Shadowing Practice: I wanted David Byron to REJOIN Uriah Heep! HE WOULDN'T LISTEN! - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
The definite sound of the band was David Byron, he was an incredible front man, he kind of had it all, didn't he?
2
I mean, to you, sum up David, what made him so special?
3
Well, number one, he had the most marvellous voice and a fantastic voice.
4
And David was one of these vocalists that lived inside a song, you know, he wasn't just a vehicle for it.
5
You know, and I think that's where it comes through in the grooves, it comes through when people hear his voice.
6
there was a group of deep honesty there
7
that just springs out of everything you know she was just wonderful
8
and of course she had a great range vocal range you know um you know
9
you get up really high too you know do the screaming like
10
which was very important in those days yes
11
and uh he also had charisma you know um by the bucket load you know i always said you know
12
if you were in the albert hall it was a full up
13
and david came in one of the exits you know he was there.
14
You know, he had that sort of charisma, you know.
15
Brilliant.
16
In the end, a lot of that charisma was his downfall, I believe, you know, because you couldn't leave it on stage.
17
He had to have it everywhere and it's not a healthy thing.
18
No, not at all.
19
And then David had to leave the band.
20
But there was a point, wasn't there, in the 80s when you tried to reconcile with David, didn't you, and try and get him back into heat, but it just wasn't...
21
Yeah, I'm sure I'm involved with myself.
22
But yeah, we went down to his house and I said, look to him, David, I've got the record contracts, I've got all the gear, I've got all the work, I've got everything we possibly need.
23
Let's get the strength back to where it was in Spice prior to he, you know, with your and me doing the writing and everything.
24
And Trevor was on board and so that was a good thing.
25
But we went in there and I saw him in his house
26
and he had a lot of people in there
27
and he had like two or three managers playing smoke up his backside
28
and a lot of drinking was happening and not clear thinking.
29
I have to say.
30
And in the end, he was just so immersed in his solo project that he, you know, I think he was putting together Rough Diamond at the time.
31
He was so immersed in all that, that he couldn't see any other way to go than the
32
way he went you know in fact you know i can
33
remember vividly sitting outside in the car outside the house with with trevor
34
and we just looked at your home
35
and what happened with all these great ideas with great offers
36
and everything to to launch you back to where you should be
37
and and it wasn't to be what's going to happen it's sad isn't it especially
38
when you talk about the managers
39
that you know we would have we would have gone on to great things for sure absolutely absolutely
40
and you mentioned managers there i've heard you in another interview say
41
that maybe if the managers had looked after the band members a little bit better in those early days
42
because they definitely flogged you didn't they was two albums a
43
year it was nine months touring then perhaps certain things wouldn't have happened to certain members
44
you know there was no attention given to anybody's private life
45
at all i mean i could understand it to a degree because
46
when we first got launched i mean jerry brown our manager
47
at the time he um put his money where his mouth
48
was he got all the ads you know full page ads in all the magazines and
49
melody makers and enemy and sounds and all the rest of it it's marvelous um
50
but then obviously he wants once his money paid back, you know, he bought all the equipment, you know, and there comes a time when you've got to pay
51
that back and we did over a number of years
52
but then when we paid back tenfold it's time to just ease off a little bit but he didn't, he just kept pushing, pushing,
53
pushing, pushing and then the wheels were falling off, you know, you can't go with that sort of pressure
54
without something happening and it did unfortunately
55
but you know there's two ways of thinking it as well
56
but also back then anybody had any dependency
57
or anything there wasn't a priory to go to there wasn't anything other than your local doctor
58
so there was no backup for any of that or no information
59
that you could go and green out somewhere to try
60
and put it right you know so it was a difficult time all around
61
but i just feel that if we had more time to to have home life then
62
that balance would be beneficial to everyone.
✨ Recommend Video
B22
58 sentences
Uriah Heep - Mick Talks About The Making of "Living The Dream"
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
60 sentences
Did Diane Morgan Dump a Boyfriend Over The Way He Fell Down Stairs? | Would I Lie To You?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
38 sentences
david bowie interview 1973
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
98 sentences
Jane’s Addiction Members Sue Perry Farrell After Onstage Brawl
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
75 sentences
Dave And Lars Interview
Interview EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
33 sentences
Why Roger Daltrey Won’t Play This Who Song Ever Again (2015)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
14 sentences
Did Bon Scott Write "You Shook Me All Night Long"?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2379 sentences
Joe Wilkinson And Anna Williamson Talk Girl Bands And Agony Aunts | Train-ing It | Channel 4
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
23 sentences
Tony Iommi's Goodbye Message to Ronnie James Dio
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
50 sentences
Brian Johnson & AC/DC: The Definitive Story Of How He Joined The Best Band In The World
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
25 sentences
Alex Van Halen reveals they called Michael Anthony for the reunion tour
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
100 sentences
Fieldy Finally SPEAKS OUT On Why He Left Korn
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 62 sentences and 864 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:03. The speaker talks fast, about 214 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- bind /ˈbaɪ̯nd/ (verb) — To tie; to confine by any ligature.
- gear /ɡɪɚ/ (noun) — Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
- exit /ˈɛɡzət/ (noun) — An act of going out or going away, or leaving; a departure.
- ease /iz/ (verb) — To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
- maker /ˈmeɪk.ɚ/ (noun) — Someone who makes; a person or thing that makes or produces something.
- backup /ˈbækˌʌp/ (noun) — A reserve or substitute.
- vocal /ˈvoʊ̯.kəl/ (adjective) — Of, pertaining to, or resembling the human voice or speech.
- scream /skɹiːm/ (verb) — To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek.
- beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/ (adjective) — Helpful or good to something or someone.
- bucket /ˈbʌkɪt/ (noun) — A container made of rigid material, often with a handle, used to carry liquids or small items.
- honesty /ˈɑ.nɪ.sti/ (noun) — The act, quality, or condition of being honest.
- melody /ˈmɛl.ə.di/ (noun) — A sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase.
- definite /ˈdɛfɪnɪt/ (adjective) — Having distinct limits.
- groove /ɡɹuv/ (noun) — A long, narrow channel or depression; e.g., such a slot cut into a hard material to provide a location for an engineering component, a tire groove, or a…
- downfall /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/ (noun) — A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- pay back /peɪ bæk/ (verb) — To pay (a debt or the lender) so as to provide the entire amount of money owed.
- back into (verb) — To advance to the post-season as a result of another team's loss, especially where one's own team has also lost.
- come in /ˌkʌm ˈɪn/ (verb) — To enter.
- come through (verb) — To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway.
- do over /ˈduˌoʊvɚ/ (verb) — To cover with; to smear or spread on to.
- fall off (verb) — To become detached or to drop from.
- get up (verb) — To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb.
- go in (verb) — To become obscured by clouds.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as wasn't, I've, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, dependency /dɪˈpɛndənsi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like bind, gear, exit.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.