And here's another message from Ken, about the guestbook's entries:

"Hi Everyone,
I just spent a little time looking through the guest book and I wanted to thank you for the many Christmas greetings! It is kind of you to write and I also find it very encouraging. I am sure that 2003 will be a unique and busy year and there will be exciting news and details all throughout January.
God bless and be careful!
Ken
<><"

New "end of year" message from Ken here!

Ken is very busy right now finishing the songs for Opramenko but keep watching for news of the exciting plans for 2003!

Ken & Monica would like to thank those who have been kind enough to write messages due to Monica's father passing away last Tuesday. A lot of the fans have met her though there are many more that have not and she has received some nice messages for which she is very grateful.

Ken Hensley has just posted a new message (and pics at his new house in Spain) to the fans, here!! Ken is very busy right now finishing the songs for Opramenko but keep watching for news of the exciting plans for 2003!

The Metal Abyss webzine has a review of Ken Hensley's Running Blind CD in their New Releases section.  The URL is: http://metal-abyss.tripod.com (thanks to webmaster Thanos Aggelakis for the info!)

Paperlate Radio in Holland has made available most of their best interviews and studio jams, including Ken Hensley and Uriah Heep! Check them out here: http://www.paperlate.nl . Click on Highlights.

Again the Tour Diary has been updated, now with details on the last two gigs of this year: in Pratteln and in Barcelona! Check them out here...

Ken Hensley has changed/added a few details on the last 2 days reports on the Tour Diary page, so you might want to re-read them! Also, some neat pics were added too, showing press conferences, rehearsals with the symphony orchestra and concerts! More to be added soon...

Read lots of news on the recent Russian special concerts sent personally by Ken Hensley, as part of his The Teuto-Ole Chronicles!

Some comments sent by Ken Hensley, regarding the upcoming recordings for Born Again: "Thanks to everyone who voted for the Top 12 songs for 'BORN AGAIN' (which is exactly what the songs will be!). We will make the final decision soon and let you know the final line-up. As you know we are off to Berlin, Russia, Pratteln and Barcelona soon and we'll be starting work on the 4 new CD projects as soon as we get back from this trip!! Thanx a million for the incredible response", Ken Hensley

Just in... Final stock replacements: "We have taken delivery of the books to replace those stolen, and so all orders will be fulfilled." - Martin Darvill, Ken's manager

Stop press... Ken Hensley & Free Spirit will be headlining the first night of a 3-day festival in Magdeburg on September 13th to raise money for the flood victims in Dresden and the area. The festival is sponsored by Rock Hard magazine. More details soon!

Very exciting news about Ken Hensley & Free Spirit's upcoming releases are now available here!! Check this out and help to spread the news, as we want to make as much noise as possible!

The latest instalment of Ken Hensley's tour diary, The Birthday Chronicles, is now online! Read all about Ken's birthday commemorations in front of 7,000 people in Germany here!

Here's Ken Hensley & Free Spirit's schedule in Russia in September!

Sep 14th - Fly to St. Petersburg
Sep 15th - LENSOVETA THEATRE, St. Petersburg
Sep 16th - Overnight to Moscow
Sep 17th - SIXTEEN TONS, Moscow
Sep 18th - OPERA HOUSE, Saratov
Sep 19th - Travel to Samara
Sep 20th - EXHIBITION CENTRE, Samara
Sep 21st - OFF
Sep 22nd - OPEN AIR CONCERT, Togliatti
Sep 23rd - ORCHESTRAL CONCERT AND PRIVATE PARTY, Togliatti
Sep 24th - OFF/Charity event
Sep 25th - Band flies to Zurich, Switzerland

Ken Hensley wants to know what are your 10 favourite Uriah Heep songs written or co-written by him! And *why* do you consider them the best! All will become clear………… soon!! Please send your entries to webmaster@ken-hensley.com, and don't forget to write My favourites on the subject field!!

Thieves steal prized memorabilia

It appears that during the recent memorabilia robbery, the thieves helped themselves to quantities of merchandise. To add to the logistical problems caused by overwhelming webstore demand, our entire stock of "Making of Running Blind" Video CDs has been stolen. This item has had to be re-ordered and we apologise for any further delay in fulfilling outstanding orders.

