He joined Heep in 1976 in time to appear on their 10th studio album, 1976’s Firefly, replacing original lead singer David Byron, as well as 1977’s harder-edged Innocent Victim, which featured the easy-rockin’ AM-radio single “Free.” Lawton’s final studio recording with UH was 1978’s smoother Fallen Angel, followed by the Live in Europe ’79 concert album.
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 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.
Check out Lawton fronting Uriah Heep and the band’s tribute below.
