DER BRITISCHE ROCKSÄNGER JOHN LAWTON (URIAH HEEP) IST GESTORBEN

07.07.2021 Der am 11. Juli 1946 in Halifax (England) geborene britische Rocksänger John Lawton (Bild) ist am 29. Juni 2021 gestorben. Er war durch seine Arbeit mit Lucifer’s Friend (1970–1976; 1981; 2014–2021), Uriah Heep (1976–1979) und The Les Humphries Singers (1970er-Jahre) bekannt geworden. Bei Uriah Heep sang er u.a. die Erfolgstitel "Free Me" (1977) und "Come Back To Me" (1978).

Foto: Stefan Scheer, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Sarion, 2003 (Ausschnitt) - Lizenz: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en - Datei: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Lawton_2003.jpg

Former Uriah Heep Frontman John Lawton Dead at 74

Lawton joined Uriah Heep in 1976, replacing original lead singer David Byron as the band prepped its 10th album, Firefly. A year later, on 1977's Innocent Victim, the group would land its biggest hit, "Free Me." Though Lawton would leave the band in 1979, he remained on good terms with his former bandmates.

Allison Rapp

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-lawton-uriah-heep-dead/

Lawton is best known for singing on 1977's "Free Me."

Following his run in UH, Lawton continued to perform with other bands, including Rebel and GunHill (which later changed its name to the John Lawton Band) and with former Heep producer/songwriter Ken Hensley in the Hensley Lawton Band. He also briefly re-joined Heep in 2013 for two weeks during a European tour to fill-in for ailing vocalist Bernie Shaw, released a handful of solo albums and dabbled in acting and directing television in the mid-2000s.

Gil Kaufman

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/9596934/uriah-heep-singer-john-lawton-dies-74-obituary

"Rock music has lost one of the great rock voices of all time and his legacy will live on forever"

The singer’s death was confirmed by Uriah Heep, who shared a statement on social media revealing that Lawton passed away unexpectedly on June 29.

Will Lavin

https://www.nme.com/news/music/former-uriah-heep-singer-john-lawton-has-died-aged-74-2986884

Uriah Heep: Ex-Sänger John Lawton ist tot

Auch wenn Lawton nur wenige Jahre mit Uriah Heep zusammenarbeitete, war diese Zeit von großen Erfolgen gekrönt. Darunter fiel die Produktion der beliebten Alben "Firefly", "Innocent Victim" und "Fallen Angel". 1977 gelang mit dem Song "Free Me" ein echter Hit.

https://www.rollingstone.de/uriah-heep-john-lawton-todesursache-2328543/

"Die Rockmusik hat eine ihrer grössten Rock-Stimmen aller Zeiten verloren und sein Vermächtnis wird für immer weiterleben", würdigte Uriah-Heep-Gitarrist Mick Box den ehemaligen Band-Kollegen.

bam/dpa

https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/john-lawton-ehemaliger-uriah-heep-saenger-ist-tot-a-91efc8d2-6228-4225-8aed-f2cfe3bcee09

Videos:

Uriah Heep (with John Lawton) - Free me (Disco 1977 - stereo)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAFQ_qgKFT8

Uriah Heep - Wise Man (1977) Top of the Pops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu1GxH1F0H0

John Lawton - Sympathy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjw71xlNuro

Firefly / Come Back To Me - The Lawton Dunning Project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LChh7ZDu8KU

Mehr: