Hensley wrote, or co-wrote, the majority of Uriah Heep's songs during this period, including such hits as "Look at Yourself", "Lady in Black" (on both of which he also sang lead vocals), "Easy Livin'", "Stealin'" and "Free Me".
Biography
Born in London, Hensley moved with his parents, three brothers and sister to Stevenage, Hertfordshire in 1955. He started to learn how to play guitar at the age of 12, from a Bert Weedon manual. His first gig was at The Mentmore Pen Factory, in Stevenage (September 1960). After that, he played with The Blue Notes, Ken And The Cousins and Kit And The Saracens (1962). In 1963, this band evolved into The Jimmy Brown Sound, and they even recorded some now lost songs. At this time, Hensley's first "professional" opportunity almost came about: they were going to back Ben E. King on a British visit, but it never happened.[citation needed]
In Early 1965, Hensley lost his interest in soul music and formed a band called The Gods, with the young guitarist Mick Taylor, well known later for his work with The Rolling Stones. Ken wrote most of the material, sang and played the Hammond B3 organ (mainly because the band already had the talented Mick Taylor on guitar). What he didn't know then, was that he would be such an influential musician playing exactly the organ. The Gods' line-up included, at one time or another, vocalist and guitar/bass player Greg Lake (later of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer), bass player Paul Newton (who would be later the first Uriah Heep bassist), drummer Lee Kerslake (later also of Heep), bassist John Glascock (later of Jethro Tull), and guitarist Joe Konas. In early 1968 they signed with Columbia Records, and recorded 2 LPs and several singles. After that, Newton left the band to join Spice, an Essex-based band.
The band eventually split but Cliff Bennett, from Rebel Rouser, decided to make a more progressive sound, and called The Gods guys to join him. So, by the name of Toe Fat, they released 2 LPs (only the first one with Ken). During this time, Ken also played on a dubious recording: Head Machine's "Orgasm" (not exactly a band, a project more likely). At this time, Ken played mainly guitar again, as in the beginning of his career.
Paul Newton asked Hensley (Christmas 1969) to join forces in Spice, since they were looking after a keyboards player to make their sound less bluesy and more progressive at the time. In January 1970, Spice changed its name into Uriah Heep. Also on the line-up were guitarist Mick Box and vocalist David Byron. With Uriah Heep, Ken Hensley found a place to develop and show to the world his songwriting and lyrics abilities, keyboards and guitar playing. The major success came, and Heep is now acclaimed as one of UK's most legendary rock bands. The chemistry of the most classic line-up including Hensley, Byron, Box, Kerslake and bassist Gary Thain, plus the management provided by Gerry Bron (Bronze Records), were the launching points of their tremendous capability of making great music. During his time with Heep (1970 - 1980), they recorded 13 studio albums, and one of the most acclaimed live albums of all times: "Uriah Heep Live - January 1973" (not to mention lots of compilations and singles). Hensley also recorded his first 2 solo albums, "Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf" (1973) and "Eager To Please" (1975) during this time. With the departure of Thain (died in 1975) and Byron, other excellent musicians also got into the Heep family: John Wetton (Family, King Crimson, Roxy Music, later of UK and Asia), Trevor Bolder (from Spiders From Mars, later of Wishbone Ash) and John Lawton (Lucifer's Friend), among others. The chemistry though, wasn't the same anymore.
In 1980 Hensley left the band, not happy with the musical directions they were choosing at the time. After trying to put a new band together first in the UK (Shotgun), he later moved to the USA and played a few gigs in North America with the suggestive name of Ken Hensley Band.
In 1982 Hensley joined Blackfoot, a hard rock Florida-based band. With them, he recorded 2 albums and achieved again some success, but he left after Bron told him about Byron's sad death in 1985. He had also released by this time his third solo LP, "Free Spirit" (1980).
Hensley had been since then almost in retirement, in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), making only a few appearances in some musical projects, with W.A.S.P., Cinderella and others. Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.) has defined exactly what Hensley means to the rock'n'roll history:
"Ken Hensley wrote the rule book for heavy metal keyboards as far as I'm concerned."
