Henry Spinetti

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, Joe Egan, Paul McCartney, Procol Harum, Pete Townshend, Cliff Richard and Katie Melua. I happily spoke to Henry (with a

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:48+00:00 April 24th, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Henry Spinetti

Pete York

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 as typical Englishmen our talk immediately turned to the weather. So how is it in Germany? "We had a lot

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:48+00:00 April 23rd, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Pete York

Clem Cattini

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 Unusual, or Dusty Springfield’s You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me?  Not forgetting Englebert Humperdinck’s Release Me, Love Affair’s

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:48+00:00 April 22nd, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Clem Cattini

Mark Brzezicki

Mark Brzezicki’s is one of those drummers whose playing is instantly recognisable. A busy musician reminiscent of Ginger Baker and Keith Moon, Brzezicki’s wealth of dynamic grooves propels songs but never detracts from them. And his aural assault has won him many friends, allies and people eager to have him play with and for them.

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:48+00:00 April 21st, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Mark Brzezicki

Dave Mattacks

Dave at Cropredy 2007 I first became aware of Dave Mattacks when, as a teenage schoolboy, I clasped my grubby mitts on a copy of Camel’s ‘The Single Factor’. It was in the days when album-buying was a major passion for this erstwhile 13-year-old and it seemed Mattacks’ name would crop up quite a

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:48+00:00 April 20th, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Dave Mattacks

Bobby Elliot

Bobby Elliott in 1963 There's a subtle difference between an Oxo tin and a Cadbury's Roses box. Bobby Elliott certainly knows what it is. The Hollies' backbone used to play both in a percussive arsenal which also included odds and sods borrowed from his grandfather's plumbing business as a child. This array of "drums"

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:48+00:00 April 19th, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Bobby Elliot

Kevin Godley

“I’m not really a drummer,” asserts Kevin Godley laughing. “I’m a creative person who plays drums… occasionally.” But the innovative former 10cc sticksman’s enthusiasm at playing drums again after a lengthy lay-off is clearly evident. Linking up with his former schoolfriend and erstwhile Mockingbirds and 10cc cohort, Graham Gouldman, in gg06, Godley got behind a

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:48+00:00 April 18th, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Kevin Godley

Tony Meehan

Daniel Joseph Anthony 'Tony' Meehan Tony Meehan set the ball rolling as far as British Rock ‘n’ Roll drummers were concerned. It wasn’t so much that he was the first, although arguably he was, he simply was the one with the highest profile. He was on television with the guys everyone wanted to

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:49+00:00 April 17th, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Tony Meehan

Rob Townsend

Rob Townsend Rob Townsend is one of those drummers who have garnered less recognition than they should have done. In fact, he fits the idea behind Mike Dolbear’s Drumming Icons to a T – celebrating those British drummers we may have forgotten in the headlong onslaught to praise American exports with their rows

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:49+00:00 April 16th, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Rob Townsend

Keith Moon

Keith Moon Keith Moon would have been 62, and fast approaching his second bus pass, on August 23rd 2008. I first met him sometime in the summer of 1965. He was coming out of an independent studio in London called IBC as I was going in. The Who had just been making a

By | 2017-08-11T18:17:49+00:00 April 14th, 2017|Categories: British Drum Icons|Tags: |Comments Off on Keith Moon
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