Spice was the immediate precursor to English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 rock band Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep (band)

Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...

, featuring David Byron

David Byron

David Byron -Early Life 1967-1969:From mid-60's to early 70's David Byron did a lot of session work for a company called Avenue Recordings singing lead and backing vocals...

 (vocals), Mick Box

Mick Box

Michael Frederick Box , better known by his stage name Mick Box, is the lead guitarist of British rock group Uriah Heep, having previously been a member of The Stalkers and Spice, both with original Uriah Heep vocalist David Byron. He is the only member from the band's founding in 1969 who is...

 (guitar), Paul Newton

Paul Newton (musician)

Paul Newton was the original bass guitarist for Uriah Heep, and played on the band's first three albums. He subsequently played for a band called "Carnival" for several years on the Mecca Palais circuit and also worked as a studio musician and appeared on various recordings...

 (bass guitar), and Alex Napier

Alex Napier (musician)

Alex Napier was the drummer for the musical bands Spice and Uriah Heep.-With Uriah Heep:*Very 'eavy... Very 'umble *The Lansdowne Tapes -External links:*...

 (drums) (Napier was a replacement for drummer Nigel Pegrum

Nigel Pegrum

Nigel Pegrum was a drummer with The Small Faces and Steeleye Span before becoming a producer.- Biography :Nigel Pegrum played drums with an early line-up of The Small Faces, then played drums with Lee Grant And The Capitols before joining Spice, who subsequently changed their name to Uriah Heep...

; Pegrum would later join folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

 stalwarts Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....

). The group changed their name to Uriah Heep on the inclusion in late 1969 of organist Ken Hensley

Ken Hensley

Kenneth William David Hensley is a keyboard player , guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s....

, formerly of The Gods

The Gods (band)

The Gods were an English group founded in 1965. The original bandmembers included Mick Taylor , Brian Glascock, and his brother John .-Career:...

 and Toe Fat

Toe Fat

Toe Fat was an English rock music band, active from June 1969 to 1971, notable for including two future members of Uriah Heep.-Career:Formed in June 1969, the band was fronted by former Rebel Rouser Cliff Bennett and, in the course of its two year, two album career, featured lead guitarist and...

. Drummer Lee Kerslake

Lee Kerslake

Lee Kerslake is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep, in addition to his work in the Ozzy Osbourne band...

, who had played with Hensley in both bands, would follow him into Uriah Heep in 1972.

Discography

Spice released one single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "What About The Music" (b/w "In Love") in 1968, eventually transforming into Uriah Heep during the recording of their first full-length album. Songs recorded under the Spice name and line-up have surfaced on:

• The Lansdowne Tapes
  The Lansdowne Tapes
  The recordings featured on the album date from the time before the formation of Uriah Heep. The early history begins with a band called Spice. Featuring Mick Box, David Garrick--who later changed his name to David Byron--Paul Newton and Alex Napier, they were signed to Gerry Bron's company 'Hit...
  
  (compilation of recordings by Spice, and outtakes from the first three Uriah Heep albums) - Recorded 1968-1971, released 1994

• A Time of Revelation (four-disc anthology of Uriah Heep material, including recordings by Spice) - Recorded 1968-1995, released 1996

Spice recordings on these compilations

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 consisted of "Astranaza", "Born In A Trunk" (vocal and instrumental versions), "Celebrate", "I Want You Babe", "In Love", "Magic Lantern", "Schoolgirl", and "What About The Music". Additionally, two of the songs released on the first Uriah Heep album were recorded by the Spice line-up before Hensley's inclusion, with Colin Wood

Colin Wood

Colin Arthur Wood is a British musician engaged in the field of jazz and rock music.Wood was born in Camberwell, South East London, & was moved to Somerset in 1950. He played jazz piano while still at school. In 1962 he went to Durham University to study mathematics...

appearing on keyboards ("Come Away Melinda" and "Wake Up (Set Your Sights)").