UHAS Mini Mag By Dave Owen
June 13 1999
Hi All
News to date :- well none really , you have it all , maybe I'm being a
little defeatist here , come on Dave , think obscure !!
First off , what is the ultimate Heep collectors item ?
I used to think to myself it was the Spice single , then I got one ! Then
it was a gold disc , got one ! I really don't know anymore, what is the
most treasured item you have and why ? In the mag a few issues ago Lee put up for sale his Ludwig drumkit which he used in the Gods and in the early days with Heep , complete with the VeVu Bass skin , yet we had no takers ? I think it was down to Lee asking for offers and people were too afraid of being called a cheapskate :-) I'm sure we all have something that means the world to us and that everyone would love to own or maybe it just means the world to you, the gauntlet is down , make me jealous :o)
As I've said before , one of my biggest ever regrets was never seeing the
Byron line-up play .I wish there was more live material available . Uriah Heep were one of the first bands in the world to use video for recording
and they recorded allsorts , as far as I know the majority of this is still
sitting in a vault at Roundhouse studio's and no doubt will remain there
till someone comes up with a suitable wedge of cash for Gerry Bron. He must have some real gems down there .
I've visited Micks flat on a few occasionsI oggled the walls with look of a teenager seeing his first pair of breasts !! ( you get the picture !)
It was full of Discs and awards from all over the world , a real Heep fans
dream . Mick had to take a call while I was there and he said picka guitar
to play while you're waiting if you want ? I looked around the corner of
the door into Micks office and there was Micks array of guitars , gasp !!!!
around 20 guitars , all out of the cases all leaning against each other all
very dusty , Mick keeps the main stage guitars in his front room and plays
them often . These guitars only really come out when the band go into the
studio. There was the first guitar Mick ever owned and the Dobro pulled out
of the Mississippi and restored ,the 56 Strat etc . To me, these were
history , the music I loved had come from these very instruments . I didn't
want to play them , I just wanted to dust and polish them !! Mick said , ni
the same way I would use a screwdriver , these are just tools of his trade
all used to gain different effects . I really was in awe , if ever Mick
needs a cleaner, I'm there :o)
For those of you who don't know , I own a TV , Video and HiFi shop . Which is a full time job , I employ 13 people and not one of them wants to help type a fanzine , maybe I don't push them enough :o) There isn't one Heep fan amongst them , although one did suprise me yesterday by asking if I'd ever heard of Blodwyn Pig , so I guess we're getting there , it's only a matter of time before he say's to me isn't there a Heep connection to that? :o) My work is approx 5 minutes walk from my house or 2 minutes drive ! guess which I do ? and I do over 24,000 miles a year !!! I blame Gunhill for that :o) In the morning the routine is as follows 8.45am leave for work, 9am breakfast and collect the post , 9.10 am connect the computer and take off the first emails of the day and after that work could start at anytime depending on who's sent me what . in the past I have been accused of putting to much time into working for UH and not enough time working for the business , my response was to join the Heepsters , Ha Ha !!!
Oh well must go , I've a mag to write :o)
Cheers DaveO.
PS still drawing blanks on the credit card line for the mag , but I won't
be beat , URIAH HEEP NEEDS YOU !!
