''Equator'' is the sixteenth studio album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Uriah Heep, released in 1985. It marked the studio return of bassist

Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, a ...

, who had rejoined the band for the ''

Head First Head First or Headfirst may refer to: Music * ''Head First'' (The Babys album) (1979) * ''Head First'' (Badfinger album) (recorded 1974, released 2000) * ''Head First'' (Goldfrapp album) (2010), or its title track * ''Head First'' (Uriah Hee ...

'' tour. The band also had a new record label, Portrait Records, a subsidiary of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. Equator was also the last Uriah Heep album to feature vocalist Peter Goalby & keyboardist John Sinclair. The tour programme would be Heep's last in the UK until the ''

Wake the Sleeper ''Wake the Sleeper'' is the 21st studio album by the rock band Uriah Heep, released on 2 June 2008 in Europe and on 26 August 2008 in the United States. The announced September 2007 release was rescheduled (initially to March 2008) as a resul ...

'' tour, which began in 2008. When the Heep back catalogue was issued on CD in the early 1990s by Castle and then remastered, with bonus tracks, in the mid-to-late 1990s by Essential, ''Equator'' was conspicuous by its absence. This was because

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

/CBS wanted what was considered an extortionate sum for the rights. The album ultimately had a CD release in 1999, with no bonus material whatsoever. When the Essential remasters were expanded and reissued in the early 2000s by

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

, ''Equator'' had to be passed over once again. However, in 2010, the album finally saw a release in expanded and remastered format, in time for its 25th anniversary, thus finally ending Sanctuary's remaster-series. After this Uriah Heep took an extended break from the recording studio, and their next studio album would not appear until 1989.

Track listing

All songs by Uriah Heep, except "Gypsy" by

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 ...

and David Byron

Personnel

;Uriah Heep *

– guitars, backing vocals *

Lee Kerslake Lee Gary Kerslake (16 April 1947– 19 September 2020) was an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep and for his work with Ozzy Osbourne in the early 1980s. Biography Early life a ...

– drums * John Sinclair – keyboards, backing vocals * Peter Goalby – vocals *

– bass, backing vocals ;Production *

Tony Platt Tony Platt is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists, including, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Shy, Buddy Guy, Foreigner, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sparks, Jaz ...

– producer, engineer, Synclavier programming *Gary Moberly – Fairlight programming *John Hallett, Stephen McLaughlin, Phil Tennant, Paul Corkette, John Levell – assistant engineers

Singles

"Rockarama" was released as a single, including a shaped picture-disc, and a video was made for the song. The B-side was non-album track "Backstage Girl". "Poor Little Rich Girl" was also released as a single, with live B-sides.

Charts

References

External links

*
The Official Uriah Heep Discography
' {{Authority control Uriah Heep (band) albums 1985 albums Portrait Records albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Tony Platt