Ken Hensley Interview

Earlier this year Ken Hensley released ‘Blood On The Highway’ to much critical acclaim (read review here). An autobiographical piece it deals with Ken’s time with Uriah Heep in the 70’s, a period when he was the bands principal songwriter. Special guests on the album include Jorn Lande and Glenn Hughes and this helps to really capture the spirit of the ‘70’s Classic Rock’ sound. After leaving Heep, Ken had a spell with Blackfoot followed by a period of semi-retirement with only the occasional collaboration. In the late 90’s his musical activities increased and Ken began to regularly issue solo recordings and returned to live performance. I caught up with the man about whom Blackie Lawless said “wrote the rule book for heavy metal keyboards”.

Ken Hensley

Hi Ken, and thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions. Firstly, I think it is fair to say that ‘Blood On The Highway’ is a current favourite here at HardRockHouse so I’d like to congratulate you on releasing such a great album.

KH - Thank you very much. I am pleased with the results and I am my own worst critic!!

To kick off, perhaps you could just take us through how and when you came up with the concept and over what sort of time period you worked on it.

KH - The idea for the CD came from the boss of the company that was preparing to publish my auto-biography. He (actually) read the book and called to ask if I thought the musical story could be told on a CD. So I thought about it, found some “relevant” songs in my book, recorded three of them and they came down to Alicante to listen. They liked it, we brainstormed a little more, went to lunch and did the deal there and then. It took a little over seven months to complete and that was mainly because I was writing as we went along.

There are a number of special guests on the album so I’d like to ask a few questions about them. Firstly, Jorn Lande - is he someone you were previously aware of and what did you think of his performance on the album?

KH - I had worked with Jorn a couple of times in Norway. My live band, “Live Fire” is all from there and he had jammed with us so I was aware of the power of his voice. I invited him down to sing three songs at first but I was so pleased with the results that I had him come down a second time. His voice has similarities to a number of the great singers from the period but he is a student of 70’s rock so he knew exactly how to capture the power and the passion we needed.

Ken & Jorn Lande

‘We’re On Our Way’ has a 60’s London / Kinks vibe to the opening, is this perhaps reminiscent of your 60’s band The Gods?

KH - Not deliberately. I was there in the pub at the beginning so I thought it should be sung with a reasonable genuine London accent!

The title track introduces a sinister character who exerts his influence over the musicians. Was this based on anyone in particular or a combination of people who were around the band?

KH - The characterisation symbolises the power of the rock & roll dream which was (and perhaps still is) more powerful than any common sense. It’s not a person, it’s a fictitious, invisible force.

The song also name checks Jimi and Janis and of course closer to home you lost Gary and eventually David. Looking back, do you think that you are lucky to still be here yourself?

KH - Oh yes! I could just as easily have been another rock & roll casualty but God had other ideas and I am deeply thankful for that.

Was there more freedom for bands to experiment on albums back in the 70’s? And for Heep and yourself as a songwriter did that freedom become less as the band grew to be more successful?

KH - There was definitely a lot more freedom and for the first three albums we were still trying to define a musical direction for the band. As that direction began to clarify we changed members accordingly until the final line-up came together. There really were no exact rules in the beginning because everyone was trying to figure out what to do. The agents, the press, the record companies#,to all of us this was new so we were experimenting together.

From a song-writing point of view it didn’t affect me much. I was (and still am) compelled to experiment and explore the creative possibilities. Of course we began to hear the cries of “we need another July Morning” or “ we need another Lady in Black” but, since that is actually impossible, I didn’t pay much attention to it.

There are two quite tongue in cheek interludes, Doom pts one and two, that feature a female voice telling you “it is time to go solo” and “you really are the band”. Did this happen to you a lot, was a solo career something you were considering back then?

KH - It really happened to me and I know it really happened to a lot of people. Spinal Tap makes a joke out of this but it it was a real problem because it went straight to the ego!! I didn’t want a solo “career” but I did want to make records outside of Uriah Heep so I could keep learning. I always had a lot of songs so, rather than take time off I preferred to be in the studio.

‘I Did It All’ includes the line “I gave my life for my success, gave a little too much I guess”. Is that a pretty accurate description of where you were when you left the band?

KH - Not exactly. Rather, it refers to the fact that when you dedicate your whole self so completely to something, the way I did from the very beginning (and before Heep), you don’t realise how it all gets lost somehow. And it refers, less obliquely, to how false the relationships are when you are in a successful band. The people around me who did everything I asked (or told) them to do and who made sure I was pampered were only there because they were being paid to do that, but, in the absence of real friendship and the desperate search for real intimacy, it’s easy to forget that and easy to deceive yourself into thinking there is substance there. When I began to see this, I also had to face the fact that it was going to be a “long road home”!

The album ends with your departure from Heep in 1980. So, is this really the end of the first chapter, might you go on to write about what has happened to you over the last 25+ years at some point in the future?

KH - The expanded story is in my auto-biography which shares the title with the CD. We have talked about adapting the CD concept as a stage musical and that would be the best way to tell the whole tale. At this point a volume 2 is not on the table.

It’s interesting that Glenn Hughes is on the album as, like yourself, he had addiction problems and has come through them so you are both “survivors of the 70‘s“ so to speak. Did your paths cross much back when he was with Deep Purple and how was he to work with?

KH - In many ways I consider Glenn a brother and we had talked about doing something together for a long time before this opportunity came up. It was fabulous to work with him in the studio and the DVD we made from the recordings is full of magic moments. It will be included in the boxed set which comes out at the beginning of November. We didn’t meet much on the road though#.

Ken & Glenn Hughes

I’m sure that fans reading this will be interested to know what plans you have to perform the album live, I believe there have been a few one-off shows so far?

KH - There was the “original cast” release concert in Hamburg in May but this is practically impossible to repeat because of everyone’s schedules. It’s also VERY expensive!! In our “Live Fire” performances we perform 6 of the songs from Blood On The Highway and that seems to work well.

You were reunited with Mick and Lee at ‘The Magicians Birthday’ Convention. Was this an experience you particularly enjoyed or would you have preferred to have left the memories in the past?

KH - I didn’t enjoy it and, in hindsight, it was a mistake to do it.

Your website is very well designed, do you enjoy having the opportunity to interact with fans via the Internet?

KH - It’s fantastic! I am a great fan of the internet and it is a perfect way for someone like me who doesn’t “get out much” to keep in touch. And Rodrigo (the web master) deserves all the credit for making it possible!

And finally, are you working on any other projects you can tell us about?

KH - Yes#, first we will be on the road in October and November to promote the CD and the book. I am writing for a recording project called “Love# and other mysteries” which we will begin in January, although I can’t tell you when it will be finished because I have to write music for a DVD and this must be delivered by the end of October 2008. Then I have to finish mixing and mastering the audio from the release concert DVD which will be released in March 2008

I am also working with a Swiss artist called “Kandlebauer” on his new CD but my involvement hasn’t been defined yet and may never be because we just enjoy working together and Daniel and Pele have to deliver a great record to Universal, which I am sure he will do. I have a lot of stuff going on but it’s mainly fun stuff so I am looking forward to it!!

Ken, thanks for talking to us and we hope to see you over here in the UK before too long. Was there anything else that you wanted to add?

KH - It would be great to bring my Vikings to the UK but there seem to be quite a lot of obstacles so I will remain hopeful without holding my breath!

Many thanks for your time

KH - You’re very welcome, God bless, Ken