This could be debated as Jon Lord of Deep Purple may have written the rule book for heavy metal keyboards in general. Ken Hensley likely wrote the rule book for heavy metal piano as heard in Paradise/The Spell from Demons and Wizards. The period also gave birth to many other amazing keyboardists/organists, not the least of which were Alan Taff Freeman of Nektar, and John Evan of Jethro Tull.
Surprisingly though, things began to change in the mid 90s after years of silence. In 1994, "From Time To Time", a collection of lost recordings, was released featuring rare songs recorded by Ken between 1971 and 1982, as well as some very good early versions of Heep's classic songs, played by Ken and his roommates at that time, namely guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke (both of Free). Other musicians on the songs were bassist Boz Burrell (King Crimson and Bad Company), guitarist Mick Ralphs (Bad Company), drummers Ian Paice (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) and Kenny Jones (The Who), amongst others.
In 1999 Hensley's musical activities began to increase, besides his work with St. Louis Music. He recorded an album, "A Glimpse Of Glory", together with his band Visible Faith. An eclectic collection of ballads and hard rock tunes, this album was hugely acclaimed by fans who were hungry for new material from Ken.
During the fourth Uriah Heep Annual Convention in London, May 2000, plans were made for a one-off concert by the so-called "Hensley/Lawton Band". Ken was joined by former Heep singer John Lawton, their first public collaboration since John's departure from Heep in 1979. With them were Paul Newton (Heep's original bassist), and 2 members of John's band, Reuben Kane on lead guitar and Justin Shefford on drums. They played a sort of old Heep classics and some of Ken's solo songs to an amazed audience, and the concert was recorded for a proper CD release, followed by a tour in Europe culminating with a concert in Hamburg, Germany, featuring a full orchestra and a new rendition of Heep's old classic "Salisbury"!
This is definitely not the end of the story, since Hensley has been quite busy working on his solo career. "Running Blind", his first effort in 21 years, was released worldwide and followed by a world tour with his band called "Free Spirit", that included some incredible musicians: Dave Kilminster (guitar), Andy Pyle (bass) and Pete Riley (drums). Kilminster and Riley later also played in the Keith Emerson Band (Kilminster is part of Roger Waters band nowadays). He now plays regular annual shows at small venues in Scandinavia, such as the "Summer Party" in Fredrikstad, Norway, where he has been playing consecutive gigs every August for nearly six years.
After moving to Spain, Hensley kept his schedule busy and released "The Last Dance" (with new songs), "The Wizard's Diary" (Uriah Heep classics re-recorded in 2004) and "Cold Autumn Sunday" (Ken's solo songs re-recorded in 2005).
Featuring a number of special guests, the rock opera "Blood On The Highway" was recorded at the end of 2006 and released in May 2007. The story portrays the rise and fall of a rock'n'roll star and the eventual restart. The lead vocals role was split between Ken himself, plus Glenn Hughes (ex-Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Sabbath), Jorn Lande (ex-The Snakes, Masterplan), John Lawton (ex-Lucifer's Friend, Uriah Heep) and Eve Gallagher.
In September 2008, Ken Hensley joined the stage again with John Lawton, Lee Kerslake and Paul Newton, all of Uriah Heep fame plus the addition of ex-Focus guitarist Jan Dumée, for the "Heepvention 2008" fans meeting. Two shows with one acoustic one day and a full set the day after set the standard for Uriah Heep's music through 2 decades.
Hensely continued to write and record a series of new albums, beginning with a collection of songs under the title of Love & Other Mysteries, recorded near his home in Spain and followed in 2011 by Faster, his first studio recording of new songs with his live band, Live Fire. A CD of one of his solo concerts was released by Cherry Red Records in 2013, shortly followed by a live CD recorded with Live Fire during a September/October tour. Trouble, an album of 10 new songs recorded with a revised Live Fire line-up was released, again by Cherry Red, in September the same year.
