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Ken Hensley is a British rock musician; keyboardist, guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as a member of Uriah Heep.
Ken Hensley was born in Plumstead, south-east London, the son of a naval officer who gave his children a strict Victorian religious upbringing. At the age of ten, he moved to Stevenage with his entire family (parents, three brothers and sister). Here, at the age of twelve, he began to master the guitar, using Bert Weedon's self-instruction manual.
Ken Hensley gave his very first concert at The Mentmore Pen Factory in September 1960. Then he was a member of local groups The Blue Notes, Ken And The Cousins, as well as Kit And The Saracens, from whose members The Jimmy Brown Sound was formed in 1963.
In 1965, having lost interest in the soul music that The Jimmy Brown Sound specialized in, Ken Hensley turned to a heavier sound. Together with Mick Taylor, he became part of The Gods; here he wrote most of the compositions, sang and played the Hammond B3 organ. After the band disbanded, several of its members (including Hensley) moved on to join Cliff Bennett in Toe Fat. At the same time, the musician played in the Head Machine project (the album Orgasm), and at that time he mainly played the guitar.
In late 1969, Ken Hensley accepted Paul Newton's offer to join Spice, a band looking for a keyboard player. Soon the lineup changed its name to Uriah Heep. Hensley became the group's main writer. He brought basic ideas, song structures into the studio; then the compositions were arranged by all members of the group: the result was the collective work of Uriah Heep.
Participation in Uriah Heep brought multi-instrumentalist and author Ken Hensley international fame, despite critical rejection, which was almost unanimous in the early years. Only many years later, experts recognized the musician's outstanding authorship and performing skills. Hensley called his favorite period in the band's history the time working on the 'Demons & Wizards' album, when all the musicians were very united.
