Head First (Uriah Heep album)

Head First is the fifteenth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep. It was released in May 1983 by Bronze Records in the UK and Mercury Records in the US. It is Uriah Heep's last album released by Bronze Records.

The album was recorded by the line-up responsible for the previous year's Abominog, but this time with a greater proportion of the songs written by the band members. Bob Daisley left the group shortly after the album's recording to rejoin Ozzy Osbourne; on the Head First tour former Heep bassist Trevor Bolder rejoined the band, effectively replacing his replacement, and remained with the band until his death in 2013.

Though Head First was deemed to be a worthy successor to Abominog by critics such as Geoff Barton, it suffered from a lack of promotion as Bronze went into liquidation the month after its release.

Video footage of the tour, from a show in New Zealand, was heavily featured on the long-form video Easy Livin': A History of Uriah Heep. In Japan only, this was also released on laserdisc.

Personnel

 * Uriah Heep
 * Mick Box – guitar, backing vocals
 * Lee Kerslake – drums, backing vocals
 * Bob Daisley – bass guitar, backing vocals
 * John Sinclair – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals
 * Peter Goalby – lead vocals
 * Trevor Bolder – bass guitar and backing vocals on live tracks


 * Additional musician
 * Frank Ricotti – percussion on "Roll-Overture"


 * Production
 * Ashley Howe – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Nick Rogers – engineer, mixing on "Roll-Overture"
 * Keith Nixon – assistant engineer

Singles

 * "Stay on Top" was released as a single and a video was made. A double-7" gatefold edition was released. Non-album track "Playing for Time" was included.
 * "Lonely Nights", a cover version of the previous year's hit by Bryan Adams, was the second single. A picture-disc 7" was released.