Ken Hensley British rock musician, guitarist Date of Birth: 24.08.1945 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Ken Hensley

Ken Hensley, a British rock musician and guitarist, was born on August 24, 1945, in London, England. His full name is Kenect William David Hensley. At the age of ten, he moved with his parents, three brothers, and sister to the town of Stevenage. It was there, in 1957, that Ken began learning to play the guitar. In the 1960s, Ken Hensley played with various local bands, including "The Blue Notes," "Kit And The Saracens," and "Ken And The Cousins." The band "The Jimmy Brown Sound" even recorded several demo tapes, although they can no longer be found today. However, Ken Hensley lost interest in soul music, which "The Jimmy Brown Sound" played, in 1965 and became captivated by hard rock.

Together with Mick Taylor, he joined the band "The Gods," where Hensley found freedom and creative expression. He was the author of many compositions, performed a number of songs, and excelled at playing the Hammond B3 organ. "The Gods" released several albums before disbanding, and Ken Hensley then joined Cliff Bennett and his band "Toe Fat." Simultaneously, Hensley was also involved in the project "Head Machine," where he played the guitar. In 1969, he accepted an invitation from Paul Newton of the band "Spice" to join them as a keyboardist. The band aimed to move away from their blues sound and make it more progressive. At the end of 1969, "Spice" changed its name to "Uriah Heep" in honor of the hundredth anniversary of Charles Dickens' death.

As the innovative keyboardist, Ken Hensley fit perfectly into the collective. Even during the recording of their first album, he reworked the parts previously written by Colin Wood, the former keyboardist, and one could already see the creation of the "Uriah Heep" style. It was a heavy beat, the dense sound of a guitar accompanied by the organ and the echo of voices achieved through multiple layering of sound. Hensley spent ten years with the legendary "Uriah Heep," during which they recorded thirteen studio albums. They produced a significant number of classic hard rock hits, such as "Easy Livin'," "July Morning," "Look at Yourself," "Lady in Black," and many others.

During this time, Ken Hensley also released several solo albums: "Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf" in 1973 and "Eager to Please" in 1975. In 1976, the lead vocalist of "Uriah Heep," David Byron, left the band due to his alcohol abuse and "rock star disease," which greatly affected the group's sound and gradually extinguished their energy. In 1980, tired of constant conflicts within the band, Ken Hensley left "Uriah Heep." He spent a couple of years working on his own projects.

The news of David Byron's death in 1982 had a psychological impact on Hensley, and he practically withdrew from the stage for more than ten years. Occasionally collaborating with various bands, Hensley released a solo album in 1994 called "From Time to Time," which consisted of songs he had written before 1982. After that, he slowly began to regain his activity. Over the next ten years, he released five more albums.