URIAH HEEP – The Magician’s Birthday Party

The Magician’s Birthday Party took place in Shepherds Bush Empire in London on the 7th of December 2001 in front of a capacity crowd. It was a night of celebration for both band and their fans and this DVD is just the perfect documentation of this great event. Heep fans were gathered from all around the globe to see their magicians performing the highlights of the band’s extensive back catalogue. Apart from the great collection of Heep songs they could witness the coming back of the two Heep legends Ken Hensley and John Lawton. Ken Hensley took his position behind the Hammond organ during July Morning and stayed on stage for the upcoming old Heep classics like Sunrise, Circle of Hands, Easy Livin’ and some others. Then he also took the acoustic guitar to perform a mix of Practise and The Spell.

The other oldie John Lawton (singer of Heep between ’76-’79) just came on stage right before the end of the song The Magician’s Birthday and received a big round of applause. Unfortunately there was not too much time left to perform as the show was nearly close to its end, but he sung Sympathy and Free ‘n’ Easy together with Bernie Shaw. What a great conclusion to this fantastic evening. But of course it’s not only the two old guys, but all the current Heep members were doing their very bests and made this gig an unforgettable one for all the fans of this British rock legend. Besides the 90 minute long show the DVD is full of extras: John Lawton plays an acoustic set with Steve Dunning (Feelings) and Roger Dean talks about the band.

Also there’s a bonus track (Logical), live concert footage from the States (Return to Fantasy), a 16 page colour booklet with full of photos and a 75 minute long audio CD with most of the Magician’s Birthday Party. This DVD/CD/booklet package offers everything a Heep fan would ever dream of.