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Mick Box - Guitars John Sinclair - Keyboards Lee Kerslake - Drums Peter Goalby - Lead Vocals Trevor Bolder - Bass Album released: Equator 1985 With Trevor Bolder then coming back into the fold. "After two years with Wishbone Ash I still felt like an outsider", he says. Though the band were still generating momentum in most markets, they were losing ground in America. A couple of months were spent over there still, in support of Rush ("who owed us a few favours"), Judas Priest ("who treated us like shit!") and Def Leppard, whose vocalist Joe Elliot remembers that tour vividly. "They were the best band that we've ever toured with either as a headline or support, because there was no ego, no pretentious kind of stuff. They were good in as much that we learnt a lot from them, they always gave good advice without saying, 'Listen, son', with that smarmy, father-like attitude. |
And Mick Box has got to be one of the funniest, most genuine men I've ever met". Gerry Bron had by now relinquished management (agent Neil Warnock was now looking after them in Europe, with Blue Oyster Cult's management team of Sandy Pearlman and Steve Schenck handling affairs in the US) and with Howe now producing that left just Bronze Records as the link between Heep and their former Godfather. Ultimately, even that liaison was to finish, with Bronze being crippled by massive debts. The company finally went into liquidation in June 1983, severing a relationship that had lasted over thirteen years and a collapse that "cost Heep a lot of money" according to Box. It was from this point in time that Heep started to put some serious miles on the clock in terms of heavy duty touring. And not content with the usual established markets, now they started to expand their horizons by visiting such obscure territories (in terms of heavy metal) as India, Malaysia and Indonesia. "We started to go much further afield because the offers were coming in". Box says. |
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The ensuing period saw Heep adopt the role of global warriors, even venturing into the Eastern Block in early '84, before hitting
the recording studio for the recording of Equator.
This time producer Tony Platt was brought in, though on reflection, it's probably fair to
say that Platt's unique style of production was not quite suitable for Heep. Equator is certainly not a bad album; on the contrary
songs such as 'Poor Little Rich Girl' and 'Heartache City' have strength of character while 'Rockarama', though sounding a little
deliberate, proved Heep could still rock out.
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