British Drum Icons

British Drum Icons 2017-05-03T21:13:28+00:00

Welcome to British Drum Icons, the latest feature to be added to our ever expanding website. This new sub-section of the site is dedicated to the celebration of British drummers who have been admired by many and been an influence to some of the biggest names in the industry.

In our constant search for new drumming heroes we often tend to forget those who blazed a path for others to follow. People like Clem Cattini, Brian Bennett and Bob Henrit were among a phalanx of drummers who came out of the melting pot of skiffle, when British rock music was at its infancy. They are the “without whom brigade” who laid the trail for Ringo, Moonie and Bonzo to follow. If you think you haven’t heard these guys play, think again. Put together, their work is a fantastic and rich slice of music from the early days of rock ‘n’ roll and they are all still going strong today. They were and remain true innovators who have played with rock and pop’s royalty.

We will start off with a few great drummers and will be adding more in time to make this a complete record of some of the greatest British drumming heroes. This first set of interviews were done by Mark Forster, who is regular contributor of feature interviews to mikedolbear.com, a news journalist of some 20 years and the inspiration behind the piece. So here they are, in no particular order.

Brian Bennett

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Where do you start with Brian Bennett, a drummer of distinction whose like we’ll probably never see again? He occupies a place in British music history similar to the regard Buddy Rich is held in America

Gilson Lavis

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If you want proof that musical guardian angels exist, then look no further than Gilson Lavis. It's not his fear that he's living on borrowed time and any day could get a tap on the

Ian Paice

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Ian Paice Ian Paice needs no introduction. He is the powerhouse that has for 40 years propelled Deep Purple with a deep sense of groove, power, swing and swagger. He remains the only

Geoff Dugmore

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Geoff Dugmore - Photo Dave Hughes Geoff Dugmore is the most amiable drummer I know, but through no fault of his own, he’s not easy to tie down. The problem is he’s always

Ginger Baker

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Classic, dapper Ginger Baker Ginger Baker was recently honoured with the ‘Zildjian Drummers Achievement Award’ at a special gig at Shepherds Bush Empire on December the 7th 2008 and I went along to

Steve Ferrone

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Steve Ferrone Steve''s tasteful musicality and powerful groove has made him one of the most popular drummers in music today. Steve first came to international prominence while playing with the Average White Band

Gary Husband

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Gary Husband - photo Naoju Gary Husband...driving talent to the max What have John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, Jack Bruce, Robin Trower, Mike Stern and drummers Billy Cobham and Danny Gottlieb got in common?

Nick Mason

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Nick Mason You’ll be surprised to know it’s not every day I go to meet anybody who owns a £30,000,000 Ferrari 250 GTO and 40 other ‘serious’ cars, but most people may well

Henry Spinetti

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Henry Spinetti Henry Spinetti has had a glittering career which shows no sign of slowing down. So far he’s played among others with Joan Armatrading, Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey, Leo Sayer, Bob Dylan,

Pete York

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Pete York phoned from his home in a snowy Germany and I got the chance to use my new-fangled phone pick up to record his every word. I’d just returned from skiing in Italy and

Clem Cattini

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Who put the beat in Johnny Kidd And The Pirates’ groundbreaking Shakin’ All Over back in 1960, or The Walker Brothers’ 1966 classic The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore?  What about Tom Jones’ It’s Not

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