Innocent Victim

Innocent Victim
Studio album by Uriah Heep
Released	November 1977
Recorded	July–September 1977
Studio	Roundhouse (London)
Genre	Hard rock arena rock
Length	38:48
Label	Bronze
Producer	Gerry Bron Ken Hensley
Uriah Heep chronology
Firefly (1977) Innocent Victim (1977) Fallen Angel (1978)
Singles from Innocent Victim
"Free Me" Released: 21 October 1977[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	3/10[3]

Innocent Victim is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in November 1977 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US.

Although it did not chart in the US or UK, Innocent Victim went on to sell more than 100,000 copies in Germany alone,^[citation needed] and reached No. 19 and No. 44 in New Zealand and Australia, respectively.[4][5] The single "Free Me" was a No. 3 hit in New Zealand and also peaked at No. 3 in South Africa. "Free Me" was also Uriah Heep's only hit in Australia, reaching No. 9.[6][7]

The eyes of drummer Lee Kerslake were used for the snake on the cover artwork. In the US, the sleeve was a live photomontage instead.

The album was remastered and reissued by Castle Communications in 1997 with two bonus tracks, and again in 2004 in an expanded deluxe edition including three live tracks recorded during the band's 1979 European tour (these are alternate versions to the ones released on the Live in Europe 1979 album).

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ken Hensley, except where noted

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Keep On Ridin'"	Hensley, Jack Williams	3:40
2.	"Flyin' High"		3:19
3.	"Roller"	Trevor Bolder, Pete McDonald	4:41
4.	"Free 'n' Easy"	Mick Box, John Lawton	3:05
5.	"Illusion"		5:05

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Free Me"		3:34
7.	"Cheat 'n' Lie"		4:54
8.	"The Dance"	Williams	4:49
9.	"Choices"	Williams	5:49

1997 CD remastered edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Illusion / Masquerade (Full Unedited Version)" (Originally recorded as one track, but released as separate tracks – "Illusion" as album track and "Masquerade" as B-side on single "Free Me")		8:18
11.	"The River" (outtake)	Bolder, Box, Hensley, Kerslake, Lawton	3:10

2004 Expanded Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Put Your Music (Where Your Mouth Is)" (outtake)	Bolder, Box, Hensley, Kerslake, Lawton	2:57
13.	"Cheat 'n' Lie" (alternative live version)		5:58
14.	"Free Me" (alternative live version)		5:46
15.	"Free 'n' Easy" (alternative live version)	Box, Lawton	3:15

Personnel

Uriah Heep

• Mick Box – guitars
• Ken Hensley – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
• Lee Kerslake – drums, backing vocals
• Trevor Bolder – bass guitar
• John Lawton – lead vocals

Production

• Gerry Bron, Ken Hensley – producers
• Peter Gallen – engineer
• Mark Dearnley – engineer on track 9
• John Gallen, Julian Cooper – assistant engineers

Charts

Album Weekly charts Chart (1977–1978) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 44 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 15 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 19 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] 13 Year-end charts Chart (1978) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 37

Singles Year Single Chart Position 1978 "Free Me" New Zealand Singles Chart[6] 3 South African Singles Chart[7] 3 Austrian Top 40 Singles[13] 8 Swiss Singles Top 75[14] 8 German Singles Chart[15] 9 Australian Albums Chart[5] 18

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[16]	Gold	20,000^^
Germany (BVMI)[17]	Gold	250,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 62.
2. Guarisco, Donald A. "Uriah Heep - Innocent Victim review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
3. Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 303–304. ISBN 978-1894959025.
4. "Uriah Heep – Innocent Victim (Album)". charts.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "Uriah Heep – Free Me (Song)". charts.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
7. "SA Charts 1965 - 1989: Acts U". Springbok Radio. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Uriah Heep – Innocent Victim" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
10. "Charts.nz – Uriah Heep – Innocent Victim". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
11. "Norwegiancharts.com – Uriah Heep – Innocent Victim". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
12. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1978. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
13. "Uriah Heep – Free Me". Austriancharts.at (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
14. "Uriah Heep – Free Me". Hitparade.ch (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
15. "Single – Uriah Heep, Free Me". Charts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
16. "Uriah Heep. Gold Disc for the album, Innocent Victim, Australian Gold Award". 9 September 2023.
17. "Bronze Renews Ariola Deal" (PDF). Billboard. 28 October 1978. p. 89. Retrieved 20 December 2020.

External links

• Innocent Victim at Discogs (list of releases)