Ken Hensley in Pandora's Box on TotalRock

Midnight (UK time) Sunday 4th August (to 3am 5th August), join Pandora on TotalRock Radio, just after Andy King, when her special guest will be Ken Hensley. He'll be talking about the past, present & future - including his years with Uriah Heep... as well as what he's learned about life & love so far!! E-mail pandora@totalrock.com before the show with your questions for Ken. You can also call the London studio during the show: 0207 384 1010 and e-mail your name & address to pandora@totalrock.com for a chance to win
a newly released Uriah Heep Box set: "You Can't Keep A Good Band Down", released thru Essential/Castle/Sanctuary, and packed full of 7 beautifully packaged albums from the years 1970-76 (there's no question to answer: to enter just e-mail your name & address). Entries by August 10th please. TotalRock broadcasts in the UK on sky digital 885, ntl 874 & worldwide via www.totalrock.com . Pictures taken during the interview can be seen here and here!

Thieves steal prized memorabilia

"We would be grateful if all website readers could be aware that we have suffered a robbery here at QED Global. Among the items stolen were a prized Dommenget guitar bearing the inscription of Ken Hensley on the 12th fret, various amps/speakers, merchandise, CDs and a number of personal items. If anybody hears of any cheap memorabilia being offered in suspicious circumstances, would they kindly notify us care of the webmaster."

Martin Darvill (Ken Hensley's manager)

The Kloster Cornberg Festival, originally scheduled to happen this coming weekend, was sadly cancelled due to the main organizer's health problems. We wish him a quick recovery. As soon as we have news on possible new dates, they will be announced here!

Ken Hensley & Free Spirit have been invited to perform in Togliatti, Russia as part of a major festival that is being held there on September 23rd & 24th, partly to celebrate the production of the first car, the Chevrolet Niva, in the joint venture between General Motors and AVTOVAZ, the largest car manufacturer in Russia. It also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the "sister city" relationship between Togliatti and Flint, Michigan. Among those who have acccepted invitations to join the festivities are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jack Smith, Chairman of General Motors and Vladimir Kadannikov, Chairman of AVTOVAZ. More than 200 journalists will be there as well as many officials from Russia and other countries. Ken & Free Spirit will perform at an open air show on the steps of the Volgar Sports Centre and at a private function for the dignitaries and invited guests and Ken has also accepted an invitation to perform with the Symphony Orchestra. Sony will release a special single written by Ken, the proceeds of which will go to a local charity, along with donations raised from the pre-sale of the first three cars off of the production line.

Says Ken..." This is a wonderful surprise, a unique honour and a great, great privilege. I am sure it will be an unforgettable moment for all of us and I am already looking forward to it"

The Windmill and Waffle Chronicles are now up!!

The last part of the EC Livin' Chronicles have been just uploaded!

On Ken Hensley's birthday (August 24th), he and Free Spirit will be headlining the Rolling Wheels Festival, Wiesenfest am See, Berlin/Tamrow!

The EC Livin' Chronicles have been just updated!

Confirmed: the booklets and video CDs (to fulfill the Running Blind advance orders) will begin shipping together on Monday and complete shipping will be finished by the end of next week. The original Running Blind artwork is complete and will be made next week which means the CDs can be packaged and shipped and all of the back-orders will be dealt with!

The exclusive agency for the September/October European tour has been awarded to Monster Productions. The main agent is Lars Ratz and the details are as follows: info@monster-productions.com . The UK will still be booked by Don McKay at Rhino Agency (don@rhinoagency.freeserve.co.uk)

The Paris gig was cancelled and will possibly happen on October 3rd (a confirmation will be posted here when available)! The complete and updated Tour Dates list can be found here!

The Free Spirit gig in Vienna, Austria, next Tuesday, will be recorded!! So, we need everyone to bring their biggest and best voices!! To check out the complete Tour Dates list, click here!

