To my mother Betty Webb
Nick Mason – Pink Floyd
Don Powell – Slade
Andy Burrows – Razorlight, We Are Scientists
Adam Ficek – Babyshambles
Stuart Doughty – Reverend And The Makers
Steve White – Paul Weller, Style Council, Oasis and the rest
Matt Letley – Status Quo
John Coghlan – Status Quo
John Moss – Culture Club, Adam And The Ants, The Damned
Simon Phillips – Toto, The Who and many others
Topper Headon – The Clash
Rat Scabies – The Damned
Rick Buckler – The Jam
Dave Ruffy – The Ruts, Aztec Camera, Waterboys and the rest
Woody – Madness
Gary Powell – The Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things
Ian Mosley – Marillion
Russell Gilbrook – Uriah Heep
Nigel Glockler – Saxon
Steve Grantley – The Alarm, Stiff Little Fingers
Dylan Howe – The Blockheads
Andy Theakstone – Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Steve Dixon – Gary Moore
Tim Goldsmith – Alison Moyet, Bananarama, Tanita Tikaram, Joan Armatrading
John Lingwood – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Roger Chapman, Company of Snakes
Everett Morton – The Beat
Mark Laff – Generation X
Steve Phypers – The Overtures, The Ordinaries
Bob Henrit – Argent, The Roulettes, The Kinks
Paul Murphy – Elio Pace, Shakin’ Stevens, top West End shows
Adrian Macintosh – Humphrey Lyttelton
Pete Baker – Mohair
Eddie Edwards – The Vibrators
Vom Ritchie – Die Toten Hosen, Dr & The Medics
Denise Dufort – Girlschool
Gemma Clarke – The Krak, Babyshambles
Lee Levin – Miami session drummer with Pink, Ricky Martin, Christina Aquilera
Andy Wells – The Slaves, Meat Loaf
Chris Hickey – The Branstons
Mike Wade – The New Seekers
Rob Franks – Badness (Madness tribute)
Ed Sylvester – The Zeds
Rocket Ron – The Northside Jazz Band
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
SECTION 1 ALL RIGHT MATE?
SECTION 2 YOU’VE GOT TO BE CRAZY
SECTION 3 DANGER
SECTION 4 MONSTROUS BEHAVIOUR
SECTION 5 NAUGHTY!
SECTION 6 UP TO MISCHIEF
SECTION 7 IT’S JUST A SCRATCH!
SECTION 8 EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
SECTION 9 A COMPLICATED BUSINESS
SECTION 10 SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK ’N’ ROLL
SECTION 11 NATURE’S CALL
SECTION 12 TECHNICAL HITCH
SECTION 13 SOMETHING STUPID
SECTION 14 FAME
SECTION 15 THE CODA CLUB
SECTION 16 THERAPY
Copyright
Special thanks to:
Vaughan Rance, Jane Graham-Maw, Tim Garth, Alan Miles, John Lingwood, Ed Robinson, Heather Anderson, Steve Phypers, Nick Dellow, Malcolm Brown, Paul Kenward, Pete Cain, Matt Sargent, Warren Chapman, Colin Ellesworth, Martin Willis, Hilly Briggs, Cliff Milner, Pete Baker, Ray Fox, Lloyd Gilbert, Andrew Heart, Yvonne Laas, Sara Lord, Alan Glover, Guy Swimer, Malcolm Reed, Dave Williams, Alex Richards, Tom Billington, Mick Brown, Cliff Brown, Mark Sugden, Rina Parmenter, Andrew Mc Crorie-Shand, Peter Lennon, Howard Key, Mace Carnachan and Knox Carnachan.
And very special thanks to my wife, Stephanie, without whose patience this project would have been a good deal more difficult to achieve.
Let’s hope I’m given the opportunity to try her patience again…
I was chatting to a mate a few years ago. We’re both drummers, so we were comparing notes. Actually, we were having a bit of a moan. Not just about practical stuff, like bass drum beaters flying off and hi-hat stands falling apart, but also complaints of a more general nature. For example, why is it that we drummers are always being told to shut up? Or being made to feel we’re in everyone’s way?
‘Excuse me…’
‘Yes?’
‘Is that your drum kit?’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘Well, it’s in the way, can you move it?’
Guitarists would never tolerate such rudeness. And don’t even think about moving their effects pedals.
We finished our chat/moan and went back to our separate groups of friends. But for the rest of the evening, we couldn’t help interrupting each other:
‘And another thing…’
Thus, this little collection of drummers’ anecdotes was born.
What I hadn’t bargained for was the number of drummers who wanted to be part of it. In putting this together I seem to have opened the floodgates to something rather more significant.
Of course, as expected, I’ve discovered an endless stream of amusing anecdotes.