hensley reportedly gave the ultimatum "it's him or me" to band manager gerry bron, citing byron's increasingly erratic behaviour due to alcohol abuse. hensley said at the time, "david was one of those classic people who couldn't face up to the fact that things were wrong and he looked for solace in a bottle." ahead of his dismissal, uriah heep had secured john lawton as replacement singer. their manager at the time, gerry bron, said byron had been released in "the best interest of the group". bron explained that byron and the other uriah heep members had been in disagreement for some time over fundamental issues of group policy, and that the differences had been finally brought to a head following the band's recent tour of britain and europe. "it was felt by the rest of the group that they could no longer reconcile david's attitude with their own," commented bron.