Some rumors refering to Ken Hensley joining Deep Purple to replace Jon Lord, instead of Don Airey, have been posted on The Aviator, the German Deep Purple Fan Club. We want to make clear that this is not true! Ken's new band, Free Spirit, is his current focus right now!

An important Joint Announcement from Ken Hensley and Martin Darvill is now up here!

Also, a new official statement is now on the KH Online Store.

The Milan (Italy) and Budapest (Hungary) gigs were postponed to September. Meanwhile, Ken & Free Spirit are rockin' Germany! Read the latest tour reports from Ken here.

Ken and Free Spirit are back on the road, and the tour diary is back as well! You can read here EC Livin' - The European Tour Chronicles!! Find also here the latest updates in the tour itinerary (a gig in Hanover, Germany, has been just added!).

Ken has being doing some interviews with magazines such as Break Out, Access All Areas and Melodic Journey in Germany and also a live interview on Premier Christian Radio in London on May 30th. There will also be a film crew at the Wetzlar and Heidelberg gigs, shooting three songs and an after-show interview. Ken is planning to videotape the whole tour.

There were some delays on the release of some items at the KH Online Store, but they are being all sorted out. The original Running Blind CD, the art is still being finished after some problems with the first pressing, but this is being pushed very hard everyday, so it won't be long! Meanwhile, Running Blind is currently the number 1 selling CD in Russia! Also, those who ordered the advance copies will be receiving the extra bonus Video CD and the definitive booklet soon, as they were received by Ken's crew on May 27th. The video was recorded on MPEG1 format, so it will virtually play anywhere on anything.

Ken and the rest of the guys went into the studio on the last week of May to listen and evaluate the recordings they did at Brierley Hill, for a live CD planned to be released in the coming future. There are also serious plans for a Free Spirit studio album!

A tour diary update... The Cossack Chronicles!!

Ken Hensley & Free Spirit have just returned from Russia, after very successful concerts there! We're happy - to say the least - to say that Running Blind is currently the number 1 selling CD in Russia!!! Soon we'll have here the Cossack Chronicles, the next part of the Tour Diary, written personally by Ken!

Meanwhile, the Tour Dates page has been just updated with the latest changes!

From Martin Darvill (Ken's manager):
"Dear all,
We have now received the Revised "A Glimpse of Glory" and those orders will be satisfied. We can now confirm that the complete merchandising process will be dealt with from the UK head office. It appears that some orders have been lost between USA / UK tracking process – please notify us if you are still awaiting orders."

Tickets by mail for all shows in Germany available at METALTIX, phone (00)49 (0)4627 18380. To see the current list of tourdates, check this page out.

Martin Darvill, Ken Hensley's manager, sends his own impressions and photos from the last gig of the UK leg of the world tour in Rotherham! Check out the Live Reports page!

Pictures and reports from the UK leg of the World Tour have been just added! Check them out here! Also, Ken has just sent the latest instalment for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles!

Directions to tomorrow's gig in Rotherham, as provided by Bob Campbell: "I was told that the Classic Rock Society was handling advance ticket sales for the Rotherham gig and that Ken's appearance was part of a mini weekend rock festival with the Saturday being the second day! (strange!)  They said that there were two other bands that evening, the first band was on at around 6.30pm and that Ken was on last (always keep the best to last!). Anyway, their telephone number is 01709 702575 and they can take credit cards for advance ticket sales and you pick up the tickets at the door (that's what I've done).  With Rotherham being the only Northern venue which Ken is playing there may be more fans like me who will want to travel quite a distance to be there.  Like me they probably will be worried about finding their way there and probably would prefer to buy tickets in advance. I'm told, the Oakwood Centre is actually attached to a school now known as Oakwood College and that's why I had trouble to find the telephone number. The venue is in Lawton Lane in Rotherham very close to the district hospital.  Take junction 33 from the M1 and follow the hospital signs. (I've just read that Ken got lost going to one of the other gigs so I want to make sure he gets to Rotherham!!)"

More live dates in Europe just announced... check them out here!! The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles are being frequently updated too!

Some brand new photos included on both The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and the Live Reports pages!

As the UK leg of the tour has just begun, Ken Hensley has been writing the second part of his tour diary: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles!! Read all the details from the gigs there...

