"Bird of Prey" is a song by

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

band Uriah Heep, from the group's US version of their 1970 debut album '' Very 'Eavy... Very 'Umble'' (released as ''Uriah Heep'' in the United States). A re-recorded version of the song would appear on the European version of 1971's album ''

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

''. The original 1970 version of the song would later appear on the European 2003 remaster of ''Very 'Eavy... Very 'Umble''. Although not released as a single, the song is regarded by many fans as one of the band's most popular songs. The song is the B-side of the band's first ever worldwide single "

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

In popular culture

In 2009 the intro to the song (approximately from 8–14 seconds) was sampled by the American Rapper

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...

in his single " Hurt Locker".

Personnel

Mick Box Michael Frederick Box (born 9 June 1947) is an English musician who is the lead guitarist of rock group Uriah Heep, having previously been a member of The Stalkers and Spice, both with original Uriah Heep vocalist David Byron.Larkin, Colin (20 ...

– lead guitar *

David Byron David Garrick (29 January 1947 – 28 February 1985), better known by his stage name David Byron, was a British singer, who was best known in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist with the rock band Uriah Heep. Byron possessed a powerful oper ...

– lead vocals *

Ken Hensley Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah ...

– organ, mellotron * Paul Newton – bass guitar, vocals * Keith Baker – drums

References

1970 songs Uriah Heep (band) songs Songs written by Ken Hensley Songs written by David Byron Songs written by Mick Box {{1970s-song-stub