens negatively emphasizes Uriah's movements as well, described as jerking and writhing; this leads some literary scholars to believe Dickens is describing a form of dystonia, a muscular disorder, to increase Uriah's snakelike character. Uriah explains in another part of the book that his ambition and greed are fueled by resentment from the double-standard of his schooling and from his treatment as a child, and by encouragement from his parents. As Uriah works for Wickfield for the next five or so years, he teaches himself law at night, and by blackmailing Mr. Wickfield, gains control over his business.

He eventually succeeds in having himself made a full partner in the business. His eventual ambition is to marry Agnes and gain control of the Wickfield fortune. Like most of Dickens' villains, greed is his main motivation. Heep is eventually stymied by Mr. Micawber and Tommy Traddles, with help from David and Agnes. Once his fraud and treachery are unmasked, he persists in hounding Micawber and Copperfield. Towards the end of the novel, he is last seen in Mr. Creakle’s prison where we find that he has returned to his "umble" ways, and puts himself forward as a model prisoner. He is said to be sentenced for transportation for life, which likely means he will eventually be sent to one of the penal colonies in Australia.

Origins[link]

Art by Frank Reynolds (1910).

Much of David Copperfield is autobiographical and some scholars believe Heep's mannerisms and physical attributes to be based on Hans Christian Andersen,^[2][3] whom Dickens met shortly before writing the novel. Uriah Heep's schemes and behaviour are more likely based on Thomas Powell,^[4] employee of a friend of Dickens, Thomas Chapman. Powell "...ingratiated himself into the Dickens household" and was discovered to be a forger and a thief, having embezzled £10,000 from his employer. He later attacked Dickens in pamphlets, calling particular attention to Dickens' social class and background.

The characteristics of grasping manipulation and insincerity can lead to a person being labelled "a Uriah Heep" as Lyndon Johnson is called in Robert Caro's biography. Seymour Fleming, a character in the play Babes in Arms, is also called thus.^{[citation needed]} Author Philip Roth once compared President Richard Nixon to Uriah Heep.^[5] More recently, the historian Tony Judt used the term to describe Marshal Philippe Pétain of the French Vichy government.^[6] Pakistani-British historian and leftist political commentator Tariq Ali likened Pakistani dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to the character.

Film and television[link]

In film and television adaptations, the character has been played by, amongst others, Peter Paget (1934)^[7], Roland Young (1935), Colin Jeavons (1966), Ron Moody (1970), Martin Jarvis (1974), Paul Brightwell (1986), Nicholas Lyndhurst (1999) and Frank MacCusker (2000).^[8]

Cultural references[link]

The British rock band Uriah Heep is named after the character.^[9]

In the BBC television series Blake's 7, the computer character Slave was described by Peter Tuddenham, who voiced it, as "...a Uriah Heep type of character...."^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Information, Illustrations, Analysis, Select Resources on the novel

Phil Lanzon
Phil Lanzon, 9 May 2009, Slavonski Brod, Croatia
Background information
Born	(1950-03-23) 23 March 1950 (age 62)
Genres	Progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, composer
Instruments	Keyboards, Vocals
Years active	1966–present
Labels	RCA, Legacy Records, Regeneration Ltd, Sanctuary
Associated acts	Uriah Heep, The Loose Ends, The Cats Pyamas, Romance

Phil Lanzon (born 23 March 1950) is the keyboardist for British progressive rock group Uriah Heep^[1] since 1986.

Lanzon has worked with diverse performers of distinction in the rock and roll community. Both as a session musician and sideman, he has also played for Grand Prix, Grant & Forsyth, John Lawton (former Uriah Heep-member), Mick Ronson, Chris Spedding, Sweet, Paddy Goes to Holyhead and Tarracco.^[2]

Discography[link]

With Steve Glen[link]

• Look Left Look Right

No Doubt About It Easy Does It

With GMT[link]

• War Games

With Grand Prix[link]

• Grand Prix
• There For None To See
• Samurai