The Newcastle gig, originally scheduled to happen today, has been postponed to June 26th! And updated list of gigs can be found at the Tour Dates page.

The Russian concerts have been confirmed and are now announced on the Tour Dates page!!

"We've confirmed the new Free Spirit studio album will commence
recording at Liscombe in May, for a release later in 2002. Running
Blind may have been a year late as a result of Ken's return to the UK and various legal matters, so we feel it right to capture the enthusiasm within the new band and concentrate on new material. This will be a Free Spirit project, but watch out for the odd special guest. We haven't abandoned other recording projects, rather there is such a buzz following the marvellous Scandinavian tour and we all feel this should be captured NOW!!! Ken's got stacks of material up his sleeve having been particularly inspired recently, and the guys are being encouraged to contribute. Dave K is going to be spending a lot of time at Liscombe in between touring, so he'll no doubt be taking advantage of studio down time to see how many notes he can fit into a millisecond. We're just awaiting the final details in order to confirm the itinerary for live shows in Russia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium and additional UK dates in June. Then it's the festival season and the Americas / Far East to consider. There will be a single released in due course, to accompany the European tour"

Martin Darvill, Easter Saturday

The confirmed dates for the UK leg of the tour are now here! Please notice that the gig at the Robin Hood in Brierly Hill will be recorded, so be there and make a lot of noise!

Further concerts in Russia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Holland and Belgium will be announced soon!! This part of the tour will begin on May 27th, which also happens to be the release date for Running Blind in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Important: a disclaimer by Ken Hensley can be found... here!

STOP PRESS!!! Some fresh news for you here!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
"Reference advert on Classic Rock Productions site, 'One Way or Another' CD, by John Wetton and Ken Hensley. We are constantly being made aware of issues arising that we may be assumed to have endorsed, but in reality are beyond our control. On behalf of John and Ken I can confirm we're unaware of this 'new release' and that appropriate representations have been submitted. It's probably sufficient to say that if Ken's and John's sites have not confirmed releases they are unofficial. If any other subscribers spot suspicious on-line advertising, please let me know, either on site or via either webmaster."
Martin Darvill, Ken Hensley management

Metal Express in Norway has just made a new interview (streaming audio) with Ken available on their website! Please check it out here!

Please be aware that there is a major problem with the art for the cover of the original Running Blind CD. This is currently being corrected, but we won't be able to send them until we get this re-printed. Our apologies to all but it has to be right!

We have a Caption Contest going on now! We are offering a free T-Shirt for the reader who suggests the most appropriately irreverent caption to help us keep our feet on the ground! You can suggest anything for either this pic or this one! Please send your suggestions to webmaster@ken-hensley.com !

The first - and successful - leg of the tour (Scandinavia and Finland) is over now! The Live Reports and The Viking Chronicles have been updated again.

Good news: Running Blind will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by Sony Germany through MCC. Soon we'll have a firm release date. The tour there is planned to start on May 15th!! More details soon...

Photos from the Finnish leg of the tour are being added each and every day, please be sure to check them out (we've added some from the previous gigs as well!). The Viking Chronicles have been updated too, thanks to Mr. Hensley's efforts!

Please also note that some of the tourdates (Copenhagen, Malmoe) have been cancelled! More will be added/confirmed soon anyway!

A Chistmas Tale, by Martin Darvill!

And The Viking Chronicles continue! A Tour Diary directly from the road... The Live Reports page has been updated as well!

This Ken Hensley interview will be released on March 6th in Joensuu, eastern Finland, in their leading newspaper Karjalainen... circulation over 40 000 copies... the interview is about half page large, and was conducted by Suonna Kononen.

Some photos taken during Ken's visit to Russia can be found here!

The World Tour has just begun! The first reports and photos are just coming in! Please go to the Live Reports page to check them out!!

A message from Martin Darvill, Ken Hensley's manager, regarding the Online Store products: "Thanks to all of you out there for your overwhelming support of the merchandising. We are running out fast and have re-ordered all lines. With the exception of CD orders which are being re-stocked, all merchandise orders are being fulfilled on the day that credit cards are authorised. Please email Helen Hodges on helen@kenhensley.ltd.uk if you do not receive your delivery within 14 days of authorisation. Please bear with us during these exciting times."

