Peter Goalby: the “lost DAT tape” album that completes a truly perfect trilogy
Don’t Think This Is Over is one of those stories that sounds too good to be true… until you press play.
I’m genuinely thrilled to welcome Peter Goalby back to the Now Spinning Magazine Podcast — a voice many of you will remember from Uriah Heep (and also Trapeze, and even Fable if you go back far enough). When Peter and I last spoke (in 2022), we focused on Easy With The Heartaches — an album that had been hidden for decades, then suddenly reappeared and blew the doors off anyone who loves melodic rock.
This new chat is about the next (and most surprising) chapter…
Because Peter has just released another long-lost solo album called Don’t Think This Is Over — recorded after he left Uriah Heep and believed to be gone forever… until a poorly-labelled DAT tape turned up in storage more than 30 years later.
And here’s the part that will make Heep fans grin: Mick Box and John Sinclair (yes, those two) added new overdubs in 2025, and Peter personally oversaw everything from tape transfer, mastering, and artwork right through to the finished release.
“I didn’t even know it existed…”
What makes this one different from the earlier “rediscovered” albums is simple: Peter didn’t even know this album was there.
He got a call telling him that Rack Publishing had been sold, and in the process they’d uncovered a DAT with his name on it — sitting there for 34 years. Nobody even knew if it would play.
Then Peter heard the first track… and his reaction was basically: No way. This is incredible.
There’s a theme that runs through the whole interview: Peter feels oddly detached from these recordings because so much time has passed. Yet, the moment the songs start, the quality is undeniable — the kind of writing that makes you stop what you’re doing and just listen.
“The Sound of a Nation” — written decades ago, but it hits right now
One of the most striking moments is Peter talking about “The Sound of a Nation” — and how the lyrics could have been written last week.
It’s one of those eerie, accidental time-capsules: a song from another era that suddenly feels bang on the money today.
And yes… it also features Mick Box on guitar solo.
Mick Box, John Sinclair… and the “I Don’t Want to Fight” reinvention
The behind-the-scenes detail in this chat is gold.
Peter talks about sharing tracks with friends (including John Parr, who praised Peter’s vocals in a way that clearly meant a lot). But the Heep connection is the one fans will lean into: Peter sent songs to Mick Box, and Mick’s response to Another Paper Moon was priceless:
“I never knew you could sing like that.”
Then Peter floated the idea of Uriah Heep potentially doing The Sound of a Nation (heavier, of course), but band politics got in the way — everyone’s fighting for their songs on the album. However, Mick still wanted to be involved… and that’s how the guest solo happened.
And then there’s the incredible story of revisiting “I Don’t Want to Fight” (the old “Mickey Mouse” single era). John Sinclair felt the original recording was all wrong — but he loved the song. The solution?
Rebuild it.
John kept the drums, reworked the arrangement, and when Peter heard what John had done, he cried. From there, the track was completed with new guitar work (including a fantastic contribution from a guitarist Peter had known since childhood).
This is the kind of “finishing the story properly” moment that makes the whole album feel meant to exist.
Peter’s songwriting secret: start with the chorus
I loved this part.
Peter talks about why his choruses land the way they do, and he reveals his method: he builds from the title and/or writes the chorus first, then works backwards. He describes a great song like a plane taking off — rising and rising until you hit that chorus “summit”.
And honestly… that’s exactly what these songs do.
The trilogy effect: 35 minutes of feel-good melodic rock perfection
If you’ve heard Easy With The Heartaches and I Will Come Running, you’ll understand why I kept saying in the interview: this shouldn’t work this well… but it absolutely does.
So many “lost album” stories end with: it’s interesting, but…
Not here.
These three albums feel like they belong together, and Peter even mentions the artwork forms a bigger picture when placed side-by-side — a literal trilogy.
Musically? This is the stuff that takes you straight back to that golden era where songs were about melody, positivity, huge hooks, and that “drive with the windows down” feeling.
And vocally… Peter is soaring. No constraints, no stylistic box — just pure emotional delivery. He puts it beautifully: music is the transfer of emotion from one person to the next. These songs deliver that.
Touring, pressure, and why Peter walked away
There’s also a really human section where Peter explains why he left the music business in the first place.
He talks about the relentless touring schedule with Heep — weeks and weeks away from home — and the unique pressure of being the singer: you can’t party like everyone else, you have to protect your voice, and you still have to walk on stage every night and look like you’re loving life even when your heart’s elsewhere.
And crucially: Peter chose to walk away. He wasn’t pushed. He wasn’t bitter. He simply decided there had to be more to life than music — and he went and lived it.
Which makes what’s happening now even sweeter…
“I’m more famous now than when I was famous.”
Peter says it himself: he’s reading comments now, decades later, with people praising his Heep-era work (Abominog, Head First, Equator) and discovering his songwriting through these newly released albums.
It’s like the world finally caught up.
And it’s a beautiful reminder that great songs don’t have an expiry date.
Where to start
If you’re a Uriah Heep fan and you remember Peter’s era, start with Don’t Think This Is Over — because it’s the freshest “new” chapter and it connects directly back to Heep with those 2025 overdubs.
Then work backwards through:
But please… do it properly. Stream it if you must — then buy the CD and enjoy this music the way it deserves.
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
