Mick Box On Feeling Dumbfounded When Meeting Jeff Beck

During a recent appearance on Talkin’ Rock With Meltdown, Uriah Heep’s Mick Box gave insight into his memory of the late Jeff Beck. Box shared that he was more of a fan rather than seeing him as one of his contemporary peers, not to mention picking Beck as his all-time favorite guitarist.

Beck was not only Mick’s favorite guitarist. Many fans who heard or saw him on stage also agreed that he was one of the most influential players in rock history. The late guitarist rose to fame with the Yardbirds and then continued with the Jeff Beck Group. He didn’t ever stop performing over the fifty-plus years and remained a part of the music industry.

The iconic guitarist passed away this past January after contracting bacterial meningitis and closed his chapter in this world. However, his legacy will live on, with Mick Box and many other musicians sharing stories and memories about him. Box shared that he always followed Beck as a fan and loved everything he produced.

When asked whether he was a Jeff Beck fan, Mick Box replied:

“Fan? I think that’s understating it. I love everything that Jeff did you know he was my favorite guitarist of all time, from ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ from the early ’60s too, when he worked with the Yardbirds too, you know, and my favorite probably two favorite albums, if I put them in the top 20, would be ‘Truth’ and ‘Beck-Ola,’ of the Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart singing, Ronnie Wood on bass, Micky Waller on drums and Nicky Hopkins obviously on the piano. You listen to them, and they’re just real records; they’re four guys, my guys, in the studio all going for it the one time one take. That’s what you’re listening to. It’s fantastic; I love it.”

Box added on if he ever had a chance to meet Beck:

“A few times, yeah, a few award ceremonies out in Germany where Beck, Bogert & Appice were playing; he’s a lovely guy.”

His words on feeling dumbfounded when meeting Beck:

“To be honest, there’s a bit of that; I mean, the funny thing about loving everything you did, I never sat down and learned at one of his licks. I never I always saw it as a fan, which was unusual, but that’s how I viewed it. He took the guitar playing to areas that nobody else went, and embraced every genre and then came up with something new with it, so it’s amazing.”

The late guitar legend left an army of people who were and still are in awe of what he brought to the scene, including Mick Box. Beck just knew how to bring something new into every work he created, and some musicians like Box preferred to watch him as fans rather than seeing him as their peer.