The Ken Hensley's Free Spirit World Tour will be starting in a couple of days! Soon we'll have reports and photos here on the website, and Ken is already writing The Viking Chronicles, a tour diary from the road! Things are going very well and it looks like they will tour in Russia in early May, immediately before the German/European tour... dates to be announced soon!

On the Online Store, the leather jacket originally offered has been replaced by a fleece top one. The original jacket was too expensive and didn't look good enough, but this new one is spot on! Check it out here.

The More Than Conquerors live CD/DVD, recorded last December at The London Forum and featuring a one-off performance of the Hensley/Wetton band, is scheduled to be released in April/2002 by Classic Rock Productions. Before that, at the end of March, CRP will release The Magician's Birthday Party CD/DVD/Booklet, featuring Uriah Heep plus special guests Ken Hensley, John Lawton and Thijs van Leer!

Some new dates have been just confirmed for Ken Hensley's Free Spirit World Tour! Check out the Tourdates page and see when they'll be playing next to you! The touring band will be consisted of Ken on vocals, keyboards and guitars, Dave Kilminster on the lead guitar, Andy Pyle on bass and Pete Riley on drums (John Young won't be touring with them anymore due to commitments with the Scorpions). The Finnish band Five Fifteen will be opening the concerts.

Great news! Ken Hensley will be signing the deal for Running Blind for Russia with Sony Music! It will be released there in late March, and Ken will be going to Moscow on February 23rd and will be meeting the record company, tour promoters and doing lots of press, television and radio work as well as in-store autograph sessions. After his visit we will be able to announce the details of the Russian tour!

On February 18th, Running Blind will be released in Scandinavia by Record Heaven. Other release dates will be annouce very soon, as things are very close to a major deal in Germany, Austria and Switzerland! More details soon...

Ken would like to thank everyone who sent contributions and ideas for the Free Spirit logo (and quite a lot of people did)! They were all appreciated, and we have a winner now: it's Manfred Blaschko from Austria! Check out the chosen logo here!

If you were confused about the different items shown at the Ken Hensley Online Store, then you'll probably understand better what is what, by checking it out now (including the definitive cover images of all the upcoming CDs) and the Discography pages (also with the covers as well as the tracklist for all releases).

The Toronto Sun newspaper featured on its January 30th edition their "Anti-Hit List", written by John Sakamoto. Mr. Sakamoto is the executive producer of jamshowbiz.ca on Canoe. Well, Ken Hensley's "Running Blind" CD appears on the 5th position there!! Check it out: http://jam.canoe.ca/JamMusicAntihit/jan30_anti-can.html. This is great promotion, as this newspaper is Toronto's major one! Thanks to the efforts of Canadian fan Lor D'Alimonte!

The German band Metalium will be releasing on February 25th 2002 a new album titled "Hero-Nation Chapter Three". Ken Hensley played Hammond organ on one track, called "Fate Conquered the Power". Check out the details here: http://www.metalium.de (click on "News")

The brand new Ken Hensley Online Store is now up and running!  Brand new items added, and more to come!!  Check it out here!

Trevor Hensley (Ken's brother) and his wife Stella are finally releasing their awaited debut CD, titled Six Hours Notice!  To read all the details and order it, please go to http://listen.to/trevor-stella/.  Included are versions for Heep's "Rain" and "Tonight", as well as Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" (the other songs are originals).

More tour dates are being added to the upcoming Free Spirit World Tour (Ken Hensley's new band).  We have now at the Tour Dates section the revised UK dates (more will be confirmed soon!), and some dates in Sweden and Norway!  Also, Tapio Mikkinen from Finland is helping to promote the tour in Scandinavia, and has set up a page at http://www.saunalahti.fi/~htapiom/kh/tour.htm.  Finnish fans can get the latest information on the tour in Finnish language by sending your e-mail addresses to him at htapiom@saunalahti.fi (also if you want to help with promotion by distributing posters, etc.)