Think Twice
Ken Hensley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He could have had it all
Put his hands on life and love
Let'em go and watched'em fall
But the spotlight never shone upon his heart
You got to know him on the stage
Where you watched him play his part
Seemed it never had to end
You claim you gave him everything
But you forgot to be his friend
When you get so trapped inside it all
I wonder if you can
Find a way to separate the music and the man
When the trouble comes
And you have to know it will
He'll be looking for much more than consolation
When the tide turns
And there's nowhere he can run
Something or someone
Is gonna have to take the blame
You'd better think twice
There's gonna have to be a sacrifice
What will be the first to go
Not the music, that I know
You'd better think twice
Or you'll have to pay a high price
Time to open up your eyes
Are you in love or are you hypnotized?
Is it the music or the man?
When the trouble comes
And you have to know it will
He'll be looking for much more than consolation
When the tide turns
And there's nowhere he can run
Something or someone
Is gonna have to take the blame
You'd better think twice
There's gonna have to be a sacrifice
What will be the first to go
Not the music, that I know
You'd better think twice
Or you'll have to pay a high price
Time to open up your eyes
Are you in love or are you hypnotized?
The song "Think Twice" by Ken Hensley is a thoughtful reflection on the pitfalls of fame and success in the music industry. The lyrics describe an artist who seemingly had it all, but lost everything because he was never truly known by those around him. The singer urges the listener to consider the cost of success and to be mindful of what it truly means to support and love someone.
The opening lines of the song describe the artist's potential for greatness and success. However, despite his accomplishments, he was never truly appreciated for who he was as a person. The lines, "But the spotlight never shone upon his heart / You got to know him on the stage" suggest that his public persona overshadowed his true self. The singer warns that this is a common pitfall for those in the music industry and encourages listeners to seek a deeper connection with those around them.
The chorus of the song is a warning that success comes at a cost. The artist is described as needing more than just "consolation" when trouble comes, and the world is "at his feet" until it all comes crashing down. The singer urges his listener to "think twice" about what it means to support someone in the industry and to be mindful of the music versus the person behind it.
Line by Line Meaning
He could have had most anything
He had a lot of opportunities and options available to him.
He could have had it all
He had the potential to achieve great success and happiness.
Put his hands on life and love
He reached out and took hold of the things he desired most in life, such as love and success.
Let'em go and watched'em fall
He lost those things he desired most because he didn't hold on tight enough or take care of them.
But the spotlight never shone upon his heart
Despite being in the public eye and achieving success, he never had true happiness and love in his personal life.
You got to know him on the stage
The public only knew him as a performer, not as a person.
Where you watched him play his part
He was always acting and performing, never showing his true self to the public.
Soon, like him the world was at your feet
You also could achieve great things and have a lot of opportunities like he did.
Seemed it never had to end
It felt like success and happiness would never stop coming to you.
You claim you gave him everything
You thought you gave him all the support and love he needed, but you forgot to be his friend.
But you forgot to be his friend
You didn't have a real relationship with him outside of supporting his career.
When you get so trapped inside it all
When you become too consumed by success and fame,
I wonder if you can
It becomes difficult to
Find a way to separate the music and the man
Maintain a healthy balance between a person's career and personal life.
When the trouble comes
When he encounters problems and obstacles,
And you have to know it will
You know that he will encounter trouble at some point.
He'll be looking for much more than consolation
He will need more than reassurance or comfort during difficult times.
When the tide turns
When his situation changes or becomes unfavorable,
And there's nowhere he can run
He won't be able to escape or avoid the issues he's facing.
Something or someone
He will need something or someone
Is gonna have to take the blame
To blame or turn to during these difficult times.
You'd better think twice
You should consider your actions or choices carefully.
There's gonna have to be a sacrifice
You will have to give something up in order to support and help him.
What will be the first to go
Which part of your life or relationship will have to take a backseat?
Not the music, that I know
His career or success should not be sacrificed to support him.
Or you'll have to pay a high price
If you don't make the right decision or choice, there will be significant consequences to face.
Time to open up your eyes
It's time to see the situation clearly and objectively.
Are you in love or are you hypnotized?
Do you truly care about him or are you just enamored with his fame and success?
Contributed by Sophie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.